Should You Have Multiple Ethereum Addresses? Pros, Cons, and Safety Tips
As the cryptocurrency space matures, more products and services are becoming available to crypto investors. When it comes to crypto wallets, the variety on offering may be overwhelming — so many choices, but what do they all do and what’s the difference?
From the varying ways of connecting to the blockchain (through hardware, desktop software, web and mobile apps) to the differences in terms of which currencies and tokens are supported, choosing a wallet is confusing enough. However, for the crypto MEWbie, the next question might be — should I have more than one address?
TeamMEW is always exploring possibilities to make our web interface and the MEWconnect app more convenient for the various ways users want to interact with the blockchain. As part of this research, we used a Twitter poll to find out how many Ethereum addresses our community members need and use.
It turns out that most MEWsers who responded to the poll have four or more addresses, with some reporting as many as 37! Still, a third of the participants prefers to keep it simple with one. Let’s take a look at some pros and cons of using multiple addresses on the Ethereum blockchain!
The Pros
Why might someone have not just more than one, but more than four, Ethereum addresses? Here are some great reasons to diversify.
Different Addresses for Different Assets
Ethereum wallets support not just ETH, but also various ERC20 tokens, so if you are an active investor, things can get confusing very quickly. Having different addresses for free airdrops, ICO investments and Ether storage — and any other criteria you might use for sorting coins — could be a good solution for keeping things organized.
Another way to distinguish assets is by portfolios arranged according to particular specifications. With a different address for each portfolio, it might be easier to track the portfolios’ value.
Keeping Separate Accounts for Clients or Businesses
Just as we might distinguish personal and business accounts in a bank, there may be a benefit to keeping Ethereum addresses separate for personal and work needs. Having specific addresses for each individual client could keep things even more streamlined.
Taking Advantage of Special Wallet Features
Different kinds of wallets are best for different purposes, so in order to take advantage of all possibilities offered by cryptocurrencies, you might need more than one. Cold wallets (those that are not connected to the internet, such as hardware wallets and paper wallets) are probably best for long term crypto storage.
However, if you want to make some quick payments or interact with an exchange, these may not be very useful. For using crypto on the go, mobile wallets are really convenient. Dedicating a small amount of funds to a desktop or web wallet could be a good solution for trading and swaps.
The Cons
Clearly, there are many excellent arguments for having a few addresses, but almost a third of our respondents are sticking with just one.
One Address is Easier to Secure
Security is the most important consideration when crypto storage is concerned, and one private key might be easier to keep safe. You only need to keep track of one file, one piece of hardware or one sheet of paper, depending on the kind of wallet you are using.
If you are using a mnemonic passphrase to encrypt your private key, you could even commit the phrase to memory. Unless of course you have photographic memory and can just as easily memorize phrases for dozens of accounts — in which case, congratulations, but also… we are very jealous!
Everyone’s Needs are Different
The Ethereum community is very diverse — and that diversity is happily reflected in our MEW community. Some members are crypto natives, deeply involved in the space, and others are MEWbies who are just dipping their toes in the crypto waters. One address is plenty for experimenting, especially since MEW wallets are not limited to holding just one type of Ethereum asset.
Crypto is not rocket science, though, and shouldn’t be prohibitively complicated — at least that’s what we strongly believe at MEW. Familiarity can grow quickly, and the poll numbers suggest that once you have two addresses, you are likely to accumulate more. While almost a quarter of respondents reported having 2 addresses, only 13% have 3, and the majority has 4 or more.
One Wallet or Many, Safety First
Whether you prefer to store crypto funds in one or many addresses, always keep in mind essential safety measures.
- Make sure you are at the correct MyEtherWallet website.
- Never share your private key with anyone, and do not use it to check your balance or access your wallet directly.
- If you haven’t already, consider purchasing a hardware wallet or creating a brand new wallet with the MEWconnect app — these are currently the safest options for accessing your crypto funds.
For more safety tips, refresh your memory with our Knowledge Base, or let us know about your concerns directly through social media and customer support channels. We are here to help you have the best cryptocurrency experience possible!
– MyEtherWallet #teamMEW
