Bitcoin has acquired universal recognition and its popularity continues to grow. In contrast to equities at a brokerage, you can remove your cryptocurrency from a crypto exchange and store them in an external wallet. The best Bitcoin wallets make it simple to store and manage your cryptocurrency holdings securely.
If you’re interested in purchasing and storing Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency, you may be looking for the best Bitcoin wallet. We evaluated a large number of Bitcoin wallets, focusing on their cost, user experience, supported coins, and other features. Continue reading to learn about some of the top Bitcoin wallets currently available.
The Best Bitcoin Wallets in 2021
Recommended for Beginners: Exodus
The Best Bitcoin Wallet For Advanced Users: Electrum
The Best Option for Mobile Users: Mycelium
Best Hardware Wallet: Ledger Nano X
Best For Security: Trezor Model T
Best Bang For Your Buck: Ledger Nano S
Exodus Wallet
Exodus is a desktop and mobile wallet that features an intuitive user interface and an integrated exchange. The ability to exchange between an increasing variety of cryptocurrencies is one of Exodus’s most popular features. Exodus now supports the exchange of over a hundred different cryptocurrencies.
This wallet’s simplicity makes it ideal for newcomers to the crypto industry. Additionally, it provides excellent support, which is critical for newbies entering what many consider to be a complex sector.
While it is excellent for beginners, more expert users may find several functions lacking. To begin, Exodus is a proprietary wallet. This contradicts the ethos of Bitcoin and blockchain technology and may raise some security issues, given the code is not publicly accessible. Rather than that, customers rely on the Exodus team to ensure that the wallet’s security is impenetrable.
Exodus provides the ability to create bespoke fees in order to control costs, in addition to the option to automatically set a fee that ensures the transaction is completed promptly.
Why We Selected It
We chose Exodus as the best option for beginners because it is completely free and includes excellent customer service and optional cold storage assistance.
Pros
- Numerous cryptocurrencies
- Integrated exchange
- Excellent client service
Cons
- Software that is not open source
Electrum Wallet
Electrum is a forerunner of Bitcoin wallets. It has existed since 2011, two years after Bitcoin’s inception, and has remained relatively unchanged since then. While this wallet is stripped-down in terms of user interface and focuses on Bitcoin alone, it excels at its core job. Additionally, due to the complexity of its features, Electrum is better suited for advanced users.
Electrum is an open-source project that enables users to customize transaction fees and provides a choice between traditional Bitcoin and Segwit. Additionally, it enables users to select the level of protection they desire. You can create a normal wallet, a wallet with two-factor authentication, or a multi-signature wallet, for example. Additionally, you can enlarge your seed phrase by adding custom terms.
Electrum is ideal for the more skilled Bitcoin user who desires extensive security features and customizability in a straightforward interface.
Why We Selected It
We chose Electrum because it is secure, open-source, and features and settings are advanced.
Pros
- Fees for transactions can be customized
- Greater security than the majority of hot wallets
Cons
- Simplistic user interface
- It is only applicable to Bitcoin.
- There is no customer service.
Mycelium Wallet
Mycelium is an open-source Bitcoin wallet that is only available on mobile devices. At the moment, Mycelium only supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, and ERC-20 tokens. Mycelium is comparable to the Electrum wallet in many aspects, with the exception that it is mobile-only, has a more modern user experience than Electrum, and also includes an integrated exchange.
Mycelium, like Electrum, is a pioneer in the cryptocurrency wallet sector. As with Electrum, you may configure custom transaction fees, allowing you to specify the length of time you’re prepared to wait for a transaction to complete.
Mycelium also includes a few additional intriguing features, such as hardware wallet compatibility, which enables users to store their Bitcoin on an offline storage device while still accessing their holdings through Mycelium’s user interface.
Why We Selected It
For mobile customers, we chose Mycelium because it allows for greater control over transaction fees and interacts with a hardware wallet.
Pros
- Fees for transactions can be customized
- Possibility of utilizing hardware wallets
- Software that is freely available
Cons
- Available exclusively on mobile devices
- For a first-time user, this is perplexing.
Ledger Nano X
The Ledger Nano X is the business’s second-generation hardware wallet. The company was founded in 2014 in France. The Ledger Nano S, Ledger’s initial cryptocurrency product, was one of the first hardware wallets on the market and dominated the field for several years.
The Nano X resembles a USB drive and connects through USB or Bluetooth to your device. This implies that you may use the wallet without a computer by connecting it to your iOS or Android device. It currently supports more than 1,800 coins. This list is continually growing as the Bitcoin community requests support for their favorite cryptocurrencies.
While the device is a cold storage hardware wallet, the Ledger team developed the Ledger Live software, which acts as a user interface for all of your assets. This enables users to add additional wallets for various cryptocurrencies and manage their holdings. Ledger hardware wallets have been, and continue to be, the industry’s most popular. Additionally, the Ledger includes a single USB-C to USB-A adapter, allowing it to be connected to either a desktop computer or a smartphone in lieu of Bluetooth.
Why We Selected it
We chose the Ledger Nano X because it provides safe cold storage and connects through Bluetooth or USB to devices via the Ledger desktop or mobile application.
Pros
- Ledger Live features an elegant and user-friendly UI.
- Stores up to 100 distinct applications
- Software that is open-source with the extra benefit of customer and community support
- Bluetooth connectivity’s convenience
Cons
- Bluetooth integration as a potential attack vector (USB is still an option)
- Bluetooth technology has not been finalized.
- Wallet storage space is limited.
Trezor Model T
Trezor, like Ledger, is linked with cold wallet storage for cryptocurrency. Its Model T is the company’s second generation of hardware wallets. The Trezor Model T is essentially similar to the Ledger, except that it allows users to easily access third-party exchanges such as Changelly and CoinSwitch through its online interface. While this is incredibly convenient, it scarcely merits the $190 premium.
The Model T features a touch screen, which may be easier for beginners to operate than the prior model’s buttons. Additionally, the Trezor includes a MicroSD card port, which enables you to use MicroSD cards to encrypt the PIN and better safeguard your device against attacks.
As with the Ledger Nano X, the Trezor Model T includes a USB Type-C connector for use with either a smartphone or a desktop computer. At the moment, the Trezor Model T supports over 1,600 unique cryptocurrencies. Due to the X’s Bluetooth connectivity (although the Ledger’s Bluetooth is optional), some consider the Model T to be slightly more secure than the Ledger Nano X.
Why We Selected It
We chose Trezor as the best hardware wallet for security because it has the strongest security features and track record of any hardware wallet we studied.
Pros
- Web-based user interface with built-in interactions
- Numerous cryptocurrencies are supported.
- Software that is open-source with the extra benefit of customer and community support
Cons
- The price point is higher than others.
- Type on a small touchscreen
- For a first-time user, this is perplexing.
Ledger Nano S
The Ledger Nano S is Ledger’s first-generation hardware wallet, and one of the first hardware wallets ever created. As is the case with the Nano S, which is compatible with over 1500 coins. Because the Nano S does not include a USB Type-C connector, users of more current smartphones may experience connectivity issues.
The Nano S is largely identical to its successor, the Nano X, with the exception of a few improvements. Both support the same set of cryptos and include access to Ledger Live. Unlike the Nano X, the Nano S lacks Bluetooth connectivity and can only store three apps concurrently, as opposed to the 100 that the Nano X can.
The Nano S has a limited amount of storage and can only create wallets for a restricted number of cryptocurrencies at a time. If you deactivate an app in order to add another cryptocurrency, according to their online guidance, this will have no effect on your assets.
The erased wallet and its contents will remain visible on Ledger Live, but will not be visible on the Ledger device itself. This means that if you wish to send or receive funds to a wallet that has been deleted, you may need to delete another wallet to free up space.
Having said that, at only $59, the Ledger Nano S is an excellent wallet for those looking to safely store their cryptocurrency at a reasonable price. Additionally, it is quite simple to use with Ledger Live, making it an ideal product for a beginner looking for a secure and simple way to store a few cryptocurrencies.
Why We Selected It
We chose the Ledger Nano S as an entry point into cold storage hardware wallets due to its affordability.
Pros
- Live Ledger Access
- Secure storage at an affordable price
- Software that is open-source with the extra benefit of customer and community support
Cons
- Three applications are limited to a maximum of three GB of storage.
- There is no wireless Bluetooth capability.
Summary
With numerous Bitcoin wallets available, including a piece of paper with your public and private keys printed on it, you have a plethora of alternatives when it comes to selecting the best Bitcoin wallet. Whether you choose an intuitive web wallet or a highly secure hardware wallet, there is a suitable alternative for your crypto storage requirements.
