With the popularity of crypto and particularly Bitcoin, many bitcoin wallet apps have emerged in the recent past. With so many to choose from it can be difficult to know which one will really suit your needs. So in this post I’m going to share with you the 4 best bitcoin wallet apps, based on my experience. Before I get to that, however, it is worth noting that the best form of storage for your Bitcoin, or any other cryptocurrency is a hardware wallet, mainly because of its offline storing capability. Cold storage is always the best when looking for a way to safely and securely store crypto. The Ledger Nano has a great versions or models of hardware wallets that you can choose from. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s dive right in.
The second best way to store your crypto is through decentralized mobile apps or wallets. These are also known as hot wallets -due to the fact that they are connected to the internet. With that being said, there are lots of ways to ensure maximum security and that you are picking the best bitcoin wallet app, before storing your coins. Therefore this is the reason it is very important to choose wisely. Having gone through a couple of wallets, experimenting and comparing, I came to a conclusion on the wallets discussed below. I based my comparison or research on the following:
- Security features.
- Decentralisation.
- Fees.
- User Interface.
- Variety of tokens supported.
- Connectivity with hardware wallets.
- Ability to exchange from one coin/token to the next within the app – Shapeshift.
- Customer Support
- Additional features.
Security Features
This refers to the ease of accessibility into the wallet. Ideally, it should be difficult to access your assets, from the hacker’s perspective. To achieve this wallets usually have at least 2 ways to authenticate. The first one is usually your password or passcode, and then 2 Factor Authentication (2FA). The 2FA enables you to have a second layer of security. In case somebody has figured out your password, the 2FA will add another layer to this by requiring them to enter the randomly generated 6 digit code.
Over and above the above, the recent smart phones, like iPhones allows you to login using your Face ID. With this feature enabled, you will not be able to login, unless it’s the rightful face in front of that camera. For older iOS devices it’s fingerprints. If your device doesn’t have these features you will just use a passcode, plus 2FA.
Decentralization
One of the major advantages and the idea behind cryptocurrency is decentralization, where no one controls your assets but you. These decentralized wallets give you access to your private keys, meaning you are in full control of your own funds. They also do this by allowing you to copy your backup phrase and then paste it or write it down somewhere safe. This is incase you lose your phone, or accidentally delete the app in the future. You will be able to get access back into your account if you have the backup phrase. This is very important, as without a backup phrase you can’t login to your account.
So for a wallet to stand a chance to be considered one of the best bitcoin wallet apps it has has to provide the private keys. That indicates the control you have over the wallet. One thing of note, too, is that if you export you physically export your private keys, as other wallets allow you to, you will should be EXTRA sure that you store them in a private and safe place. Because if anyone should get access to these private keys then you can kiss your assets good bye.
Fees
Another feature that gave cryptocurrency, particularly, Bitcoin when it first started was it’s significantly low fees. You can send thousands and thousands of dollars for a ridiculously cheap charge. Even though in recent years, esp during the Bull Run of 2017, fees were very high then for a specific period of time. However, the fees are very low, we are talking cents. Even though that’s the case. Some wallets charge higher fees than others. So compiling this 4 best bitcoin wallet apps list I had to take that into account. I had to check which bitcoin wallet app has more fees than others, under normal circumstances.
User Interface
This aspect of the wallet might be taken lightly at first hand but it is actually very important, and I find that some apps neglect this. You don’t want to spend minutes upon minutes just looking for a button to Send, or to Trade, or to Exchange or Buy. The app has to be as intuitive as possible, keeping in mind that not everyone is tech savvy. It has to be built for the masses. What I find too is that, if the company is trying to push too many features on to the app this ends up making the wallet app cluttered. There has to be a balance I guess. There are few great examples that display this balance, but some wallets it’s just a disaster.
Supported Cryptocurrencies
This goes without saying. The more tokens or coins a wallet supports the more attractive or popular it will tend to be. By popular here I mean the likelihood that people will use the app. Of course, an app can be popular with just a few coins. But generally, people like to get a variety of tokens in wallet. So that you can easily buy or sell just within the app. This is evident in the top bitcoin wallet apps I’ve listed here. Most of these, with an exception of one, support a myriad cryptocurrencies.
Inter-Connectivity
This particular feature is exceptional but very much welcome because it makes life so much easier. The ability to connect with hardware wallets is a very great feature. You will recall when I started this post that the ideal place to store your crypto is in your hardware wallet like Trezor and Ledger Nano. And now to be able to connect your hardware wallet to an app is super awesome. Not all wallets have that feature, but some of the ones I share here do. This means you have the added layer of security by storing your crypto in a cold storage, but also the advantage of quickly connecting to a chosen wallet without a hassle.
Shapeshift Feature
Shapeshift is a crypto exchange that enables you to exchange your assets within the app, without having to go to exchanges such as Bittrex, Binance, OkEx, Kucoin, etc. It saves the time and in some cases money to move crypto to an exchange and then to trade it for the desired coin. This software, embedded within the bitcoin wallet app, allows you to seamlessly exchange from one coin to the next. Shapeshift has gained popularity in the recent past and you can now find it on most of the widely used wallets globally. This feature adds a lot of value in any given wallet.
Customer Support
Last but not least, Customer support. Success of any wallet at the day depends on the support. You need to know that you will be well taken care of if you encounter any problems while using the wallet. So you need to know that the company is responsive, and attends to customer queries. I should note that, this is one area that I believe has a major effect in the success of the company but sometimes overlooked. Word of mouth spreads very quickly, and if customer support is very poor people will know. So the list took this particular topic into account as well. Now that you know what I based my list on, let us have a look at the respective wallets below.
Best Bitcoin Wallet Apps
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Number One Best Bitcoin Wallet from the Above
As you can see from the above features, there are pros and cons on all the wallets I shared with you. Depending on your needs, you can pick the one that will suit your needs. The question should be, what do you want to store in your wallet. Do you just want to store Bitcoin? In this case then I’d say Blockchain’s one due to its strong security features. However, if you want to store a variety of cryptos I would definitely say choose between Exodus and Jaxx. If you want an extensive list support of ERC 20 tokens then Trust perhaps would be ideal. Personally I use all four, over and above my offline storage.
Check out This Video where I take you through the best bitcoin wallets apps. The only exception on the video is that I spoke about MEW Connect from MyEtherWallet instead of Trust Wallet. But both these are perfect.
Best Bitcoin Wallet Apps
CONCLUSION
This brings us to the end of our review on the 4 best bitcoin wallet apps. All of the apps above are available to download on both Android and iOS. For Android you can go to your PlayStore and for iOS you can check your AppStore, and type in the respective app. Go directly to your respective app store and never download anything from a third party site, unless it’s the actual wallets websites. There are lots of hackers and phishing websites out there so you want to make extra sure that you are using the correct links. Good luck.
If you found this post informative do share it with your friends. They probably will tool. What other bitcoin wallet app do you like and use? Share your thoughts below.
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