Bitcoin Forum

For beginners: https://criptointercambio.com/en/blog/Virtual-wallet-what-is-it
What wallets would you recommend to use?

My recommendation is always to download wallets recommended by the cryptocurrency development team, prefer those that are open source. In my personal experience, what I recommend is: Mobile wallet to spend day to day, Desktop wallets to move larger values and Hardware wallets to ensure the security of funds, always keeping the seeds very safe.

Do not use online wallets.

Best wallets for Bitcoin are:
- Electrum wallet for desktop
- Hardware wallet (Ledger, Trezor...)

You can find more details about wallets here:
https://bitcoin.org/

The bitcoin.org site and list of wallets/ explorers is a good place to begin.

The topic: Custodial vs. Non Custodial Wallets - "Not your keys, not your coin" Explained. (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5173370.0) is another good one.

With online wallets (one of custodial wallets), people don't have control of private keys. With Bitcoin Core, Electrum, ie. (non-custodial wallets) people have full control of their private keys.

Don't have private keys, you don't actually have wallets.

Don't use online wallets, they're not safe. Use hardware wallets always for long-term protection of your crypto - Cobo Vault, Ledger, Trezor. Here's an article that can help: https://medium.com/cobo-vault/hot-cold-mobile-web-paper-wallets-understand-the-difference-90c124fe1a55

You can do it old school also!
Get yourself an paper wallet!
But bet sure to know how to restore it!
And yes would be a privat wallet on your Computer or desk!
Online wallets just something for a short thing!

Paper wallets are kind of dangerous to keep, especially if you aren't careful about your stuff. Plus, paper can easily be destroyed by various stuff. Get wet and its rekt, get pinned and its rekt. Plus, it doesn't seem to bring the importance message to you unlike with hardware wallets. Its kind of an issue with the mentality of us humans

I don't find any article or information or any query in that link you provided.

Actually all crypto wallets are virtual but choose the best of all to keep the funds safe.I recommend you electrum for desktop and mobile which gives seeds so you can restore wallet even if the device lost.

The problem with paper wallets isn't mostly the fragility of paper(though that's also true). Sure, paper wallets are definitely easy to make, no doubt about that. Just a Computer, a decent browser, and a printer. No biggie, right? Nope. The problem here is that people don't know how to make a paper wallet in a safe and secure manner. Taking extra safety precations like creating the paper wallet on an air-gapped OS.

Did anyone actually read the link posted in OP? They use term "virtual wallet" for mobile, web, desktop and hardware wallets. It is already quite common to advise beginners not to use online/web wallets, but we do not help them with advice to start using a desktop or even hardware wallets if they are not taught the proper use of them.

In some cases, using an online wallet can be an advantage for beginners, it's much easier to download a fake desktop wallet than to make a fake online wallet. Of course, there is always the possibility of phishing, but that is why you should be well informed about the best possible security practices before you enter the world of cryptocurrencies.

A user without basic knowledge will lose their coins no matter what type of wallet they use. You can have the best hardware wallet, but if you keep your seed on e-mail, your smartphone or desktop PC, it is only a matter of time before a hacker picks up his prize.

a user that has trouble finding the real website of a desktop wallet to download an installer that requires one click to install (through a wizard that only has next!) will also have trouble finding the real website of a web wallet and will lose his private keys in the same fashion.
i think a better advice to these types of user is to stay away from cryptocurrencies until they can learn the basics of security while using a computer and surfing the web!

This. I actually think that it's online wallets are still more dangerous. With desktop wallets, they download it once then they're pretty much good(unless a certain update requires a re-install of the software, which is a bit unlikely). With online wallets, especially if the user is going to access the wallet at least once a day, that's going to be a problem. I'm pretty sure a good number of people do NOT bookmark links. Instead, they Google them(if the browser doesn't auto-populate), which makes them vulnerable to phishing scams through Google ads.

Online wallets have two major risks that make them an insecure way of storing cryptocurrency. First is that users do not have control of private keys, and second is the risk of phishing. There is no way to avoid the first risk if you use them, but protection from phishing is very simple - bookmark link and never click on any other link (send by e-mail, Telegram and similar)+ install adblocker for your browser.

Desktop wallets can be very risky, we see that in the example of Electrum, exploit of original wallet + phishing which had (and still has) catastrophic consequences for anyone unaware of the risks. Not to mention everyone who lost their coins due to fake wallets when they tried to claim forked coins.

It's not about which wallet is better, it's about elementary ignorance of the basics of using a computer and the Internet. This is something that should be learned in elementary or at least in high school.

Pretty much. Every wallet types has it's own different risks. Though what's mostly safer is a software wallet(again, it depends), the "risks" really depends on the knowledge of the person.

And I agree that things like this(basic computer/internet security) definitely should be taught in schools. As time goes, computer/internet security is just going to get more and more relevant. There's literally zero reason for computer/internet security to be taught.

I was explaining this to my mum few hours ago. It's just the same as your wallet in pocket. You can accumulate multiple cryptos in one wallet. Few things to know: it's way safer to store your crypto in wallet than on exchange, cold storage (aka Ledger) is the safest way for storing. Trust only known wallets as there are many scams out there.

Actually it’s not really, and although it is a relatable metaphor, it is an inaccurate one … if one gets picky with the term "wallet", I like the way Andreas Antonopoulos explains in The Internet of Money (8.3.1) how the metaphor, albeit being the most extended one due to the logical analogy could have been better minted as a Keychain:

I believe most of us use, or used to use, the money wallet metaphor as it what the name suggests us to do, but the way Andreas describes why the metaphor is misapplied is pretty compelling.

Best is to get an hardware which maybe a bit expensive but it's more save and you don't have to worry about losing the device if you have your backup.
If you can't afford an hardware wallet, you should download Electrum wallet. But you have to be careful about getting phised.
Mobile wallet always comes in handy but I can't advice you to put all of your funds in there.
Web wallets are the most dangerous way of storing assets because you don't own the key and your funds might be delayed when you need them most. And web wallet are always a target for hackers.

So many vet member replies here yet, no one of you find this post a website promotion?

I know there are countries where the purchasing power is very low, or where people work for less than $10 dollars a month, so for some people, such devices really represent an investment they cannot afford. But for those who want to get cheaper HW, just wait for Black Friday or Christmas and New Year's discounts and you can save up to 50%. What is more important is how to use such wallets, they are also exposed to phishing, malware clipboard and some other attacks. Just buying a hardware wallet does not solve the problem of security.


If you check OP post history you may notice that he posted the same link only 2 times, so I don't think he does this solely for the purpose of promoting a particular site. There are many more obvious examples of promotion (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=254229;sa=showPosts), but there is a rule that allows it to some extent. I bet if you report OP, it will stay unhandled or bad report.

While we usually work on crypto, everyone uses their own personal wallet, which must be virtual and secure. Wallet The best wallet is the hardware wallet. It's great and protects your personal key. If you lose your personal information, you can easily get a change.