The best bitcoin wallet

[memvola]

I use bitcoin-qt.  Why use anything else?  It encrypts your wallet and backs it up.  What else do you need? Using an e-wallet seems to me to be quite risky, do you agree?

It's not very practical to use it on a laptop, for instance. Or your smartphone for that matter.

[BitcoinBoss]

Does Armory integrate with Bitcoin QT or is it a seperate program. For example if I download Armory will I still be able to use the addresses I have set up in Bitcoin QT with Armory?

[deadweasel]

Does Armory integrate with Bitcoin QT or is it a seperate program. For example if I download Armory will I still be able to use the addresses I have set up in Bitcoin QT with Armory?

Yes, armory runs bitcoin-qt/d for you, scans the blockchain and reports balances back.  You can import a wallet into armory.

i suggest using a cold wallet and a hot wallet. 

[jingos]

Armory if your CPU is decent and have at least 4GB of RAM otherwise Electrum.

[BitcoinBoss]

Does Armory integrate with Bitcoin QT or is it a seperate program. For example if I download Armory will I still be able to use the addresses I have set up in Bitcoin QT with Armory?

Yes, armory runs bitcoin-qt/d for you, scans the blockchain and reports balances back.  You can import a wallet into armory.

i suggest using a cold wallet and a hot wallet. 

Thanks for this info, big help

[btcsharp]

Electrum is VERY good, and then the options of using deterministic wallets is VERY useful. If only it had been included in the first version of bitcoin, so much btc wouldn't have been lost.

[cupronickel]

Electrum is VERY good, and then the options of using deterministic wallets is VERY useful. If only it had been included in the first version of bitcoin, so much btc wouldn't have been lost.

At first glance, I do like the look of Electrum. There doesn't seem anything particularly wrong with it. What are the potential security holes, if any?

[mkmen]

I would not use anything else than the official client and since I'm paranoid i also encrypt the data folder with TrueCrypt. Tinfoil FTW.

[lunarboy]

Theoretically the most secure way is running a bitcoind or bitcoin-qt locally, as you are in full control of both security and backup.

Maybe we should clarify the disadvantages of running Electrum vs. bitcoin-qt vs. MultiBit.

First of all, they are almost equivalent security-wise, though bitcoin-qt is the most tested client.

Electrum: You have to request transaction information from an external server, so you may have considerably reduced privacy, depending on the threat.

bitcoin-qt: You need to download and store the complete blockchain. This is very impractical if your computer isn't on most of the time. (Plus, it consumes 50-100 kBps upload bandwidth for me.)

MultiBit: This client has a lightweight mode, where it downloads only relevant transactions, so it is a balanced diet. It is heavier than Electrum, but you get better privacy.

I run a bitcoind/bitcoin-qt on one of my computers and use Electrum in parallel. As as said in my previous comment, you can copy the same wallet on all your machines. However, it's best not to keep the bulk of your savings in the wallet you ordinarily access, so that you don't lose all your money if it gets compromised.

Having finally decided to give up on hosting the full blockchain (its just taking up too much space and qt is so slow to start) I have been looking to switch to a lightweight client. Which is the best on security for a cold storage wallet and ease of use for a hot wallet. Electrum or Multibit ?

lots of good reports for Electrum but not sure I like the online deterministic wallet for cold storage? Preferences anyone?

[Sek0n]

I recommend Electrum: http://electrum.org/

• No need to download the block chain. Just launch it when you want to make a transfer and it's instantly on. Even better if you enable Bitcoin URI's.
• Deterministic wallet, so just secure the seed in a safe place and you will always be able to recover the wallet even if you lose all backups.
• There are many Electrum servers to connect to, and you can switch between servers instantly. No down time.
• Even when you are offline, you will have access to your addresses.
• Portable.
• Many different GUI options. Even has a text GUI.
• Has many command-line features. Also, supports plug-ins, for instance, to help with storing labels in the cloud.

ETA: Ah, and I almost forgot... You can use the same Electrum wallet from multiple different locations simultaneously.

Second this. I love Electrum now. Used Armory/qt but it throttled my bandwidth because of its uploading. (ASDL)

That and they have an android client that syncs with the same wallet on my pc.

[Aleksei Richards]

I'm going to go with an offline wallet in a virtual machine. anyone else following this route?

I did that once and accidentally deleted the VM.

[Barklad]

Another vote for bitcoin-qt.

[Bitsburger]

Electrum is good.

[C4th]

i like a wallet that doesn't take up a lot of space on your hard drive.  online wallets are more dangerous but they ahve the advantage of your btc being there if you need to sell quickly. If you want to hold through ups and downs, then offline wallet is better.

[memvola]

i like a wallet that doesn't take up a lot of space on your hard drive.  online wallets are more dangerous but they ahve the advantage of your btc being there if you need to sell quickly. If you want to hold through ups and downs, then offline wallet is better.

Wow, peculiar perspective.

Anyway, Electrum has better availability than any online wallet, since you can connect to one of many servers. Also, Multibit can sync with the network pretty fast.

[KeriJo]

I use blockchain client now.  I tried bitcoin-qt but I kept getting database errors so I switched.

[cp1]

I started with multibit, but am trying out electrum and I really like it.

[morthandeus]

I'm using Electrum as well on my Linux box, worked great so far apart from once needing to be restarted before it would synch. I'm curious about the Android client but concerned about security.

[jdean1]

Thanks for all the tips.

[drwho88888]

This looks good - coinlockr.com
Seems like a great idea