The Best Cryptocurrency Wallets to Use in the PhilippinesA cryptocurrency wallet is a piece of software or application where you *store your bitcoin, ether, or any other virtual currencies that you have.
Think of it like the wallet where you store your money. You put your paper bills in the wallet. Everyone knows you have a wallet (unless you don’t, which is very very alarming), but only you can take the money out of your wallet. (Note: Click here if you want a bitcoin wallet-centric article. Continue reading if you want to know more about cryptocurrency wallets not just for btc but for all coins.)
Private and Public AddressesThe cryptocurrency wallet has private and public keys (or private and public addresses). When you send your friend John an altcoin, you send it to his public address. Remember that the blockchain is a public ledger. Everyone John transacts with knows his public address. Everyone even knows how much altcoin is in his wallet.
But only John can take the coin out of that wallet. That’s because he’s the only one who knows the private key (or private address) to open his his wallet.
Characteristics of Best Cryptocurrency WalletsWallets come in different forms. For example, there are many bitcoin wallets. Also, there are different wallets for different cryptocurrencies. Well, there are wallets where you can put many coins. Examples are wallets on cryptocurrency exchanges (like the one on Bittrex).
But wallets on an exchange are not secure. Furthermore, because exchanges trade millions of bitcoin per day, they are a prime target for hackers. Most of the time, the best wallets are the ones that give you access to your private and public keys. But those are still nothing if the wallet’s creators do not have a strong reputation (or maybe unknown). What’s more, it depends on your risk assessment and comfort. If you trust the company with your private keys, or whether you want your altcoins offline. We list down the best cryptocurrency wallet for users in the Philippines.
Note: Every wallet listed here are wallets that you can freely download. Technically, all wallets are available globally, but some, like Abra, Coins, and Bitbit also have a team on the ground in PH. Some provide a watered-down version of their platforms, like Coinbase that only allows us to store our coins. Meaning, its wallet functions are available to us. But their other features, like quick exchange and trading are not available for users in the country.
Best Cryptocurrency Wallets for Philippine usersOnline WalletsSimply put, these are wallets you can access online, either on a web browser and/or a mobile app. These provide convenience although most of the time, they control your private keys. They are called “hot wallets” because of that.
Desktop WalletsDesktop wallets sit on your computer and are generally secure. Most of the time you control your private keys. Some, like Exodus, offers the ability to convert your coins to another via its Shapeshift integration (this means you can trade your coins instantly to any other supported coins).
Hardware WalletsHardware wallets are the real deal. You can say it puts your bitcoin offline, but technically, you put your private keys offline, away from the Internet where everything can be hacked if you’re not careful. They are also generally expensive. However, many cryptocurrency websites agree on one thing – they are probably one of the most secure ways of keeping your coins safe.
Note: You can also check out the Ledger Nano S Wallet at Lazada!Paper WalletsDubbed as the least expensive way to keep your coins.
The private addresses are literally printed on a paper. We can recommend two:
- Bitcoin Paper Wallet supports bitcoin.
- My Ether Wallet wants you to print on a paper your wallet details.
Safety Tips for Cryptocurrency WalletsUnlike keeping your wallets in an exchange, the crypto wallet represents your best bet in keeping your coins safer.
Here are some tips:
1. If the wallet has a password, don’t give the password to someone else. Write it on a piece of paper and make sure it’s a complicated one.
2. Never ever tell your private keys to someone else. Never put your private keys in plain text format. A virus can corrupt it and you can bid your coins goodbye.
3. Create multiple backups of your files that are related to your coins. If you did not print your bitcoin paper wallet, create backups of it and secure it with passwords, zip file, whatever you can do to make sure no one can access it but you.
4. If you opt for a hardware wallet, like Trezor. Make sure it’s genuine! Also, if your hardware wallet contains an inordinate number of coins, you should keep it somewhere safe. Not on top of your refrigerator, but somewhere safe, like a vault. We’re serious.
SourceBe Positive
