Bitamp Bitcoin Web Wallet - Send & Receive Bitcoin Instantly!

[bitampcom]

Someone asked if there were any decentralized wallets besides Mycelium or Electrum.

Our answer?

Not to toot our own horn but our web wallet is one of the few that are still in development that is open source and self custodial — yes, it is centralized in the sense we have a website, but any wallet you create on Bitamp is freely exportable and usable elsewhere (private keys and seeds are your own).

Mycelium I believe isn’t even fully open source, but a number of other great wallets are in development which are.

Decentralized can be done in many ways but non-custodial is probably the best most wallets can be done right now, along with making code public by doing it open source.

[bitampcom]

Are crypto exchanges regulated?

These days, most of the major ones are, but that only means that they have to complete minimum standards in business processes, pass their own AML and KYC procedures to get licenses in their jurisdictions. Of course, most now have to have security audits passed as part of the process but this still doesn’t protect you as the user from worst-case scenarios where the exchange is hacked, goes bankrupt, or just decides to close.

Which is why, always keep your crypto in your own wallet:)

[bitampcom]

What's the easiest way to set up a hardware wallet?

It really depends on the user, but I would always advice anyone to get very familiar with Bitcoin wallets first before moving on to hardware wallets as they can be a bit more complicated. So that means downloading Electrum or even using Bitamp to just create wallets and sign wallets and spend Bitcoin comfortably before upgrading.

That said, most of the mature hardware wallets like Ledger or Trezor have very simple setup instructions that come along with the packaging — if you didn’t get that, you should be careful you actually bought a legitimate one!

[bitampcom]

Any thoughts on PayPal getting into Bitcoin and all that?

Personally, I think that people who want to use Bitcoin should really learn about what it means to be in control of your own money, which is what Bitcoin is all about. But I also accept that for Bitcoin to reach the masses, I think this goes beyond being a Bitcoin purist and accepting that first exposure for many people may have to be through easy consumer apps like PayPal. Hopefully, they see the potential from there and then begin to use Bitcoin as it should be — on their own wallet.

That’s also why we developed Bitamp the way it is, as a simple web wallet for newcomers to easily understand what Bitcoin is and how to use it. We hope the experience inspires them to then go off and use more secure, more soverein methods.

[bitampcom]

How to make transactions go faster? You simply pay a higher fee for your transaction. Most wallets allow you to set your own fee, like ours at Bitamp has 3 settings, each with a fee that estimates how soon you get confirmed, with the highest and most expensive setting estimating you to get confirmed in the next block (roughly ten minutes on average).

[bitampcom]

For those who think BTC should now not be seen as currency...

Why can't it be all of that? I know plenty of people who happily pay stuff in Bitcoin when they can. And earn or get paid it in when they can. Some educators also happily put away some, but spend the majority of what they get -- they see a future of 10 years, even 20, not a trader view of 2 to 3 years cycles.

Many of our wallet users also don't mind loading a hotwallet with some quick cash to spend and throw.

[bitampcom]

How is finance decentralized?

Finance being decentralized means removing away the central authorities that currently dictate how financial services and products should be run, and who gets to access them. It means removing middlemen and intermediaries so that people can transact directly and provide and use services from each other directly.

[bitampcom]

Trezor T or Ledger Nano X: which is safer?

I would say that both brands are equally safe. Many people might go for the Trezor because of its price range (a bit more than the Ledger) and it also wins in the sense of open source (Ledger is not fully open source).

What’s important is what you want to use it for though. It doesn’t make sense to use either if you’re only carrying around coffee or pizza money in Bitcoin simply because using them would need you to physically take it out (alerting onlookers you actually have Bitcoin!). These hardware wallets are meant to store long term and keep offline.

A hot wallet for day to day use? Bitamp is a better solution or other open source apps like Electrum.

[bitampcom]

How do I backup a Bitcoin wallet on Android?

You can backup most Bitcoin wallets simply by saving the private key or seed phrase. Though I wouldn’t save it on an Android, these should be kept offline as much as possible.

Some Bitcoin wallets have an Android app like Electrum. Using Bitamp, you can even res

[bitampcom]

Is the Cash App considered a crypto wallet, and is my Bitcoin safe there?

It is, but it’s not a true Bitcoin wallet, whereby you are the sole controller of your Bitcoin through sole ownership of your private keys. If the owners of Cash App decide to hold your account, not much you can do about regaining access, which is they key problem for any type of wallet like this that belongs to a centralized company or entity.

I’d recommend you learn to use a proper wallet like Bitamp or Electrum. Open source and truly all yours.

[bitampcom]

What are the differences in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Altcoins?

So many differences to say! But from a technical perspective, let’s look at what’s easy to see:

Utility. Bitcoin is recognized now as a currency, store of value, and long-term appreciative asset. Ethereum is also a recognized currency, but cannot challenge Bitcoin as all the above points, but is now a much-needed Dapp platform that has proven to be mature and with the coming upgrade will handle scalability issues. Altcoins each say they’re currency, but only for their internal ecosystems. 90% of them are actually just speculative assets.
Development. Bitcoin is the most conservative development project, with very few new changes happening to its core structure over the years. But this also results in the most stable platform, battle-tested and highly secure. Ethereum is very fluid, with drastic changes always happening including the upcoming shift to PoS. Altcoins are on the extreme end, with centralized teams deciding very quickly how to change their infrastructure.

[OcTradism]

Utility. Bitcoin is recognized now as a currency, store of value, and long-term appreciative asset.

True.

Ethereum is also a recognized currency, but cannot challenge Bitcoin as all the above points, but is now a much-needed Dapp platform that has proven to be mature and with the coming upgrade will handle scalability issues. Altcoins each say they’re currency, but only for their internal ecosystems. 90% of them are actually just speculative assets.

Ethereum after many years of developments is a chain on which scam projects join and build up a very big scam ecosystem. ERC20 scam ecosystem. I would not blame on Ethereum for scam projects but why it happened?

Development. Bitcoin is the most conservative development project, with very few new changes happening to its core structure over the years. But this also results in the most stable platform, battle-tested and highly secure.

Any changes or upgrades must be approved with Consensus.

Ethereum is very fluid, with drastic changes always happening including the upcoming shift to PoS. Altcoins are on the extreme end, with centralized teams deciding very quickly how to change their infrastructure.

Ethereum is different. Important decisions and upgrades are decided and made by core team with the header is Vitalik.

[bitampcom]

Ethereum after many years of developments is a chain on which scam projects join and build up a very big scam ecosystem. ERC20 scam ecosystem. I would not blame on Ethereum for scam projects but why it happened?

Ethereum is different. Important decisions and upgrades are decided and made by core team with the header is Vitalik.

Have to agree here. But this is also the drawback of decentralization. No one should determine what goes on the blockchain or not in terms of dapps. Scam or not, that's up to the investor to decide.

But their decision making is quite centralized true, not to the decision making democracy of Bitcoin

[bitampcom]

Why are blockchains getting hacked if they are seen as 'uncrackable'?

We were asked this on Quora. Sharing our answer for discussion.

Blockchains are rarely hacked. The hacks you read about generally happen to exchanges and other services, or through account hacks, where the backdoor is through smart contracts or simple account compromise. Here, the flaw lies with developer codes and user carelessness.

[bitampcom]

Should we use different wallets for each crypto we hold?

Not necessarily, but I’d recommend that for sure, at least for different networks. Problem with most multi-asset wallets is they’re not open source, so you can’t really know for sure what they have in their code. Plus, you want each asset secured. Imagine losing one wallet, and losing everything? Or if one network crashes or forks, how will that affect you?
Opinions guys?

[OcTradism]

Should we use different wallets for each crypto we hold?

Not necessarily, but I’d recommend that for sure, at least for different networks. Problem with most multi-asset wallets is they’re not open source, so you can’t really know for sure what they have in their code. Plus, you want each asset secured. Imagine losing one wallet, and losing everything? Or if one network crashes or forks, how will that affect you?
Opinions guys?

I will try to use multiple wallets to decentralize my crypto capital. I do it for bitcoin and for altcoins. If one wallet provider has technical troubles, I won't be affected seriously. Even in worst case, I won't lose all my crypto.

In addition, I store my bitcoin on a very special computer on which I only store bitcoin. I never download altcoin wallets and install them on that computer. With new altcoins, it is best to not download and install their wallets on the computer you use to store bitcoin and use it to trade everyday.

[bitampcom]

I will try to use multiple wallets to decentralize my crypto capital. I do it for bitcoin and for altcoins. If one wallet provider has technical troubles, I won't be affected seriously. Even in worst case, I won't lose all my crypto.

In addition, I store my bitcoin on a very special computer on which I only store bitcoin. I never download altcoin wallets and install them on that computer. With new altcoins, it is best to not download and install their wallets on the computer you use to store bitcoin and use it to trade everyday.

Exactly, thanks for sharing:) It's all about spreading your risk and ensuring you are protected from single points of failure. It may not even be your fault, a technical issue could happen on a wallet, and even your device is a point of failure. Many secure devices is better than 1 secure devices:)

[bitampcom]

Why does it seem like Bitcoin accounts and exchanges are always hacked?

Because people simply aren’t using their Bitcoin wallets the way they should, or practicing good behaviors with security.

In the case of personal wallet hacks, it’s more often than not malware on their devices that sent their information to the hackers. So it’s not accounts getting hacked, but devices. In the case of exchanges, it’s down to bad security practice. Mt Gox famously just had some staff keep the USB containing private keys in a drawer.

Your coins, so your keys only.

[bitampcom]

How can you keep your bitcoin or cryptocurrency safe from hackers and thieves?

It takes a lot of safety and precautionary measures, but the first step for me is to make sure that the responsibility lies entirely on you. As much as possible, you should be in control of your risk and vulnerabilities, which means that you should keep your funds on your own wallet as a first step, not on a service or platform where your funds are in control of another entity. This is because no matter how safe you are and how much you’re careful, if the service goes down or is hacked, there’s nothing you can do about it. This means choosing a proper Bitcoin wallet like Electrum, Bitamp and many others which are open source and non-custodial.

[bitampcom]

Which reliable Bitcoin wallets are recommended?

 I always say to start with the most obvious and most reliable out there. This means Electrum (and not Bitcoin Core unless you want a full node). It’s open source, it’s non-custodial, and it’s proven to be the most reliable over the years.
Of course, it’s not always easy to pick up for the newcomer, which is why we built Bitamp, which is all that Electrum is, except with even simpler UI and based on web for access anywhere on the go, on any device.