Need helping finding the right wallet for me

[Discounted]

Hello all,

What really intrigues me about Bitcoin is being a true owner of your money, only you having access, being in total control of hard money.

I want to really take advantage of this and store my wealth in Bitcoin, and store the private key/seed for my wallet safely.

I however struggle to find a right wallet to do this with, and I'm also slightly confused in some aspects.

For example, a wallet like Exodus allows you to save private keys of your wallets, but it also allows for saving seeds.
Let's say I save the private seed of my Exodus wallet, how can I be sure that in 20 years from now, Exodus wallet will still be a working product, that I can download from a new computer perhaps and import my seed into? This never made sense to me, I'm depending on the creator of the software it seems to me.

The private key of my Bitcoin wallet is different ofcourse, but I do wonder, will this private key allow me to import the address into other wallet softwares? Or do I have to import it on Exodus?
One thing that also slightly confused me was the fact that when I request my private key from the Exodus wallet, it shows me multiple private keys and public wallets. Two public wallets starting with 'bc1q', and one wallet starting with '157okQ'. Which one would I have to save? When I make a request to receive funds in the wallet it shows my deposit address as one of the bc1q addresses. Will this be the address of which the associated private key is practically my money?

Thanks anyone for taking the time to help me.

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[mocacinno]

bitcoin.org has a wizard that helps you chose your wallet:
https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet

It seems like there is some confusion about the basic concepts... I'll try to give a very simplified explanation about what is happening between seed/mpk/pk/address/derivation path/... mind you, this explanation is simplified.

Most recent wallets are either custodial (meaning: don't use those) or non-custodial. A custodial wallet usually doesn't let you access your private key(s), you're not in controll of your funds, so i'd advice against using those.

A non custodial wallet is usually a HD wallet nowadays.
Usually, they generate a seed phrase you can write down on a piece of paper in order to restore your wallet afterwards.
The seed phrase goes trough an algorithm to create a master private key.
Following a derivation path, private keys get derived from this master private key.

Usually, a public key gets derived from the private key, this public key gets hashed and the hash is actually the address.

Over the years, we moved from "default" wallet type. In the very beginning, we used pay to public key wallets. Then we switched to pay to public key hash "legacy" wallets, then to pay to Pay-to-Witness-Public-Key-Hash segwit wallets, and in the future even pay to taproot.

The thing is: the last 3 types of wallet (legacy, segwit and taproot) can be derived from the same master public key. That's why the same seed phrase shows wallets whose addresses begin with 1 (legacy), bc1q (segwit) and maybe even bc1p (taproot)

so, now, let's dig in to your OP:

For example, a wallet like Exodus allows you to save private keys of your wallets, but it also allows for saving seeds.
Let's say I save the private seed of my Exodus wallet, how can I be sure that in 20 years from now, Exodus wallet will still be a working product, that I can download from a new computer perhaps and import my seed into? This never made sense to me, I'm depending on the creator of the software it seems to me.

I'm not an exodus user, but if you read the above explanation, you could note that if you write down the seed phrase and use a wallet that supports the same "type" of seed (for example, a bip39 seed), the "other" wallet should handle the seed phrase in the same way, so it would generate the same master private key, and if you use the same derivation path, it should create the same private keys and addresses.

The private key of my Bitcoin wallet is different ofcourse, but I do wonder, will this private key allow me to import the address into other wallet softwares? Or do I have to import it on Exodus?

If you have the actual derived private key, you should be able to import it in many different wallets... not all tough, they have to allow you to import single private keys, and some wallets only allow you to restore a wallet from seed

One thing that also slightly confused me was the fact that when I request my private key from the Exodus wallet, it shows me multiple private keys and public wallets. Two public wallets starting with 'bc1q', and one wallet starting with '157okQ'. Which one would I have to save? When I make a request to receive funds in the wallet it shows my deposit address as one of the bc1q addresses. Will this be the address of which the associated private key is practically my money?

i actually went into this topic on the top of this very post

[o_e_l_e_o]

Let's say I save the private seed of my Exodus wallet, how can I be sure that in 20 years from now, Exodus wallet will still be a working product, that I can download from a new computer perhaps and import my seed into?

You can't.

What you can be sure of is that there will be some wallet software you can import your seed phrase in to. Most wallets which generate seed phrases,* Exodus included, generate them following the BIP39 process, which is well known and well documented. You can take a BIP39 seed phrase from any wallet and import it in to any other BIP39 compatible wallet and recover the same wallet with the same private keys. Even if every piece of wallet software on the planet no longer existed, and for some reason you could not access an old version of any wallet software, then the process to turn the seed phrase in to private keys is still well document and it would be fairly easy for you to recreate your private keys if needed.

The private key of my Bitcoin wallet is different ofcourse, but I do wonder, will this private key allow me to import the address into other wallet softwares? Or do I have to import it on Exodus?

You can import a private key in to any wallet which supports importing individual private keys. Private keys can be used to generate different types of addresses though (most commonly legacy (P2PKH), nested segwit (P2SH-P2WPKH), and native segwit (P2WPKH)), so you'll need to make sure the wallet you are importing to will generate the right address for you.

One thing that also slightly confused me was the fact that when I request my private key from the Exodus wallet, it shows me multiple private keys and public wallets. Two public wallets starting with 'bc1q', and one wallet starting with '157okQ'. Which one would I have to save? When I make a request to receive funds in the wallet it shows my deposit address as one of the bc1q addresses. Will this be the address of which the associated private key is practically my money?

The addresses which begin with "1" are legacy addresses. The addresses which begin with "bc1" are native segwit addresses. It is preferable to use the segwit addresses as they result in smaller transactions and therefore lower fees. In terms of saving your private keys, I wouldn't at all - I would just write down your seed phrase and be comfortable in the knowledge that the seed phrase can recover all those private keys in the future if you need it to.


*Electrum is the most significant outlier here, which uses it's own seed phrase and derivation method. But again, this is widely known and publicized, so even if Electrum no longer exists in 20 years, it would be easy to convert the seed phrase back in to your private keys.

[Discounted]

Let's say I save the private seed of my Exodus wallet, how can I be sure that in 20 years from now, Exodus wallet will still be a working product, that I can download from a new computer perhaps and import my seed into?

You can't.

What you can be sure of is that there will be some wallet software you can import your seed phrase in to. Most wallets which generate seed phrases,* Exodus included, generate them following the BIP39 process, which is well known and well documented. You can take a BIP39 seed phrase from any wallet and import it in to any other BIP39 compatible wallet and recover the same wallet with the same private keys. Even if every piece of wallet software on the planet no longer existed, and for some reason you could not access an old version of any wallet software, then the process to turn the seed phrase in to private keys is still well document and it would be fairly easy for you to recreate your private keys if needed.

The private key of my Bitcoin wallet is different ofcourse, but I do wonder, will this private key allow me to import the address into other wallet softwares? Or do I have to import it on Exodus?

You can import a private key in to any wallet which supports importing individual private keys. Private keys can be used to generate different types of addresses though (most commonly legacy (P2PKH), nested segwit (P2SH-P2WPKH), and native segwit (P2WPKH)), so you'll need to make sure the wallet you are importing to will generate the right address for you.

One thing that also slightly confused me was the fact that when I request my private key from the Exodus wallet, it shows me multiple private keys and public wallets. Two public wallets starting with 'bc1q', and one wallet starting with '157okQ'. Which one would I have to save? When I make a request to receive funds in the wallet it shows my deposit address as one of the bc1q addresses. Will this be the address of which the associated private key is practically my money?

The addresses which begin with "1" are legacy addresses. The addresses which begin with "bc1" are native segwit addresses. It is preferable to use the segwit addresses as they result in smaller transactions and therefore lower fees. In terms of saving your private keys, I wouldn't at all - I would just write down your seed phrase and be comfortable in the knowledge that the seed phrase can recover all those private keys in the future if you need it to.


*Electrum is the most significant outlier here, which uses it's own seed phrase and derivation method. But again, this is widely known and publicized, so even if Electrum no longer exists in 20 years, it would be easy to convert the seed phrase back in to your private keys.

Thanks a lot for your quick detailed response!

[LoyceV]

Apart from which wallet to choose, if you're going to keep it for 20 years, you should look into cold storage (if you haven't done it yet). A wallet on a computer connected to the internet is always at risk, and 20 years is a very long time for malware to develop. If it's offline and has never been online, at least you can be sure it can't be hacked.

You don't need internet access to export private keys (assuming you're not using a webwallet). That means you can always export private keys if you keep a backup of the wallet software. It doesn't hurt to actually test this to convince yourself. And test your backups (start from scratch with a fresh offline system), to ensure you can restore your addresses from there (ideally before funding them).

I think that you meant "if it's NOT online and has never been"...  

Fixed

[Discounted]

Apart from which wallet to choose, if you're going to keep it for 20 years, you should look into cold storage (if you haven't done it yet). A wallet on a computer connected to the internet is always at risk, and 20 years is a very long time for malware to develop. If it's online and has never been online, at least you can be sure it can't be hacked.

You don't need internet access to export private keys (assuming you're not using a webwallet). That means you can always export private keys if you keep a backup of the wallet software. It doesn't hurt to actually test this to convince yourself. And test your backups (start from scratch with a fresh offline system), to ensure you can restore your addresses from there (ideally before funding them).

This seems to be what I'd like to have indeed. I will test this, thanks!

[NeuroticFish]

If it's online and has never been online, at least you can be sure it can't be hacked.

I think that you meant "if it's NOT online and has never been"...  

how can I be sure that in 20 years from now, Exodus wallet will still be a working product, that I can download from a new computer perhaps and import my seed into? This never made sense to me, I'm depending on the creator of the software it seems to me.

You don't have to rely onto a working product. You have to rely on existing standards.
If you generate a BIP39 seed, that should work also in 20 years. If you save a private key, that should also work in 20 years.

I agree with LoyceV. For long term holding I recommend you generate the wallet in a safe offline environment with no persistence/storage. Write down (onto paper) the seed or private key, write down the address (or, if it's HD wallet then any address), verify thoroughly what you've written down (maybe use a wallet to recover from seed or private key and see if the address obtained is the same), send your coins there, watch your wallet on online block explorer or import the address as watch wallet. As long as your private key or seed never touches anything online, it should be safe/safer.

[LoyceV]

If you generate a BIP39 seed, that should work also in 20 years. If you save a private key, that should also work in 20 years.

See my [overview] Recover Bitcoin from any old storage format:

I've seen many threads like: Recovering weird old wallet, and the answer is often very easy if someone recognizes the format.
Since the number of different formats will only grow, and (in the future) I expect more people to forget what format they used to store their Bitcoin 10 or more years ago, I've decided to create an overview.

Just in case: write down which wallet you used, including the version number. In 20 years a lot can change.

[NeuroticFish]

See my [overview] Recover Bitcoin from any old storage format:
[...]
Just in case: write down which wallet you used, including the version number. In 20 years a lot can change.

You do have a point (nice tutorial!!), but since at least an address is kept at hand (for looking up the balance), that tends to tell the story.
But indeed, the point of also writing down what software one has used (wallet or not!) to generate the seed - if he keeps seed instead of private key - is very useful.

[dkbit98]

Let's say I save the private seed of my Exodus wallet, how can I be sure that in 20 years from now, Exodus wallet will still be a working product, that I can download from a new computer perhaps and import my seed into?

You can't be sure that anything will work 20 years from now, and mostly likely Exodus and most of the stuff you have now won't work.
If you look back in past there are already some bitcoin wallets that are not existing anymore, like Multibit or many old ledger devices.
This is not the problem for Bitcoin as long as you have seed words or private keys in safe place, you can always recover it and use any wallet available in future.

The private key of my Bitcoin wallet is different ofcourse, but I do wonder, will this private key allow me to import the address into other wallet softwares? Or do I have to import it on Exodus?

Don't speculate and try it right now, you can even create new test wallets and see if it works, and it should work just fine.
You can have multiple addresses formats in many wallets (Electrum for example) and bc1 format is currently best one you can use.

[NotATether]

Don't use closed source wallets in general, but especially Exodus, not because of any security problems or things like that, but it is quite difficult to fetch a past address that you have re-used (e.g. if you want to sign a message or need to send directly from that address), without exporting the entire list of addresses to a spreadsheet.

Electrum is probably the best choice for you as others have stated. It is very light on resources and gives you a seed-phrase to back up.

[PawGo]

Electrum is probably the best choice for you as others have stated. It is very light on resources and gives you a seed-phrase to back up.

I agree that Electrum is the best tool, I like it very much, but I think it is better to have a mnemonic phrase which could be used on many wallets. While Electrum may use BIP39 standard mnemonic phrases for imported wallets, when you use Electrum to create a brand new wallet, it will use it's own standard (dictionary etc).
The best would be of course to have a hardware wallet and then any software you like (including Electrum).
Or find a safe way to generate mnemonic phrase and then start using it in Electrum.

[o_e_l_e_o]

I don't see a problem with using Electrum seed phrases. Even if Electrum is discontinued tomorrow, all the old versions are still easily accessible from a variety of sources, including bundled in to other software such as Tails. And even if for some reason you can't find a copy of Electrum anywhere, then there are some other wallets which accept these phrases. And even then, Electrum's seed phrase process is all open source and well known by many people. It is very easy to adapt a BIP39 wallet in to accepting Electrum seed phrases. As long as you remember it's an Electrum seed phrase and don't think you've made a mistake writing down a BIP39 seed phrase, I don't see the issue. Indeed, I have several cold wallets generated by Electrum on an airgapped device, and I have no concerns about losing access to those coins.

Or find a safe way to generate mnemonic phrase and then start using it in Electrum.

I think this is risky advice for a newbie. They may end up downloading some awful closed source wallet like Trust wallet or Coinomi, using that to create a BIP39 seed phrase, and then importing that in to Electrum and think that they are safe. Or even worse they might just use a tool like Ian Coleman (which is a great tool) but not understand the security precautions they need to take to use it safely.

[PawGo]

I don't see a problem with using Electrum seed phrases. Even if Electrum is discontinued tomorrow, all the old versions are still easily accessible from a variety of sources, including bundled in to other software such as Tails. And even if for some reason you can't find a copy of Electrum anywhere, then there are some other wallets which accept these phrases. And even then, Electrum's seed phrase process is all open source and well known by many people. It is very easy to adapt a BIP39 wallet in to accepting Electrum seed phrases. As long as you remember it's an Electrum seed phrase and don't think you've made a mistake writing down a BIP39 seed phrase, I don't see the issue. Indeed, I have several cold wallets generated by Electrum on an airgapped device, and I have no concerns about losing access to those coins.

Yes, I agree, you are completely right - with some assumption, it could be fine. Just one thing I do not like is that we all talk about some standards, the fact that mnemonic phrase is standardized and could be used anywhere - on you phone, on your laptop etc. You may print paper wallet and then import the key in majority of wallets - you are not forced to used the program which was the source of your key. With electrum it is different - the only "other" client which would accept electrum seed is Electrum on mobile (and vice versa).
Still, Electrum is for me the perfect tool I love to use, but I use it with my hardware wallet.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Just one thing I do not like is that we all talk about some standards, the fact that mnemonic phrase is standardized and could be used anywhere

To be fair, Electrum was using seed phrase for several years before BIP39 was implemented.

With electrum it is different - the only "other" client which would accept electrum seed is Electrum on mobile (and vice versa).

Blue wallet also accepts Electrum seed phrases.

Still, Electrum is for me the perfect tool I love to use, but I use it with my hardware wallet.

I do agree with this. I use Electrum as an airgapped wallet as well as an interface to various hardware wallets, pointed at my own Electrum server.

[PawGo]

Blue wallet also accepts Electrum seed phrases.

Thanks for reminding that, BlueWallet is a really good candidate for everyday tool. I like how it works on mobile, I hope they will prepare a desktop version soon (now there is only one for OSX, which as I understand is ported mobile version).