A Look at Bitcoin Wallets: What They Are and How They Work
It’s not really a wallet...
Let me start by clearing things up. It is understandable that when you hear terms like bitwallet or bitwallet bitcoin wallet you would think that it works the same way as your physical wallet, by holding bitcoins.
Well, that is not what bitcoin wallets do.
A bitcoin wallet holds the private key that you receive when you start using bitcoins. Each wallet has at least two keys; a private one and a public one. They are what you find in the bitcoin wallets.
Now that we have that cleared up...
There are several kinds of bitcoin wallets and each type function differently. So let’s take a look:
1.Paper wallets
This is the only ‘physical’ kind of bitcoin wallet. As the name suggests, you can print out or write down your private and public keys on a piece of paper. Just remember to delete the information from your computer afterwards.
When you buy bitcoins, you can use the public key to send them to the paper wallet but you will need the private key to sell bitcoins on bitwallet, conduct a bitcoin exchange or spend them on some kind of purchase.
The advantage of paper wallets is that they ensure that your keys are unreachable, that is from the digital world unless you bring them back online. On the other hand, it is not as convenient as web and online wallets because you need to have that paper on you to carry out transactions.
2.Software wallets
You install this software in your computer and it grants you exclusive access to the keys that store your bitcoins. You can download any software wallet you would prefer for your bitcoin from a variety of providers.
These have the advantage of convenience and security. However, the wallet’s keys are only as secure as the computers on which they are stored.
3.Web wallets
There is a variety here with different functions and capabilities. Different brands emphasize different capabilities. For instance, the bitwallet brand provides bitwallet bitcoin wallets that you could consider. One of the things that these online wallets have is multiple signatures. This is where you have two or more private keys to access the bitcoins, which means more security.
The advantage with these wallets is that there is the convenience of accessing your bitcoins from any device. For instance if you wanted to conduct a bitwallet bitcoin exchange, you could carry out that transaction on any device, wherever you are.
All these wallets facilitate transactions using bitcoins. Online wallets are especially convenient. For instance, there are several things you can do with bitwallet – buy bitcoins from other miners or conduct a bitwallet bitcoin exchange with them. In addition, you can do all these and more using any kind of device that is accessible to you.
The thing to remember with any bitcoin wallet that you eventually choose is to maintain security at your end. Keep your private keys private. Otherwise, you might wake up one day wondering how you were robbed.