Cryptocurrency has brought about a rapid revolution when it comes to investing in digital assets. Never before has so much interest been towards the investment option and many traders are looking to get involved.
Before you can trade some of your funds for cryptocurrencies, you will first have to browse through a couple of services to find a suitable online wallet. This will be the storage place of any cryptocurrencies that you decide to trade and each offer comes with a wide variety of pros and cons. Let’s take a look at some of them.
What is a crypto wallet?
To decide on a storage service, you first need to have some idea of what crypto trading wallets actually are. They may share a name but the digital version is quite different to the actual thing. Whenever you purchase some cryptocurrency, you are lodging that purchase in the relevant blockchain. Each entry into this blockchain will have a public key so that anyone who is interested can see the specifics of the digital currency transaction. The actual ownership of the digital assets come from the private key used and stored in the crypto wallet.
If you are interested in the specifics of blockchain operations, be sure to browse through the detailed whitepaper once you’ve been through the academy section. These keys are specific to the individual and modern wallet software allows customers to have them all in one convenient place. This is what is known as your crypto wallet and it’s a necessity if you plan on buying a few of the cryptocurrencies that are currently available. The wallet service will also likely be complemented by the best online crypto trading platform so that you have the means to purchase any of the options you have read up on.
Since each cryptocurrency operates on its own blockchain, it would be fairly difficult to actually keep track of all these digital assets. To help make the entire process easier for traders, plenty of different wallet services have popped up with different offers. The decision has now become fairly overwhelming as the average person doesn’t research the topic all that much. It’s tough to say if cold wallet crypto or a hot wallet is the solution you’re after. Our guide aims to alleviate some of the pressure by discussing the various options that you will likely come across.
The bare minimum
After Bitcoin became a reality in 2009, many of the first owners were making use of the bare minimum to store their wallet. This would simply have been a log of their purchases or crypto that they had ownership over. These are generally referred to as paper wallets. Back then, not much interest was directed towards crypto assets and traders were kept safe for the most part. Over time, the potential of the best crypto wallets was soon realized and many services were scrambling to get their offer online.
The paper wallets were considered generally safe from online criminals but it was quite easy to misplace or lose. There are plenty of cases of traders who lost millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin. For ease of use and general accessibility, new traders decided for online crypto wallet options with cryptocurrency security. There are many variations that are now available but it’s important to ensure the security methods available with the service are up to date. It is also highly recommended to make use of at least two factor and biometric authentication.
Other wallet options
Paper wallets are fairly outdated today, so let’s explore the other services that you can expect to come across while browsing through the best online crypto wallets. You’ve probably heard about and wondered, what is a web wallet?
Web wallets
The first option would be a web-based wallet service and therefore a hot wallet. This is probably the most common of all crypto trading wallets. All customers will be able to access the web wallet from a number of devices using their browser. While the service is certainly convenient, it does pose a large number of security risks. Saved passwords on devices could allow just about anyone into your account if someone gains access to one of your mobile devices. Services may also keep your keys in a database which could be exploited.
Mobile wallets
Once you know how to open crypto wallets, you will likely come across offers to download an app to your mobile device. This is a little more scarce than the web wallet options but some services have developed and deployed mobile apps for customers to use. These apps can usually be downloaded from the Play Store or Apple Store but sometimes you will find it’s downloaded directly from the site itself. Mobile wallets also provide convenience at the cost of security.
Hard wallets
If the best mobile wallet doesn’t manage to set your mind at ease, you may want to opt for the most secure method. A hard wallet. This would be the improved storage method of the paper wallet. USB devices and other innovative solutions are being developed that physically contain the keys to your crypto transactions. Hard wallets are amongst the best crypto wallets as the security will always be more advanced than the usual online encryption methods, we refer to this option as cold wallet crypto. Our biometric crypto card is a form of a hard wallet.
Desktop wallets
Finally, you might find some services offer their customers desktop based wallets. This is usually an installed program that is likely connected to a trading platform as well. Desktop wallets will provide a high degree of customization as installed software will be personal to your device. This is fairly scarce but it allows more experienced traders the means to analyze price performance using the charts and to store some of the options that they are interested in. We’ll explore this topic further in a subsequent guide.
Ease of use with maximum security
Once you have some experience with the best crypto wallets, you will come to realize that the best wallet service is one that provides you with an easy to use platform while ensuring that your digital currency is kept safe. We have identified this within our custodian service as one of the most important aspects. Our engineers have pioneered this aspect into state of the art technology with our biometric crypto card and our Hardware Security Module (HSM) setup.
If you decide to sign up with Vaultavo, you will receive your biometric crypto card and a copy of it is stored in the module itself. When you wish to make use of the wallet, you will have to authenticate the card using your fingerprint as your biometric ‘PIN’. You can either interface with the card using the eInk display or with a conventional chip reader. If you’d like further access, you can also use the USB interface on the side of the card. The card itself is what makes our service so unique.
Only you will be able to access the private keys with smart-card crypto but if you do manage to lose it, your fingerprint would have to be paired with it to actually access the keys. This technology allows us to offer you unprecedented levels of convenience while maintaining the high levels of security that a hard wallet can provide.
Fail safes
Whenever you decide to open up a crypto wallet account, you should always be well informed when it comes to the fail safes that your service provider has in place. These fail safes serve as protection to the customer if anything should go wrong. With Vaultavo, we’ve got you covered. While using our service, the biometric card holder can also choose to have validators for the account who will have cards of their own. This means that every transaction would have to be validated by a set number of people before it actually goes through.
Once validated, the transaction will be processed via the digital platform to communicate with our Vaultavo Vault. This provides even further cryptocurrency security when compared to other online services who are simply offering two factor authentication. Our dedicated team of engineers have also had a hands-on approach since the beginning to build the Vaultavo portal and API system. While this serves as the access point to the digital platform, your data will be kept secure using state of the art encryption methods.
Furthermore, our service is backed by ISO/IEC certifications ensuring that products meet the necessary regulations. If you are acting on behalf of another organization, another fail safe can be implemented in the form of a security administrator. This brings in another step of validation necessary to be completed before any transaction will go through.
Besides all the security procedures that have been put in place, Vaultavo has also made use of Paragon. An insurance broker providing coverage to many of the largest cryptocurrency custody organizations on the market. All clients can look forward to industry leading support and security.
Pioneering the crypto custody offers
With the variety of crypto wallets in mind, you can begin to see what makes our services and products amongst the best on the market. Traditional online wallet services are prone to all kinds of security breaches as the entire service is hosted online and this provides no peace of mind to users. When it comes to the hard wallet option, we have morphed the bulky products on the market into a shape that is familiar to just about everyone, a bank card. Our biometric card provides convenience coupled with the improved security that a hard wallet offers.
Your digital assets are also kept in your hands. There is no third party control over the keys that are being used and you will also be able to make use of numerous contact methods to make payment. Keep browsing through our pages here in the academy to learn more about our offer.
Conclusion
That’s about all there is to know about crypto trading wallets. You should have a thorough understanding of what exactly the wallet provides you with. From the bare minimum that traders were using at first to the revolutionary technology we have today, there are plenty of options available. Be sure that you have found an answer to the question, what is a hard wallet. It is considered the most secure option as there is no online aspect to the storage of your keys. If you would rather have a convenient option, you might want to consider one of the other services.
Whenever you are browsing through online crypto wallet options, security should always be your main concern. Also make sure that you are given the necessary failsafes to recover your digital assets if you lose access. Finally, always keep Vaultavo in mind as a custodian service, we have taken the time to perfect our offer and produce innovative solutions. Explore our academy to find even more information about online cryptocurrency trading.
Best online crypto wallets FAQs
Where can I find out how to open a crypto wallet?
Opening a crypto wallet is paramount if you are interested in actively trading with digital assets. Depending on where you are based and where you plan on completing most of your trades, you will find that there are numerous documents and regulations relevant to your account. Before you invest too much of your time, be sure to browse through our academy here at Vaultavo to find all the necessary information on the topic. All of the information we provide is also readily available with no cost to our readers.
What are the best online crypto wallets?
With so many different online crypto wallet services, you might be wondering what sets them apart. There are many factors to consider when it comes to this and our academy brings you the latest information to determine the best option. You will also find a wealth of information relative to all topics of online crypto trading. Head to our site now to learn more about the industry and how you can get started.
Do all platforms offer a wallet?
To complete trades online, you will need a platform to actually execute your trades and a wallet to keep all of the crypto in a convenient place. While there are service providers that offer both, this doesn’t mean that both of them will have no issues. Online security is becoming more important than ever before and it’s unlikely that trading platforms have the necessary methods in place to keep your assets safe. We explore all of your online wallet options in our academy so that you can make the best choice.
What do I need to open an online crypto wallet?
Crypto wallets usually require documents to verify your identity and you may also need to pay a fee. Most of this depends on where the service you are signing up for is based. We take a look at some of the general examples in our academy and show you the necessary steps to get started. Make sure to check all the boxes before you get started with online crypto trading.
Are crypto trading wallets safe?
As with any online service, you will find that there has been a security breach at some point in time. While encryption methods are advancing, there will always be fraudsters looking to exploit some of the older software. There are also alternative methods being employed that minimize the potential risk of a wallet service by storing keys on a physical drive. The only way to access them would be to have actual possession of the hard wallet. Head to our academy now to learn more.