What is a crypto wallet?
A crypto wallet is actually a program developed for the purpose of storing crypto currencies. This program works according to a system based on 2 principles: the private key and the public key.
The private key is not to be put in the hands of others if you don’t want your crypto wallet to be emptied all of a sudden, the public key is linked to the crypto currencies that the crypto wallet is authorized to store. The public key(s) allow you to receive crypto currencies around the world. Finally, its use is based on the blockchain. The crypto wallet is therefore wallet 2.0 since it replaces your traditional wallet to store digital values.
How to use a crypto wallet ?
As seen previously, you must have one or more private and public keys depending on the type of crypto currency wallet you have (because one of these wallets can store one or more crypto currencies).
Your private key corresponds to your security code required to send crypto currencies to another wallet. It is therefore the most valuable one. If someone comes into possession of your private key(s), they will be able to steal your precious money regardless of the crypto currency. It is therefore advisable to keep this type of key well out of sight.
The public key is, as its name suggests, a key intended to be transmitted to the public to receive crypto-currencies. You usually use it when you want to retrieve a sum of crypto from an exchange platform or to transfer a sum from a crypto wallet to one of your own wallets. Note that some wallets are equipped with dynamic keys that change the private key as needed or automatically to protect the owner of crypto currencies from any possibility of theft.
The different types of wallet
There are several types of wallet which each have their advantages and disadvantages and their specificities.
The desktop wallet
This type of wallet is downloaded on your computer and will store the crypto currencies that have been designated to it by the developers of this wallet. It is therefore only usable on a PC and is relatively secure in that you should not have any security problems as long as your computer is not infected. Note that the crypto wallets for desktop are numerous and can be in “Cold storage” or in “Hot storage”.
The mobile wallet
The mobile wallet is an application for cell phones that allows you to store your crypto currencies on it from your phone. Ideal for people who like to travel and keep their digital coins close to them. Moreover, the fact of having a mobile wallet will offer you the possibility of being able to make transactions in a relatively fast way! However, be careful, especially if you are on Android, not to download anything in .apk or your smartphone will be infected. Once again, you will find wallet in Cold storage or in Hot storage.
The online wallet
These are simply crypto wallets and more generally multi-crypto wallets that can be consulted from anywhere in the world because they often work via the cloud. If these wallets have the advantage of allowing you to make transactions very quickly and in all circumstances, they are also more vulnerable because the private keys are stored online and therefore accessible in case of successful attacks by a hacker.
The hardware wallet
Unlike the previous wallets, we have here a physical cryptocurrency wallet since these digital currencies are stored on a physical device created either specially for, or arranged for such as usb keys like the Ledger Nano S, the Ledger Nano X, the Trezor or encrypted hard drives. They are generally referred to as Cold Wallets.
Difference between Cold Wallet and Hot Wallet
What is a Cold wallet?
A Cold wallet is a crypto wallet with the specificity to work in Cold Storage. What is that? Cold storage, meaning offline storage, consists in storing your crypto currencies offline for the utmost security of your money. Thus, your wallet has no possible link with the internet, ensuring you a great security, far from hacking problems. This is the basic way to consider physical, paper wallets.
What is a hot wallet?
As before, the Hot wallet owes its name to the specificity of its online storage, making it more easily vulnerable to hacker attacks or viruses and other malware. This type of crypto currency wallet is therefore a good alternative for an investor who makes frequent or very frequent transactions, because of the speed with which they can be made.
What to choose according to your investor profile?
If you are rather a long term investor who does not want to spend his time on exchange platforms and sees this investment as a storage value for his future, it will be much more secure for you to turn to a Cold Wallet, the ledger and other competitors are therefore a good alternative for you.
If you are a seasoned investor who wants to start trading or make transactions on a fairly frequent basis, Hot Wallets will be your most trusted friends during trading sessions. On the other hand, keep in mind that any value you don’t plan to transfer to another one on a medium term will be unnecessarily prone to malicious actions.
So combine a physical crypto currency wallet on hand to secure your funds that are not part of your short, medium and/or long term strategy.
The broker: solution to cryptocurrency withdrawal
How to buy or sell crypto currency? A question that can puzzle many. Fortunately, the solution is offered by online broker sites. These sites are actually platforms that allow you to exchange, buy or sell virtual currency. And here is our opinion about kraken.
How it works
Let’s start with the presentation of the general functioning of the kraken site. It is clear that the registrations and the initiations to the site https://acheter-des-bitcoins.fr/plateforme-bitcoin/kraken/ follow the classic scheme in these processes. Indeed, it is enough to go to the “new orders” to carry out new operations.
Once the corresponding box is checked, the next step is to indicate the amount of the transaction (purchase or sale) in bitcoin only.
Note that on kraken.com, the amount of a transaction is regulated by “market limits”. These are the standards imposed by the fluctuation of the bitcoin price on the stock exchange. Thus, each user must respect his “24 high” and “24 low”, which are the maximum and minimum limits reached by his account.
Fees
The developers of the website offer free registration for all interested parties. As for the fee process, it is an easy concept to understand, since the platform uses the direct debit system. In fact, all financial operations and transactions are punctuated with an automatic commission by the site. The higher the amount, the higher the commission.
What distinguishes kraken from other brokers is that it charges differently on all cryptocurrencies. While some are heavily charged, others are completely free. These include Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ripple, Monero or Litecoin.
The online wallet
Kraken also offers a wallet to store your cryptos on its platform. This one allows you to store tokens, tokens and cryptos of various virtual currencies: BTS, Ethereum, Litexoin or even XRP.
The major advantage of the “cold wallet” is that it keeps your cryptocurrency wallets in offline mode. It is a quality protection for all the funds of the Kraken platform’s customers. Indeed, the data is protected from the risks of hacking.
