Bitcoin Wallets - Create, Backup and Synchronize
Recently I noticed that many people have trouble understanding the idea of a wallet for Bitcoin.
I hope this guide will clear up your questions and let you understand about Bitcoin wallets.
Bitcoin – Currency like a Dollar, Euro, PLN etc.
Wallet – A “bank account” where we hold money. But no one can steal from him. Of course Bitcoin does not have banks, and anyone can have their account.
So generally no matter if we use Mycelium or Electrum wallet or something else - we have the same money everywhere.
Personally, I will be showing wallet from Mycelium (Android) and Electrum (Linux / other operating systems)
1) Mycelium (Android)
We will generate the wallet on Mycelium, because it will be easily imported to Electrum.
First, the program asks if you want to create a new wallet (Create New) or restore it (Restore Backup).
Mycelium generated a wallet, but we need to create a backup (because in case of damage to the phone money on wallet will be lost).
To create a backup we go to Accounts and select our account (in this case Account 1).
There are options showed for this account. Press the Create Backup button.
Our wallet tells us that we should back up the wallet and if we want to do it now. We choose Yes.
Mycelium warns that losing these words to others can result in theft of your entire Bitcoin account and loss of money.
Mycelium recommends saving 12 words that appear on the paper.
The red button allows you to "scroll" the words.
When you write all the words on the paper verification will appear.
If we correctly rewritten everything, the wallet is safe. Mycelium will ask if we want to generate a PIN code, so that if someone steals someone's phone - they will not steal the money. It is best to use this protection, but it is not necessary. If you do NOT want a PIN, press OK.
The wallet is safe and in case of problems - to recover.
2) Electrum
Electrum, which I have already mentioned, is a Bitcoin wallet for computers.
The first activation of the program will display a message as we want to connect to the server.
We choose "Automatic connection"
Then the wallet asks what type of wallet we want to use. Mark Standard wallet.
Then the wallet asks if we want to create a new wallet or import an existing wallet. We choose the second option (I already have a seed).
Then the program will ask for 12 words generated by Mycelium. DO NOT GIVE THE WORDS TO OTHER PEOPLE. (I am providing for example, but the wallet is empty).
After pasting words, "Next" is not available. Then in "Options", enable "BIP39 seed" option.
Now the "Next" option is available, we press it.
Electrum asks for Account Number, leaving "0" and pressing Next.
The wallet proposes password. It is optional and works like a PIN in Mycelium - it allows you to block against thieves.
Wallet imported. To confirm this, simply compare the addresses in the "Receive" tab. If they are the same then obviously everything is imported correctly.
Wait for a new article about sending and receiving Bitcoins!
This might just confuse beginners even more. "Wallet" is really a bad metaphor. A Bitcoin "wallet" is not a wallet at all. It's more like a key chain that contains the keys to access all of your Bitcoin addresses. "Address" is also confusing. A Bitcoin address is really more like an account identifier. You need a private key to access each of your "accounts," which are stored on a public ledger called the "blockchain."
Thanks for reply
Usually these programs are said to be "wallets", even MyCelium or Electrum call their programs by this word.
In addition, I think that especially for beginners we should use terms that they will understand. I think the wallet is the right term.
https://wallet.mycelium.com/
The term is misleading. People may think that they have bitcoins on their computers when the bitcoins are actually stored in a public ledger.
Of course. Conversely, "mtgox" or other cases show that it is better to teach people how to handle Mycelium than they would do on the stock market themselves.
Why Mycelium is the best option to use? There are other and cheaper ones as well...
So which wallet is better?
Better - your tested. I like Mycelium because it's simple, so I use it.
But I'm not an Electrum fan. Why did I describe it? I noticed that some people looking for the same wallet for Android and Windows. I asked - why? "Do not pay transfers by sending money between them." Of course, there are people who do not know that you can have the same account on many wallets.
Just choose the best :D
if you use the same account in multiple locations, you have more chances of stealing. That's bad right?
Mycelium seems to me to be a simple wallet and very well constructed.
Of course everyone has his favorite :)