After a couple of months, I still consider myself fairly new to cryptocurrencies. But every day I try to learn something new, so now I am taking it to the next level. I'm thinking of buying altcoins and for that, I will take everyone's desktop wallet preference which is Exodus. And now I see that this is a pretty wallet.

As you all know, desktop wallets are still considered as 'hot wallets'. They are connected to the internet, making them a bit insecure. But of course, for a small-time bitcoin holder like me, this would be a good solution for now. I will ambitiously move on to cold storage when I become a big-time bitcoin holder, but baby steps. A desktop wallet stores the private key on your desktop so it would be harder to steal. I believe it is still safer than leaving your Cryptocurrencies in online exchanges or mobile wallets.

Fine, I will admit that I made a mistake in the past. Being new to Steemit and Cryptocurrencies, I changed all my bitcoins straight to fiat. I should have known better since I'm not a fan of fiat all my life, but times were hard in paradise. It even took me a couple of days to learn about Steemit's currencies, but thanks to this strong determination to change my life, I would be willing to learn everything. Now that I learned my lesson, I will try hard not to sell all of it. Hopefully, I will always have money to use in the real world though. As you all know, I'm just a beach bum wannabe entrepreneur + crypto investor. Steemit here is helping me fund my startup project so hopefully, I would be able to invest in Steem Power someday too. Who knows if I would become a whale and change your lives too.

Honestly, I really like holding cryptocurrencies because it makes me feel like I have something valuable for once in my life. Fiat only gives me misery, so now I have desktop wallets for starters. Please take a look at my biased review:

Electrum

I get your point. Electrum is ugly af, it looks like a Visual Basic app in the late 90s, but a little bit of nostalgia won't hurt me I guess (gosh I'm old). Since I am new to Bitcoin, I got a bit lost due to its unfriendly interface. I was asked to save this thing called 'seed' on a paper which made me a bit assured in case I lost my laptop. This hint of security is a plus point for me although I doubt that someone in the village would break into my place and steal my seed. Not that I'm assuming the burglars around here are not crypto holders, but they would probably sell my laptop for fiat instead. Who knows? Mind you, I learned about cryptos so don't underestimate the burglars who would like to change their lives as well. Unless I specifically wrote on paper "Electrum Bitcoin Wallet recovery seed + detailed instructions", I'm fine. Lose your laptop, lose the seed and you're done.

Although I still like all things pretty - colors, flowers, kitties and everything, I'm still keeping my tiny bitcoins in my Electrum. It is lightweight and it syncs fast.

Once you get over the ugliness and issues of the interface, it is still probably the most effective, robust and secure desktop wallets out there. And I heard it has been around for a while so I'm still keeping my feature-packed Bitcoin wallet.

Electrum is also open source which is another plus point. It means that people have taken their part in coding, which could reduce the chance of malicious stuff getting inside the software. It also has integration with all major hardware wallets like Trezor and Ledger Nano.

I heard the fees are lower compared to Exodus but it could also skyrocket when the Bitcoin network gets crowded. Electrum is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Exodus

I like that it is pretty and easy, people love that, don't they? Since I got a bit of a start with Electrum, now I thought everything is the same. Yeah I got a bit turned off straight away but I have nothing much to keep anyway. I told you this review is going to be pretty biased. If you are new to cryptocurrencies and still trying to make sense of everything, I guess Exodus is for you.

Since I am going to buy some tiny altcoins, then this is great to start. Exodus allows you to hold a variety of altcoins such as Ethereum, Dash, Litecoin and more. But wait, there's more. The interface is very easy to understand, even total crypto noobs would fall in love. So if you find Electrum a bit daunting, then Exodus is a good alternative desktop wallet. It is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux

I guess the downside is that it is closed source. It means the Exodus developers could insert malicious code into the software without you knowing it. The one thing I don't really like is giving others total power over me. I guess the rule is, don't put an amount that you are not willing to risk or lose in any desktop wallets. It is still better to get a cold storage. But the truth is, hot or cold, nothing really lasts forever. Oopsie...did I make you feel uncomfortable? Anyway, the point is, better enjoy the cryptos and share the happiness while you can, ha!