Steemit Crypto Academy Contest / S3W3 - The Wallets by @ngongha
Introduction
Peace to you fellow steemians and welcome to my edition where I talk about
A crypto wallet can be defined as a software program that allows one to store crypto in it and send and receive them for crypto transactions. It is important to understand the two main facilities involved in a crypto wallet; the private and the public keys. A public key is gotten from the private key and it is used as an address to send crypto to it. This is very much similar to a bank account with a huge difference that it can be controlled by a key only the person can control. Usually, with the idea of crypto being new to a lot of the population, these wallets are designed to be user-friendly, using GUI (Graphical User Interface) like Electrum and MetaMask for their functionality.
Understanding how cryptocurrency wallets work
A blockchain is a public ledger that stores data in fragments called “blocks”. They include records showing all transactions, indicating the balances each given address holds, and the owners of these. Naturally, crypto is not stored “in” in a wallet but exists on a blockchain and the software of the wallet allows one to interact with the balances that are on the blockchain. For transparency, the wallet stores the addresses and permits owners to do transactions while letting the world see the different balances.
An important tip for newbies in sending crypto is that they should always be certain that they are sending to an address for a wallet that has the same type of cryptocurrency. For example, if you send Bitcoin BTC to a USDT address, the funds will be lost indefinitely.
Importance of Wallets
- Wallets help us store our diverse forms of crypto for safekeeping.
- They provide a means for the transfer and reception of coins under their different addresses.
- They offer coupons and also bonuses for long-serving clients and newbies depending on the period it was scheduled to be used.
- They can be used as a medium of payment for goods and services online as physical cash.
Below is a list of the wallets that I am currently in use of;
Binance
First of all, I chose Binance because of its considerably low fees as compared to other exchanges. Beginners find it easy to use because of its easy-to-use buy/sell options, and how-to-use videos embedded in it.
- Also, because of its in-depth advanced trading platforms, I use it for entering all of my trades.
- In terms of security, it is considered safe because it permits user account protection through the use of the 2FA scheme.
- It is available almost everywhere around the world so it will not pose as a problem in case I intend to travel to other parts of the world and I am worried about unavailability.
- It has a very large amount of coins that can be traded here.
KuCoin
- This I use because I do not need to worry about the wallet and its security since Kucoin takes proper care of it when I want to stake a particular coin. I can earn daily rewards without necessarily stressing myself during the locking period.
- It is also relatively available throughout the world as it is found in at least 200 countries distributed around the world.
- Possibility of trading over 1000+ coins.
Trust Wallet
- Personally, this is my favorite wallet when it comes to receiving airdrops of tokens. Airdropping is the sharing of different tokens of an upcoming coin for publicity and to increase its worth when it is eventually listed on a major exchange.
Coinbase
- This platform I love a lot because of its user face-friendly scheme.
- It has an extensive range of crypto selections in it, and also very simple and advanced trading panels.
- Free crypto can be earned here upon completion of key aspects and has a top-rated mobile app.
- It offers coinbase debit cards for interested users and has a lot of educational content in it.
It has been by the Grace of God that I have been in the crypto market till now and have not been a victim of theft from any of my wallets. But as a precautionary motive, I do not share my passwords to any of my exchanges with anyone, and since after all, I am human, I keep an offline/online backup of my passwords to these exchanges in the very unlikely case that forget them.
Below I will like to outline firstly the difference between these two types of wallets.
| Hot Wallet | Cold Wallet |
|---|---|
| It is connected to the internet | It cannot be connected to the internet |
| It is suited for quick transactions | Cannot be used if the transaction is intended to be rapid |
| Since it is online, it is a prime target for hackers and easily hacked | It cannot be easily hacked as it is only manually connected to the internet thus more secure |
In as much of the world tends to use more hot wallets nowadays than cold wallets, a lot of research and advice from my older patrons has led me to use a combination of both, that is, I buy cryptocurrency using the hot wallet which is of course very rapid and then transfers it to a cold wallet, where, it is almost impossible for it to be hacked. “almost impossible” because it is about 1% possible. In another sense, I keep the majority of my funds in a cold wallet and top up just a small amount of coins in my hot wallet for daily transactions and this gives me a perspective; a hot wallet that acts as my checking account and my cold wallet serving as my savings account.
My opinion to others is that these different wallets have their functionalities and none should not be disregarded, but a hybrid approach to the use of these two should be highly encouraged.
When I was new to the crypto market it ever happened to me. I was to transfer steem to my Binance exchange wallet it rather copy USDT address, I was lucky to have a only send 10 steem.
Binance is unique with its transaction fee, compared to exchanges like paxful you will regret for keep your assets there. It also has user friendly interface and alway assist it user in each feature on its platform.
God doesn’t work in crypto space, so far as you don’t expose your keys to others and you also avoid clicking on fishy link, your wallet is safe from theft.
Please do find time to visit my post as well. Good luck..!!
https://steemit.com/hive-108451/@sadiqxylo/steemit-crypto-academy-contest-s3w3-the-wallets-by-sadiqxylo
Your post was upvoted and resteemed on @crypto.defrag
Thank you very much!
♟
Greetings friend, you have not participated in any Steemit community for more than 3 months, therefore you are inactive.
You do not comply with club5050, since you have not made Power Up in the last 2 months.
We recommend you to start posting in other communities and then join this community.
Your private key is basically your digital identity. It is these keys that allow you to participate in the cryptocurrency market. You can only buy and sell your cryptocurrency via your private key. If you lose this private key, you basically lose access to your crypto assets.
And if somehow this key falls into the wrong hands, the holder of this key can at any time access your crypto wallet and make fraudulent transactions that you cannot. Hence the importance of your private key cannot be overstated.
Cyber criminals on the other hand are always looking for your private keys. They use advanced techniques where they want to hack your crypto exchange or gain access to your private keys. This is the main reason you should always be vigilant and ensure that your crypto wallet is secure at all times.
Thanks for sharing, I also share about the wallet. If you have time please see my post.
You are right my friend, wallets help us to store our cryptocurrencies securely. I also frequently use Binance and Trust Wallet than any other wallets, and I can say that I prefer hot wallets over cold because of ease of accessibility.
Hi @ngongha
Sorry to be late to this post, I liked the way you described how cryptocurrency wallets work.
I owe you a positive vote.
It's me again @ngongha
I was wondering: did you give up on Steemit? :(