How to Open a Bitcoin Wallet: Step by Step Guide

What is an ideal way to store your Bitcoin? There are so many options to choose from. Indeed, choosing a bitcoin wallet is similar to choosing a regular wallet. Obviously, you want to make sure that your digital money is protected. However, there are so many options on the market.

There are 5 main wallet types: Online, Desktop, Mobile, Hardware, and Ledger USB wallet

• Desktop wallets are the wallets you can use on your desktop.
• Mobile wallets are the ones you can use on your mobile device.
• Online wallets collect your private keys online; some of these online services link to desktop and mobile wallets. A good example is Coinbase.
• Hardware wallets are extremely rare. These are unique devices that allow the user to store his/her private keys electronically. A good example of such a wallet is Trezor hardware wallet.
• Ledger USB wallet is a sort of compact Ledger USB BTC Wallet that uses smartcard security. You can get one on Amazon for a reasonable price.

In this video, I am going to make a review of Electum. Why Electum?

First of all, the wallet is featured on the Bitcoin’s website. So, I know it’s a legit wallet. Second, keeping my private keys offline will help me minimize risks of losing my money. Not long ago, the company Everett got robbed by hackers on Coinbase, another example is the crypto exchange Bitfinex that lost about $72 million because of the hackers. In addition to all that, exchanges can go bankrupt. It means your digital money can go down the drain. A while ago the company Mt Gox lost 850,000 bitcoins and about $28M of user money.

How to Open a Bitcoin Wallet

Anyway, let’s get started... First, I am going to download Electrum... Watch the screencast and let us know if you have any questions.