Ethereum wallet is an application that allows you to interact with Ethereum blockchain. The wallet allows you to send and receive Ethereum transactions. some Ethereum Wallets allow you to store your Ethereum in a secure offline environment.
An Ethereum wallet is where you keep your ethers, ERC20 tokens, and other supported cryptocurrencies, including your private keys. Your private key is like your username and password in the Ethereum blockchain. It is a very long string of letters and numbers. This is the key to your crypto and gives you total control of your fund.
The Ethereum Wallets allow you to send and receive tokens, view your balance, your transactions, your transactions history, etc. An Ethereum wallet is the link between you and the Ethereum network. It allows you to interact with it. Your wallet is used to connect to decentralized applications using your Ethereum account. You can use your wallet on many apps. The Ethereum wallets store your private keys in order to sign transactions. Private keys are necessary in order to send Ethereum and sign transactions. You can download a Ethereum wallet for free and install on a desktop or mobile device.
You can store your Ethereum on a paper wallet, on your desktop, on your mobile, or on a hardware wallet. You can think of your wallet as the app to interact with Ethereum and stores your ether and ERC tokens. Here is a short description of the main types of Ethereum wallets:
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Type of Ethereum wallets
Paper wallets
Paper wallets are physical pieces of paper with public and private keys printed on them. This type of wallet is used to store Ethereum offline. The drawback to this is if someone were to gain access to this paper and see your private key, they can gain access to your funds. Your private key is here to not be shared with anyone. It is yours and yours only. Keep it safe or you can lose your fund!
Paper wallet can be created for free if you have a web browser and a printer, the safe way to generate this type of wallet is offline and in a sandboxed environment, to be sure that any sort of hack can compromise your private key. The safest and easiest option remains to use a hardware wallet.
Desktop wallets
A Ethereum Desktop wallets or software wallet is a wallet that is installed on your computer or device. The private keys of the wallet are encrypted and stored on the computer. These Ethereum wallets are safer than online wallets and are easier to use.
- Exodus
- Coinomi
- Trust wallet
Mobile wallets
A mobile wallet is a wallet which is installed on a mobile or smartphone. These wallets are secure and do not store any private keys on a mobile phone. Ethereum desktop wallet are a type of wallets that are installed on your computer and allow you to send and receive ethers, or ETH. The advantage of a desktop wallet is that they are secure and you control your private keys.
- Exodus mobile app
- MetaMask mobile app
Hardware wallets
A hardware wallet is a physical electronic device that is used to manage Ethereum wallets. These wallets are more secure and safer to use. These wallets cannot be hacked easily and can be used as a cold wallet.
- Ledger
- Ledger Nano S
- Trezor
Wallet with web browser
Wallet with a web browser are mostly web browser extensions that connect your web browser, like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, to Ethereum’s network. These extension lets you run DApps in local browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox, and Opera, giving you additional privacy and security. Web browse wallet also lets you log in to DApps, sign transactions, manage your identity, and send and receive tokens on the ethereum network. Some of these Ethereum wallets exist in mobile app too.
MetaMask web extension
Web wallets
Web wallets are websites where you can keep your money online. Online Wallets are generally web-based. These wallets are convenient to access and are generally used for storing small amounts of money. These wallets can easily be hacked.
What is a seed phrase in a Ethereum wallet ?
A seed phrase is a string of 12 or 24 words used to create a private key. When creating a wallet, you are asked to enter this phrase. When you restore your wallet (or create a new one), if you still have the seed phrase, you can recover the access to your Ethereum. So if you break your device with your ethereum wallet on it, you can retrieve access to your fund with your seed phrase.
Best Ethereum wallets based on use case
- Buy crypto with a card
- Explore dapps
- Access to DeFi
- Withdraw to bank
- Limits protection
- High-volume purchases
- Decentralized token swaps
- Multi-signature accounts