Ethereum,
the blockchain platform that allows smart contracts, is becoming more and more
popular. Since the beginning of 2017 the price has spiked from $8.22 to
around $50. I’ve covered how to buy Ethereum in a previous post but that’s only part of
the process. Today I want to cover
5 different types of Ethereum wallets so you will know where to store your Ethereum.
5 different types of Ethereum wallets so you will know where to store your Ethereum.
Ethereum is a very technical
currency (even more than Bitcoin), therefor most wallets out there aren’t
newbie friendly. I will go over them from the simplest to the most complex so
you can choose the one that is best suited to your knowledge level.
Coinbase’s
Ethereum wallet – The simplest option
Table of Contents [hide]
- Coinbase’s Ethereum wallet – The simplest option
- Exodus wallet – The desktop option for increased control
- Jaxx Wallet – The new kid on the block
- ETHAdress – The cold storage option
- MyEtherWallet – A web interface for Ethereum
- Bonus option: Hardware wallets – Best security (for a price)
- Ethereum wallets are still in their early days
Coinbase supplies an Ethereum wallet as well as a Bitcoin
wallet. Coinbase’s wallet is simple to set up and very easy to use, however it
has a few limitations you’ll need to be aware of:
- The company holds the private key of the wallet for you. This means you’re not in control of your funds and Coinbase can decide to shut down your account if they want to. There were cases in the past that Coinbase shut down user accounts do to illegal activity.
- The Coinbase ETH wallet doesn’t support ETC (Ethereum Classic). For a simple explanation about ETC vs ETH read this post.
Once you open a Coinbase account
you’ll immediately see an ETH wallet appearing under the “accounts” tab.
You can then enter your ETH account
and click on “wallet address” in order to get your Ethereum public address.
Click here to check out Coinabase’s ethereum wallet.
Exodus
wallet – The desktop option for increased control
Exodus
is a Bitcoin and Altcoin desktop wallet with beautiful design and an intuitive
interface. I’ve reviewed the wallet in the past and thought
it was one of the best I’ve found so far. When it comes to limitations for
exodus keep in mind that it’s not 100% open source. Many components
inside Exodus are open source, but not all of them. This means that the
code doesn’t get reviewed in full by the community.
Also the wallet is currently
available only in a desktop version (no mobile version yet). Like Coinbase,
Exodus does not support ETC only ETH. However, unlike Coinbase, Exodus is an
independent wallet that stores the private key on your machine and not on any
external sever. This means you have full control (and full responsibility) for
your coins.
Exodus allows you to accept Bitcoin,
Ethereum, Dash, Dogecoin and Litecoin. Just go to “Wallet” and choose the
cryptocurrency you want. Afterward click on “Receive” to view your Ethereum
address.
Click
here to view Exodus for yourself.
Jaxx
Wallet – The new kid on the block
While I haven’t fully reviewed Jaxx
yet (I plan to do so next week), from my first impression it seems to be a very
good Bitcoin and Altcoin wallet for all your devices (desktop and mobile).
Similar to Exodus Jaxx provides a simple and intuitive interface for many
altcoins.
Unlike most other wallets out there
Jaxx supports ETH and ETC. Also, your private keys are never shared with Jaxx’s
server and are safely stored on your machine. Jaxx is not open source but the
code is freely available on the wallet’s website which makes it a bit more
accessible for review.
In order to receive Ethereum with
Jaxx just make sure you have that currency set up when you first install the
program. Then choose the currency on the top bar and you will see your Ethereum
address right below.
Click here to check out
Jaxx for yourself
ETHAdress
– The cold storage option
For those of you who wish to store
Ethereum offline you can print out an Ethereum Paper wallet. ETHAdress is an open source project that
will create Ethereum paper wallets for you. Simillar to BitAddress.org,
the site will create a private and public key pair with the click of a button.
You can then print out this information and store it in a safe place so no
external hacker will be able to get your coins.
One more option that’s available is
to encrypt your private key so that if you or anyone else wants to use the
coins they will need to know the password to decrypt it.
You should NEVER share your private
key with anyone. In the image above my
private key is publicly exposed but it’s because there are no coins in this
wallet. The minute someone knows your private key he has control over your
coins.
Using ETHaddress will probably be a
relatively secure way of storing Ethereum. However, ETHaddress can be used only
with ETH (not ETC). Also, if you ever want to send your coins to someone else
you will need to import the keys into an online wallet (e.g. Exodus, Jaxx) and
only then you will be able to use them.
Click here to visit ETHAddress.
MyEtherWallet
– A web interface for Ethereum
MyEtherWallet is a website that allows you
to create, send and receive Ethereum without it having any control over your
private keys. When you first enter the site you can choose if you want to
generate a wallet, send Ethereum or a variety of other options.
If you generate a wallet the site
will create a public-private key pair which will be protected by a password of
your choosing. You will then get a downloadable file with that key pair for
future use. Whenever you will want to send Ethereum from this file you will
need to upload it to the site and supply the password.
Sending can be done via the website
itself or through other wallets such as TREZOR or Ledger. The
site’s code is open source and it only works with ETH.
Click here to visit MyEtherWallet.
Bonus
option: Hardware wallets – Best security (for a price)
If you’re serious about securing
your altcoins I suggest storing your Ethereum on a hardware wallet. However
these hardware wallets aren’t free and cost anywhere between $50-$100 (shipping
not included). Today’s leading hardware wallets TREZOR,
Ledger and KeepKey
all supply you with the option to store Ethereum on them. Instead of explaining
about each one I’ll just link to my previous reviews on the wallets:
Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean.
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