Top 5 Mobile Wallets

More and more people are getting interested in investing in cryptocurrencies. There are good reasons for it. Some cryptocurrencies have demonstrated their capability to command very high prices in the market. Since the launch of Bitcoin in 2009, thousands of new cryptocurrencies have appeared.

For many enthusiasts and professional investors, owning cryptocurrencies is the best move despite the inherent volatility of most of these digital assets. If you plan on jumping on the bandwagon, you must understand how to store cryptocurrencies safely. This may be confusing for novices.

Why Do You Need a Crypto Wallet?

Cryptocurrencies are stored in crypto wallets. A crypto wallet may be a physical device (similar to a USB stick), or a mobile app. Strictly speaking, a crypto wallet doesn’t store any crypto. Your holdings are recorded on the blockchain. You can access them with a private key, which is a long sequence of characters. Your private key proves that you are the owner of your crypto.

Thus, the digital wallet stores your private keys for the digital assets that you own. If you lose your private keys, you won’t be able to access your cryptocurrencies. This means that you won’t be able to make any transaction with your digital coins. Hence, it is very important to select the best crypto wallet to securely store your private keys.

Characteristics of Mobile Wallets

All the different types of crypto wallets have their pros and cons. In this article, we will focus our discussion on mobile crypto wallets. This type of crypto wallet consists of an app that you can install on a mobile device (smartphone or tablet). The biggest advantage of mobile crypto wallets is that they greatly simplify the process of sending and receiving cryptocurrencies. It is as easy as buying groceries with a credit card.

Other advantages of mobile wallets are:

• Easy Access. A mobile wallet app just requires entering a password to check the status of your assets. Most people are used to checking their social network statuses on their mobile phones. So, checking the status of your digital holding won’t represent any additional effort.
• Higher Security. Mobile phones are less prone to suffer attacks via malware or viruses. Storing your private keys on a computer connected to the Internet would make it very vulnerable to hacking. That’s why physical crypto wallets are connected to a computer only when you perform transactions. But then again, that makes access to your digital holdings more complicated.
• Quick and Convenient Transactions. Some cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are accepted in many businesses as a valid payment option. So, if you want to pay the bill at a restaurant or coffee shop, having a crypto wallet on the go will be quite convenient. You’ll be able to pay easily.

As seen, mobile crypto wallets can be quite practical. However, losing your mobile phone may represent the risk of losing your cryptocurrencies. Mobile wallets generate a seed phrase when you first use the app. To protect yourself from losing access to your crypto in the event of losing your mobile phone, you have to write down the said seed phrase. Write it on paper and store it in a safe or any other secure place at your home.

Now that you know more details about mobile wallets, you probably want to know which the best ones are. We have compiled a list of the top 5 mobile wallets.

Mycelium

Wallet Type: Mobile Wallet

Cost: Free

Exchange Incorporated: Yes

Mycelium is one of the best mobile wallets to receive and send Bitcoin. However, it also supports several other coins such as Tether, HobiToken, Binance USD, Bitfinex LEO, Ethereum, and ERC-20 tokens. It is available for Android and iOS devices.

The Mycelium wallet is reproducible and compatible with Ledger, Trezor, and KeepKey hardware wallets. The inter-wallet operability allows coin holders to receive and send funds across different blockchains. The manufacturer guarantees 100% security.

With this mobile wallet, you can manage multiple accounts on multiple mobile devices. For additional privacy, the wallet allows you to connect to Mycelium super nodes via a so-called onion address.

ZenGo

Wallet Type: Mobile Wallet

Cost: Free

Exchange Incorporated: Yes

ZenGo is the first non-custodial wallet that doesn’t use private keys. Instead, your private key is divided into two parts. One part is stored on your smartphone whereas the second is stored on ZenGo’s server. To access your crypto holdings and make transactions, first, your private key must be computed through the interaction of both parties. This approach is safer than storing your private key on your mobile device only.

In the event of losing your smartphone, ZenGo uses facial recognition technology to regain access to your wallet. This is a novel security measure, which is presented in a well-designed user interface. This app is free to download from the App Store and Google Play. In the future, there may be a monthly subscription to use it.

This mobile wallet allows storing digital assets based on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tezod, and Terra blockchains. It allows storing ERC-20 tokens also, which opens the possibility to store a wide range of DeFi tokens and stablecoins.

Using this app for buying, selling, and trading cryptocurrencies is quite easy. Bear in mind that you will have to pay a fee for each transaction that you make using this app. What’s more, ZenGo will launch a crypto card, which will allow you to spend your crypto holdings at any store. To do so, you’ll first have to convert your crypto to fiat money (USD).

All in all, this is a great wallet to store all your crypto across different blockchains. It is especially recommendable for beginners.

Blockstream Green

Wallet Type: Mobile Wallet

Cost: Free

Exchange Incorporated: No

Blockstream Green is a non-custodial wallet developed by Blockstream. This wallet supports Bitcoin only, with no immediate plans to expand support to other cryptocurrencies. However, the wallet offers a great user experience for beginners and advanced investors. Also, security is high thanks to several privacy features that the app implements.

This mobile wallet is free to download, both for mobile (Android, iOS) and desktop operating systems. It is also available in 11 languages. The app will either help to reactivate an existing wallet or create a new one. When you choose to create a new wallet, the app generates your seed phrase, which you’re commanded to write and keep safely.

The safety in this wallet is second to none. After safeguarding your seed phrase, you must set up the authentication methods to access the wallet regularly. A 6-digit PIN is mandatory. Optionally, you can choose one or several 2FA authentication methods such as email, SMS, Google Authenticator, or Call.

This app is compatible with Ledger and Trezor hardware wallets. Sending and receiving Bitcoin funds is straightforward. However, some features may seem advanced for a beginner. Thus, this app is recommendable for users with a higher level of experience.

Aqua Wallet

Wallet Type: Mobile Wallet

Cost: Free

Exchange Incorporated: Yes

This is another non-custodial mobile crypto wallet by Blockstream. The Aqua Wallet caters to a group of crypto-enthusiasts with less experience. It doesn’t have advanced features like the Blockstream Wallet. So, it is perfect for beginners. Aqua is a single-signature wallet, which prevents confusion. However, this results in fewer security levels.

Besides Bitcoin, you can hold Tether, LBTC, and other assets issued in the Liquid Network. Sending and receiving digital assets is very simple with this wallet. What’s more, you can buy Bitcoin from within the app. Despite its simplicity, the user interface is well-designed. It is currently available for iOS, whereas the version for Android won’t be released before November 2021.

Edge (formerly AirBitz)

Wallet Type: Mobile Wallet

Cost: Free

Exchange Incorporated: Yes

The Edge wallet was originally known as AirBitz. Since October 2017, this mobile wallet has been rebranded to its current moniker. This wallet greatly simplifies storing and trading cryptocurrencies. It has a built-in exchange that allows you to buy Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum with your credit card. You can store some of the most common cryptocurrencies including the three coins mentioned above as well as Litecoin, Monero, EOS, Stellar, and others.

This app can be downloaded for free for iOS and Android devices. You don’t pay any fees to receive crypto into your wallet. However, mining or sending crypto may incur some fees paid to the miners of the network. Edge has good security features, including 2FA and fingerprint unlocking system.

Edge is not compatible with any hardware wallets. However, this mobile wallet is very easy to use. Users of any experience level will find it useful to manage, transfer, and exchange their digital assets.

Final Remark

We have presented the list of the top mobile wallets. Feel free to choose the one that best suits your needs. As you surely noticed, some mobile wallets have native exchanges incorporated into them. This is quite practical since you can buy and exchange crypto from within the app. The disadvantage is that such built-in exchanges usually charge very high transaction fees. Thus, a better option is to use a dedicated crypto exchange such as LetsExchange. Make sure that the exchange you choose serves your country and accepts your preferred payment method.

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