The Best Free Software Wallets
There are many barriers to entry when it comes to purchasing your first cryptocurrency and the largest one is probably finding a wallet to store it in. Like hard currency, digital currency like cryptocurrency needs a wallet for it to be stored in and kept safe.
The good news is there are plenty of wallets available and there are even some decent free ones. However, these come with a bit of a caveat…
Software Wallets vs Hardware Wallets
That caveat being that if you’re looking to trade crypto in any meaningful volume or if you want to ensure your crypto is kept securely and safely all the time then a hardware wallet such as an external hard drive is much safer than a software wallet.
The reason why is simple, with an external hard drive you can disconnect your crypto from the internet and you can’t do this with a software wallet. Hackers need an internet connection to access your funds so this window being closed using an external hard drive is an extremely powerful tool to protect your hard earned crypto.
The Best Software Wallets
Another caveat is that there are some good premium software wallets that put additional barriers in place to protect your crypto as well as fail safes like recovery seeds (more on these next week).
Caveats aside, there are some fairly good free software wallets that are awesome for those getting into crypto and not wishing to purchase too much. These are;
Coinbase (Free Exchange Wallet)
Coinbase is one of the largest crypto exchanges and there is a chance you would have ended up on Coinbase to buy your crypto anyway. They also provide free crypto wallets that can store some of the more well-known cryptos (wallets don’t always store all cryptos).
It is great that Coinbase provide free software wallets as their actual exchange wallets aren’t always the safest place to store crypto. It is probably for this reason that they started providing free software wallets.
Freewallet.org
Freewallet.org provide an awesome free software wallet that is perfect for trading on the go. It is designed exclusively for mobile platforms like iOS and Android and integrates with crypto exchanges and other mobile crypto platforms.
Security isn’t necessarily the best on mobile wallets, however, iOS security is fairly robust inherently which adds a layer of safety for those using an iPhone. Android users should be a little more cautious as security features differ greatly between providers. Because Android relies on a lot of third-party software it can be a lot simpler to mistakenly download malware or viruses.
Electrum
Electrum is a free to download software wallet that is very good for desktop. It runs on Linux, Windows and Mac really well and has some great security features. The downside is that whenever you transact using your Electrum wallet there is a transaction fee.
This fee isn’t huge but it is there so be warned. Aside from that, if you’re wanting a free software wallet for any device or exchange, this article should have helped get you sorted and ready to trade.
