With the rising adoption of cryptocurrencies among the masses and storing them in the best wallet is another concern for crypto holders today.
Crypto usage is on the rise, which means that hacking attempts on crypto wallets are also on the rise, and users are finding it difficult to pick a perfect wallet to store their digital currency.
My job as a writer exposes me to stories about how wallets are hacked, causing users to lose millions of dollars in crypto within minutes. Here are the features users should look for before selecting a crypto wallet to store digital assets.
Purpose of crypto
It is important to decide if the user plans to invest in crypto for the long term or for the short term. Upon making a decision, the user needs to check which wallet can offer the most features & services.
When entering the crypto sector for long-term investment, users should use cold wallets such as hardware wallets and paper wallets, which are the most secure. In the short term, they should opt for desktop wallets, mobile wallets, and browser wallets.
Company’s information
Consider that you have thousands of dollars worth of crypto assets in your wallet, and one day you discover that it is no longer working. Since most crypto wallets work on decentralized technology, you don’t know whom to approach, since you haven’t checked the company prior to opening the wallet. Before selecting a cryptocurrency wallet, make sure to check company details.
Be sure to check their address, phone numbers, emails, customer service details, and whom you need to contact if you have a problem.
Security features
Once you have decided to opt for a crypto wallet, check what security features they offer. Today, two-factor authentication (2FA) is very common. Some also offer authentication via biometrics, some offer users logging off service just after 10 minutes, so if you missed to log out, the security features lock your account after every ten minutes.
Who holds the private keys?
Users need to hold the private keys, check if your wallet has any methods to hold your private key, if they have, then transfer all your digital assets to another wallet and don’t use it. As you can lose your assets in the near future.
Compatibility
Make sure your crypto wallet supports all chains. There are many wallets that can only store one chain wallet, such as Ethereum (ETH). In addition to crypto projects based on ERC-20 tokens, there are other crypto platforms like Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Polygon (MATIC), Solana (SOL), and Polkadot (DOT), which also have many good investment opportunities. Therefore, make sure that your wallet is compatible with other chains too.
Otherwise, you will have to generate separate wallets for each chain. This will result in you having many wallets and making it difficult to manage them in the long run. If you lose your private key, you may also lose your assets.
It is crucial to have an alternate crypto wallet even if you have a crypto trading account. If you have a large number of crypto assets, you should have a cold wallet.
Client Support
You may want to check if your wallet offers any client support service, if they do, it is good to continue. In the event that they don’t respond to your queries, they cannot be relied upon to handle any issues you may have.
You should consider these factors before choosing a crypto wallet.
