Bitcoin Wallets BY DAVID BARNES | BITCOIN CO. LTD.

What is a Bitcoin wallet? A broad definition: A method of storing bitcoins Without any form of wallet your bitcoin will be lost forever

General Types of Bitcoin Wallet  Desktop/Mobile application wallets  Full client wallets  ‘Lite’ client wallets  Web-based wallets  Hosted wallets  Client-side wallets  Offline wallets  Brain wallets  Paper wallets  Hardware wallets

Desktop/Mobile Wallets Full node wallet - “Bitcoin Core” (Satoshi Client)  Original Bitcoin wallet  Download the entire blockchain  Share the blockchain with others  Other application: Armory ProsCons  Independent  Assist in running the Bitcoin network  Dependable API  Slow initial load  Disk/Bandwidth usage Downloads:  

Desktop/Mobile Wallets Lite Clients Only download a small amount of relevant data 2 Methods 1.Download from a centralized server or group of servers  Electrum (  Mycelium Bitcoin Wallet (Google Play Store) 2.Download directly from full client nodes (SPV)  Multibit  “Bitcoin Wallet” for android

Desktop/Mobile Wallets Lite Clients ProsCons  Fast setup  Low disk usage  Low bandwidth usage  Less reliable data Dave Recommends Electrum for Desktop Mycelium for Android

Web-based Wallets Hosted Wallets  A provider holds your Bitcoins for you  Allow you access to your Bitcoins upon request ProsCons  Generally easy to use  No installation required  May offer account limits & account security settings  May be more security aware than you  Reliant completely on 3 rd party  High risk of hacking or dishonest provider  Possible to freeze your account Examples:  

Web-based Wallets Client-side wallets  Javascript based wallet  All cryptographic functions occurs client-side in your browser ProsCons  Generally easy to use  No installation required  May offer account limits *  Allow you to backup/transfer your keys  Partially reliant on 3 rd party  Risk of using a compromised wallet webpage  May be insecure if saved history/bookmarks Examples:   

Offline wallets / Cold Storage Brain wallets 1.Remember your private key directly 5Kjvg8WD11vbwbpJectFGe3EjbNNRzRh4UXiK4oK42yc1pGFmY5 Difficult to remember 2.Use a random passphrase to generate a private key “frequency woman poverty engine standard creature cruel safe” Easy to remember ProsCons  Can never be stolen  Can be transported where ever you go  May forget it  Must use with another wallet for sending Reference:  

Offline wallets / Cold Storage Paper wallets  Generate a key private and write in down  Keep the paper in a safe place and never let others look at it ProsCons  As safe as the location you store the paper  Easy to store  No memory required  Can be given to other people  Can keep multiple copies  May be stolen/lost/destroyed  Must use with another wallet for sending Examples:  brainwallet.github.io  bitaddress.org

Offline wallets / Cold Storage Hardware Wallet  Any computer or device running a wallet application that is not connected to the internet ProsCons  As safe as the location your device  Impossible to hack during the sending process  Safer and more convenient to send transactions compared to other offline wallets  May be stolen/lost/destroyed  Must use with another wallet for sending  Cost money

Other Cool Stuff Deterministic wallets  Wallets that have the ability to generate an infinite number of addresses based on a single “seed” phrase  Can backup all your different addresses with a single sentence  Wallets with deterministic ability include:  Electrum  Armory  Greenaddress

Other Cool Stuff Multisig addresses  Transactions must be signed using multiple keys  Can use a combination of different wallet methods to sign a transaction  Can be signed in totally different location  Wallets with multisig ability include:  Bitcoin Core  Greenaddress

Questions or Other Wallets Does anyone have any questions about wallet? Or want to talk about any wallets that I didn’t mention