David Barnes: Bitcoin Wallets (English)
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Transcript David Barnes: Bitcoin Wallets (English)
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
Pros
Cons
Independent
Assist in running the Bitcoin network
Dependable API
Slow initial load
Disk/Bandwidth usage
Downloads:
https://bitcoin.org/en/download
https://bitcoinarmory.com/
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 (http://electrum.org)
Mycelium Bitcoin Wallet (Google Play Store)
2.
Download directly from full client nodes (SPV)
Multibit
“Bitcoin Wallet” for android
Desktop/Mobile Wallets
Lite Clients
Pros
Cons
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
Pros
Cons
Generally easy to use
No installation required
May offer account limits & account
security settings
May be more security aware than you
Reliant completely on 3rd party
High risk of hacking or dishonest
provider
Possible to freeze your account
Examples:
https://coinbase.com
https://circle.com
Web-based Wallets
Client-side wallets
Javascript based wallet
All cryptographic functions occurs client-side in your browser
Pros
Cons
Partially reliant on 3rd party
Risk of using a compromised wallet
webpage
May be insecure if saved
history/bookmarks
Generally easy to use
No installation required
May offer account limits *
Allow you to backup/transfer your
keys
Examples:
https://blockchain.info
https://greenaddress.it
https://rushwallet.com
Offline wallets / Cold Storage
Brain wallets
1.
2.
Remember your private key directly
5Kjvg8WD11vbwbpJectFGe3EjbNNRzRh4UXiK4oK42yc1pGFmY5
Difficult to remember
Use a random passphrase to generate a private key
“frequency woman poverty engine standard creature cruel safe”
Easy to remember
Pros
Cons
Can never be stolen
Can be transported where ever you go
May forget it
Must use with another wallet for sending
Reference:
https://brainwallet.github.io/
https://keybase.io/warp
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
Pros
Cons
May be stolen/lost/destroyed
Must use with another wallet for sending
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
Examples:
https:// brainwallet.github.io
https:// bitaddress.org
Offline wallets / Cold Storage
Hardware Wallet
Any computer or device running a wallet application
that is not connected to the internet
Pros
Cons
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