How Do Crypto Wallets Work?
Crypto wallets are essentially bank accounts that don’t depend on a specific bank to access your money. You get two ‘keys’ to your crypto wallet. One is public and allows people to give you money. The other is your private key that should never be shared, as it grants access to the cryptocurrency inside of your wallet.
By having a crypto wallet, you can sell, buy, store, and spend any of your cryptocurrencies. You don’t necessarily need one to work with cryptocurrencies as there is a form of wallet known as a paper wallet, where you just leave the cryptocurrency on the same platform you purchased them from and write down wallet addresses and passkeys.
This is a pretty bad method to use, as it often leads to a lot of cryptocurrency being lost. If you lose the key, it isn’t like a password. There isn’t any way to recover it, so you have to keep those keys incredibly safe.
Using a crypto wallet is a safer way to keep your keys in one location and easy to access.
Hot Vs Cold Wallets
Hot
Also known as online or software wallets, hot wallets are devices that allow you to store your cryptocurrency online. Because they are solely online, they are far less secure, and you will need to make sure your wallet is backed up often, in case your web browser or hard drive fails.
There are three main types of hot wallets
• Web wallets. As the name suggests, these are online wallets that work as a browser extension usually.
• Desktop wallets. These are desktop apps and programs that let you handle your wallet without opening a browser.
• Mobile wallets. These wallets can be used via a mobile device.
Since these are not very secure, since they are always connected to the internet, it is recommended that these are only used to hold enough cryptocurrency for daily transactions. They are a lot faster, allowing you almost instant transitions, but you lose a lot of security in the meantime.
Cold
Cold wallets are also known as hardware wallets or offline wallets. As the name suggests, you can use these wallets and store your cryptocurrency offline. These usually cost you around $100 and you can plug the hardware directly into your computer using a USB port.
This allows you to safely store your cryptocurrency without worrying so much about any thefts or hacks. They take longer to process any payments, as the funds have to be verified, but they aren’t used for only one crypto platform, and it isn’t something everyone can access.
How Secure Are Crypto Wallets?
Cold wallets are incredibly secure. They are fairly new but have no records of being hacked as of yet. That is not to say they are 100% secure or will stay that way, but at the moment, they are the most effective way to store your crypto keys.
Hot wallets, on the other hand, are often hacked into. Even desktop wallets, which are the safest of all three hot wallets, are prone to attack due to malware or viruses. Mobile and web wallets can be hacked the same as any website can.
Though the blockchains work hard to stay secure, it is hard to keep up with cybersecurity to fight against any cyberattacks. It is highly recommended that if you own more than $1000 worth of cryptocurrency, you put it into a cold wallet.
A lot of security depends on the individual as well. By keeping frequent backups and updating all of your software regularly, you reduce the risk of all your currency being lost. Also, try to keep your security high. Having strong passwords, and not using the public internet that people can easily hack into to open your crypto wallets are two good practices.
Do I Need A Wallet?
No, you don’t necessarily need a wallet. However, by not using one, you severely risk losing your cryptocurrency and never getting it back. If you don’t remember or have access to the private keys that allow you in to your currency, you will never be able to access them again.
Private keys aren’t like passwords, where you can recover them with an email. Think about it as a key to a safe or a safety deposit box. Without the key, you have no way to access what is inside, and it may sit there forever, untouched.
This is why having a wallet is important. If you are using a lot of exchange platforms and have a lot of cryptocurrencies, your wallet will allow you to store your keys and easily access them later.
What Crypto Wallets Are Good?
There isn’t one crypto wallet that works the same for everyone. Cold wallets are much safer but don’t work for someone that is going to make a lot of transactions daily. It may also depend on the blockchain you are going to use the most often, as some will only allow you to use certain wallets to make transactions.
However, for beginners, here are some good wallets to get you started.
Coinbase
Coinbase is a hot wallet, which makes it a little less secure. However, you can use it with almost any type of cryptocurrency, which makes it nice for beginners trying to find what they like. It is also regulated in the United States, except for Hawaii.
Ledger
Ledger is Bluetooth enabled and is a cold wallet. These are convenient carrying sizes that work well with Ledger’s app if you don’t mind using Bluetooth. Bluetooth can be a huge security issue, but it does thankfully allow you to turn it off and protect your devices even more. However, these look almost exactly like pen drives, so make certain you don’t mix them up.
Trust Wallet
Trust is another hot wallet. It is used mainly for Binance’s blockchain. However, it can handle a large number of cryptocurrencies and has a large number of security measures to keep your wallet safe. It also keeps a lot of its currency on cold servers, which helps to additionally protect your money.
It is only for mobile wallets right now, so if you have a hard time on your phone or prefer the desktop, this can be a bit of a bummer.
What is Mining City?
Mining City is a platform that provides mining plans, giving users access to hash power and mining rewards. Hashpower is the computing power needed to generate cryptocurrencies.
Mining City users can buy crypto mining plans that give them access to hash power and mining rewards. Hashpower provided by Mining City is used to mine Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies.
Is Mining City Legit?
Yes! Mining City is legit because it provides real hash power for users. Mining City also leaves banned markets and takes a compliant approach to new laws and regulations, adjusting to global markets. A good example of Mining City’s commitment to compliance is its recent implementation of KYC, AML, and other compliance check processes.
Cryptocurrency and crypto mining industries are new and gradually become more and more regulated markets. As new regulations go into effect, market players must adjust. They need also to react on any attempts in the Internet to impersonate them. That’s why Mining City has had to delete more than 500 scam profiles on social media. These profiles impersonate the founder of Mining City, Greg Rogowski, or Mining City itself across Facebook, Instagram, and even Skype.
Another source of many misunderstandings was a large Facebook fan page impersonating Mining City. It was banned in October 2020.
To learn more about Mining City, its products and services visit Mining City’s official social media portals on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, YouTube and Twitter. You can observe there what Mining City undertakes to adjust to new regulations and requirements and give Mining City your support in their efforts to become fully compliant.
