Kakashi2020

Chainlink (LINK) The Ethereum platform is predicated on smart contracts, or agreements between two parties on a blockchain network with the transaction recorded in blocks of data. The problem is that these transactions can only occur on a platform like Ethereum, and they need some way to draw real-world data into the platform in order to execute smart contracts when certain conditions are met. The solution is data providers called oracles, and while several crypto platforms have created ways for oracles to retrieve data for their network, Chainlink has come up with a reputation system that guarantees the data is accurate, ensuring the validity of smart contracts. Once an oracle's data is verified, they are paid with Link, Chainlink's cryptocurrency of choice. This system builds confidence in the platform, and the growing popularity of decentralized finance, or DeFi, helps make Link a contender for the best cryptocurrency. Pros The Chainlink project provides compatibility between Bitcoin, Ethereum, and also allows banks and payment services to be included in the system. One of Chainlink's goals is to decentralize smart contracts. This should greatly increase the security of information as well as its accuracy. The SmartContract company, which formed the backbone of Chainlink developers, has been engaged in contract automation since 2014. Cooperation with the largest companies — Google Cloud, Oracle and SWIFT inspires confidence. LINK tokens can be a good investment tool given the technological capabilities and goals of the Chainlink project. Cons There are too few guarantees for investors that the partnership will be long and fruitful. Low development speed. It is not known how long it will take for Chainlink to implement a real working solution affecting the execution of financial transactions. Moreover, there is no officially released roadmap that could be guided by.

Binance Coin (BNB) Like Ethereum, Binance Coin is much more than a cryptocurrency – as a matter of fact, Binance Coin was originally hosted on Ethereum until the Binance decentralized exchange, or DEX, went online in 2017. The Binance DEX is a platform much like Ethereum, albeit with a different mission. The Binance DEX is a decentralized platform where users can not only buy and sell binance coins but also use BNB to convert other cryptocurrencies from one to another. This has made the Binance DEX the biggest cryptocurrency exchange on the planet by volume and has helped fuel the popularity of the digital asset. Most importantly, the Binance DEX offers a discount to users who pay transaction fees on the exchange with BNB – a smart strategy that keeps users on the platform and helps sustain Binance Coin's growth. Pros: Fast – Binance US uses the same technology as Binance, which processes 1.4 million orders per second. Low fees – Binance US charges 0.1% transaction fees, less if you pay in BNB. Liquidity – Since trading started on the platform, Binance US has offered a high liquidity to its customers. Great customer service -- Binance US offers even better customer service than the original. It’s based in the US, after all, where “the customer is always right.” Great reputation. Binance is well-known to pay attention to user security and to be continually innovating. Cons: Currently, Binance US does not offer services in New York due to missing regulatory requirements which NY requires. 12 more states are also affected: Alaska, Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, North Carolina, Idaho, Vermont, Washington, Texas. But Binance US is working on getting people from these 13 states ready to trade. Limited choice of cryptocurrency for trading. Although they are exploring 23 additional coins, Binance US currently offers 7 coins only. This is a far cry from the hundreds which Binance itself offers.

Monero (XMR) Monero is a secure, private and untraceable currency. This open-source cryptocurrency was launched in April 2014 and soon spiked great interest among the cryptography community and enthusiasts. The development of this cryptocurrency is completely donation-based and community-driven. Monero has been launched with a strong focus on decentralization and scalability, and it enables complete privacy by using a special technique called “ring signatures.” With this technique, there appears a group of cryptographic signatures including at least one real participant, but since they all appear valid, the real one cannot be isolated. Because of exceptional security mechanisms like this, Monero has developed something of an unsavory reputation: it has been linked to criminal operations around the world. Nonetheless, whether it is used for good or ill, there’s no denying that Monero has introduced important technological advances to the cryptocurrency space. As of Jan. 8, 2020, Monero had a market cap of $994.0 million and a per-token value of $57.16. Pros One of the most privacy-oriented cryptocurrencies Very scalable Transactions cannot be linked back to you Respected in the crypto world Cons A bit difficult to deal with (storage, etc.) Many wallets do not support Monero

One of the most-hyped cryptocurrencies is one that, as of January 2020, has yet to even launch. By mid-2018, rumors circulated that social media giant Facebook, Inc. (FB) was developing its own cryptocurrency. Given Facebook's incredible global reach and the potential for massive volumes of exchange across its platform, the cryptocurrency world had long speculated that the social media titan might launch its own digital token. Rumors were formally confirmed on June 18, 2019, when Facebook released the white paper for Libra. The tentative launch date for the token is later in 2020, as Facebook has committed to sorting through regulatory barriers before launch. Libra will be overseen in part by a new Facebook subsidiary, the financial services outfit Calibra. When Libra does launch, it is sure to garner massive amounts of attention from those within (and outside of) the cryptocurrency sphere.

Tether (USDT) Tether was one of the first and most popular of a group of so-called stablecoins, cryptocurrencies which aim to peg their market value to a currency or other external reference point so as to reduce volatility. Because most digital currencies, even major ones like bitcoin, have experienced frequent periods of dramatic volatility, Tether and other stablecoins attempt to smooth out price fluctuations in order to attract users who may otherwise be cautious. Launched in 2014, Tether describes itself as "a blockchain-enabled platform designed to facilitate the use of fiat currencies in a digital manner." Effectively, this cryptocurrency allows individuals to utilize a blockchain network and related technologies to transact in traditional currencies while minimizing the volatility and complexity often associated with digital currencies. On Jan. 8, 2020, Tether was the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, with a total market cap of $4.6 billion and a per-token value of $1.00 Pros & Cons of USDT Pros Stable/fixed value of one USD for each USDT No value fluctuations Available on most major exchanges Cons Controversy surrounding backing of each token Value will never be greater than one USD per token No guarantee that USDT can be exchanged for equivalent USD Tether Overview Initially Tether claimed that each token was backed by a an actual USD at a 1:1 ratio, but it has since been revealed to much controversy that it is not only USD, but also loans to affiliate companies, combined with USD and other traditional currencies such as the Japanese yen and the Euro, which make up the company’s asset reserves. The company who released Tether, Tether Limited, states that customers have no legal claim, right, or guarantee that their USDT can be exchanged for USD. Tether has since been released on other blockchain platforms, in a bid to create a stable coin that is interoperable with all major blockchains. Two of those platforms are EOS and Tron, two very large and popular blockchain platforms for a range of activities and applications.

NEO, a Chinese cryptocurrency, was created in 2014 by Da Hongfei. Did you know that it was originally called AntShares? In fact, it only got rebranded to NEO in June 2017! NEO is often referred to as the “Chinese Ethereum” because of the similarities to its competitor among the top 10 cryptocurrencies Ethereum. It also offers a blockchain-based platform for the development of Smart contracts and launching ICOs. Pros of NEO NEO can complete 10,000 transactions per second compared to the 15 transactions of Ethereum. While Ethereum supports only one programming language, NEO supports multiple languages like C++, C#, Go, Java, making it a favorite among programmers. It appears to enjoy the support of the Chinese government, which gives it a clear advantage in the massive Chinese and Asian markets. Cons of NEO Since it is dependent on government support, it will be the worst hit if the Chinese government comes out with unfavorable policies. It is targeting the most competitive segment in which there is severe competition from other cryptocurrencies in the top 10 — Ethereum, Cardano, EOS. Historical performance NEO deserved to be in the top cryptocurrency list because of the tremendous return it gave in 2017. NEO touched a high of about $162 in January 2018, a 111,400% growth from $0.16 in January 2017. Same as IOTA, NEO is currently experiencing a period of stabilization. It's priced at $7,74 USD with a market capitalization of $5.53 billion.

Founded in 2015, IOTA is the most unique coin among other similar crypto's. It is the only one to use a new protocol invention called ‘Tangle’ rather than blockchain technology. You have probably heard of the Internet-of-Things (IoT), a technology that enables communication between various objects with sensors, via the internet. IOTA is focussed on making this technology more secure, seamless and scalable. Pros of IOTA The biggest advantage that IOTA offers over all other cryptocurrencies is zero transaction fees. When all other cryptocurrencies are struggling with scalability issues, IOTA’s technology promises infinite scalability. Cons of IOTA IOTA is betting on the success of another industry — Internet-of-Things, making it's future even more unpredictable than the other top 10 cryptocurrencies. MIT Media Lab had recently discovered a security problem with Tangle. If the big IoT players themselves develop their own cryptocurrency then IOTA could face stiff competition Historical performance While IOTA was created in 2015, its token was launched on exchanges only in 2017. It was an immediate success as its price grew from $0.44 in June 2017 to $5.34 in December 2017, giving it a return of about 1,200%. Like most of the other crypto's, IOTA also experienced a price dip earlier this year. It is currently experiencing a stabilization - time will tell if IOTA will manage to climb back up.

Stellar XLM was founded in 2014 by Jed McCaleb who is also the founder of Ripple. In fact, Ripple was hard forked into Stellar and the Stellar Development Foundation was born. Like Ripple, Stellar is also focused on making cross-border payments more efficient. One thing that stands out for Stellar as compared to all the other popular cryptocurrencies is that the Stellar Development Foundation is a non-profit organization. As you can see in the picture below, its mission is also in line with that. Pros of Stellar Stellar is more decentralized as compared to its closest competitor, Ripple. Also, being a non-profit, it inspires more trust than others. Stellar has secured strategic partnerships with over 30 banks and with organizations like Deloitte and IBM. Cons of Stellar There are many coins that are targeting this space of international payments, including the number 3 on our list of Top 10 cryptocurrencies — Ripple. Historical performance Stellar has been around since 2014 but it did not see much traction ‘til the end of Q1 2017. Its price grew from $0.0039 in April 2017 to $0.85 in January 2018. That’s a return of 21,694% in less than 9 months! Stellar’s plans to bring financial inclusion to remote areas and revolutionize the payment industry has made it one of the most popular cryptocurrencies available.

Litecoin LTC was created way back in 2011 by Charlie Lee, an ex-Google employee. It was built on the blockchain of Bitcoin itself, with the purpose of improving it. So, like Bitcoin, Litecoin is also just a digital currency and does not provide a platform for smart contracts. Litecoin has one of the most popular cryptocurrencies as it has stood the test of time and has been around for over 7 years. Pros of Litecoin Litecoin transactions take around 2.5 minutes while it takes 10 minutes to complete a Bitcoin transaction. This is the reason that it is called the “Lite” coin. Average Litecoin transaction fees are around $0.179 against $1.8 of Bitcoin. Cons of Litecoin Except for transaction speed, there is no other offering from Litecoin which can significantly differentiate it from others. It is facing stiff competition from coins that offer privacy, smart contracts, and international payments, etc. Like Bitcoin mining, Litecoin mining is also expensive and restricted to those with specialized powerful hardware. Historical performance Litecoin has been one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies for a long time with a market capitalization of $9.64 billion. Litecoin had a great 2017 as its price grew from $4 in January 2017 to $350 in December 2017, giving it a return of over 8000%. Prices of Litecoin dipped as the cryptocurrency market crashed in March 2018. Its price has been moving downwards ever since.

Cardano was created by Charles Hoskinson, Ethereum’s co-founder, in September 2017. Like Ethereum, Cardano has also been developed as a platform for decentralized apps and smart contracts. Like EOS, the difference between Cardano and Ethereum lies in the many technological improvements it has made over Ethereum’s technology. Cardano is being considered as the 3rd and most advanced generation of blockchain technology yet (just as EOS and NEO are), making it one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies of 2021. Pros of Cardano Cardano is supported by an academic community of global researchers and scientists contributing to its blockchain development. Cardano is much more scalable than Ethereum with a current capability of 257 transactions per second. Cardano intends to bring about Interoperability meaning that it can interact with different cryptocurrencies and their infrastructures in a seamless manner. Cons of Cardano A lot of ideas that have been proposed by Cardano are yet to be developed into the final product. So, it remains to be seen whether they will be successfully achieved or not. There is already huge competition in this space, from Ethereum to EOS and NEO to Fusion. Historical performance In spite of being a very new cryptocurrency, Cardano has shown exceptional growth and reached a market capitalization of $9.35 billion. Cardano grew from about $0.20 in October 2017 to touch a price of $1.20 in January 2018, giving a return of about 500% in 3 months. Like other top 10 cryptocurrencies, Cardano’s price crashed in March 2018 but it is now showing signs of revival.

EOS token was launched through an ICO in June 2017. EOS’s platform, which was expected to launch in June 2018, is due to be a direct competitor to Ethereum and NEO. EOS has been created by Dan Larimer who is also the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitshares and blockchain-based blogging site Steemit. EOS is building a platform for developers to build decentralized applications and smart contracts, but with a vast improvement in technology. Pros of EOS EOS is supposed to be much more scalable than Ethereum because it uses an advanced mechanism (Delegated Proof-of-Stake + Byzantine Fault Tolerance) to verify transactions. It is allegedly capable of achieving 10,000-100,000 transactions per second. Unlike some of the other top cryptocurrencies, EOS supports multiple languages, including C++. EOS has a highly experienced team with a proven track record. Cons of EOS The biggest issue is that the platform has still not been launched so no one knows for sure how good or bad it actually will be. Historical performance Launched in July 2017, EOS raised $700 million in its ICO over by the time January 2018 came by. It has raised even more since then. All things considered, EOS is undoubtedly one of the top cryptocurrencies for 2021.

As the name suggests, Bitcoin Cash has been forked from Bitcoin itself in 2016. When the developer community of Bitcoin could not come to an agreement regarding the changes required in Bitcoin’s code, it was forked into BCH and it currently ranks in the middle among the top 10 cryptocurrencies. Note: A fork is when a cryptocurrency is split into two. Parent cryptocurrencies retain their features while the child cryptocurrency undergoes technological improvements. The purpose of creating BCH was to solve some of the existing problems of Bitcoin, especially regarding scalability and transaction fees. Pros of Bitcoin Cash Bitcoin Cash transactions are faster than Bitcoin transactions because of the increase in block size to 8MB as compared to the 1MB of Bitcoin. Average Bitcoin transaction fees are currently around $1.8 which has gone down to $0.067 in the case of Bitcoin Cash. Cons of Bitcoin Cash Bitcoin Cash, like Bitcoin, is expected to be completely decentralized. BCH mining is as expensive as Bitcoin mining but gives lesser returns, so it is not a favorite among the miners. Bitcoin Cash is not as easily available on cryptocurrency exchanges as the other top 10 cryptocurrencies. Historical performance Launched just in 2016, Bitcoin Cash has grown very quickly to make it to the top cryptocurrency list. It grew from about $500 in July 2017 to about $4,000 in December 2017, giving a return of around 10,000% in less than 6 months. The price of Bitcoin Cash has also been experiencing a steady downfall since ay 2018. With a few signs of life, the future of BCH is still quite uncertain. In the last quarter of 2020 Bitcoin Cash recovered a bit and is expected to go steadily upwards.

Originally launched on the Ethereum network, TRON peer-to-peer network was aiming to revolutionise the entertainment industry and democratise content creation. The team has numerous high-profile partnerships, including Samsung, bike-sharing company oBike, Chinese search engine Baidu, and Baofeng, the so-called Chinese Netflix. TRON ecosystem works as a content-sharing platform. Users, who create or share content get rewarded with TRX, which serves as a more transparent monetisation system than those used by traditional social media networks. It also does not require a middleman, such as AppStore or GooglePlay. The rise of dApps could contribute greatly to TRON’s upward movement, as the crypto platform is considered one of the biggest powers in this market. In 2020, Tron’s dApp transaction volume even surpassed that of Ethereum. In summer 2020 the platform kicked off the TRON 4.0 Great Voyage protocol upgrade. The implementation of 4.0, introducing privacy features to smart-contracts, provide additional reason to be bullish on the TRX cryptocurrency forecast in 2021.

The launch of the first decentralised Litecoin-based RPG fantasy game LiteBringer, where each players’ move is a transaction, brought benefit for the whole blockchain. Litecoin transactions skyrocketed on the news, exceeding 130,000 right after the game’s launch. The boosted performance could serve as a positive price driver with the analysts from CoinSwitch predicting a $600 price target for Litecoin in 2021. Some analysts also believe that the Litecoin price will tend to grow in the coming years following the halving. According to the optimistic LTC cryptocurrency forecast by Cryptoground.com, Litecoin will trade at $88 in a one-year period and will climb up to $347 by the end of 2024.

Ripple was created as an alternative financial payments system with the aim to transform and facilitate cross-border payments, making them 100 per cent safe, almost free and instant. Back in early Ripple days in 2013, the platform got attention from many financial institutions. Years later it was adopted by more than 100 financial institutions. In 2020 The Ripple blockchain has expanded to more than 300 providers across 40 countries, including Banco Santander (SAN) and American Express (AXP), JP Morgan (JPM) and HSBC Holdings (HSBA). Among the most recent RippleNet’s supporters are the HDFC Bank Limited (HDB), India’s largest bank, and the Bank of America (BAC), the US second-largest bank. Looking forward into 2021, what are the major drivers that can make you think of Ripple as one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies to invest in? According to the report by OMFIF (the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum), Ripple, with its distributed ledger technology (DLT), could “position itself as an alternative to SWIFT”, solving five major issues: security, speed, traceability, cost, transparency and risk management. With growing support from the European Commission, encouraging the transition to digital finance and sharing plans to build a new legal framework enabling the use of DLT technology and crypto assets in the financial sector, Ripple’s perspectives seem brighter than ever before

In December 2020, the second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, Ethereum has a market capitalisation of $68,127bn. The cryptocurrency started the year trading around $125 and climbed up to around $600, which is a 380 per cent surge within a period of 12 months. Why is Ethereum considered the best crypto to invest in? Ethereum open source blockchain network has always served as a preferred network for decentralised applications (dApps). In addition to its native cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH), the platform supports other crypto platforms such as Uniswap (UNI), Maker (MKR) and Aave (AAVE), which are active in the Decentralised Finance sector. DeFi is considered one of the fastest growing crypto trends, which can transform insurance, loans and savings programmes, making them independent from banks and other centralised financial institutions. In 2020, the fastest-growing sector in the crypto world, DeFi reached new highs. The total number of assets, locked in the DeFi ecosystem surpassed $13bn (in 2019, this number was less than $3bn). The explosive influx of market participants and capital to the DeFi contributed to Ethereum's strong position as the leading altcoin, as it dominated the sector holding 96 per cent of the total volume of transactions.

New cryptocurrencies come and go, but Bitcoin never goes out of fashion. By the end of November 2020, Bitcoin surprised everyone and hit its new all-time high of $19,857, extending its year-to-date gain to 177 per cent. Will the rally continue in 2021? Analysts share unanimously strong views on the Bitcoin future within the next 12 months and beyond, predicting incredible $100,000, $170,000 and even $318,000 price targets for BTC. Among the major Bitcoin price drivers in 2021 we can define the growing institutional demand, rising inflation and increasingly negative perception of contemporary monetary policy. All these force individual investors and institutions to look for alternative options to protect the value of their capital. Cryptocurrencies, led by Bitcoin, seem to be a perfect solution. The difference between Bitcoin and fiat money "Quite simply, the risk-reward equation is starting to flip from traditional financial assets being yield-bearing, less risky, and reliable stores of wealth resistant to inflation over to Bitcoin and various crypto assets being the sources of yield, increasingly less risk, and a reliable store of wealth," said Sergey Nazarov, the cofounder of Chainlink. The expert believes Bitcoin will eventually break through $100,000 and he is not alone. Sharing his BTC price prediction for 2021, Tom Lee, the managing partner of Fundstrat Global Advisors, expects that Bitcoin will replace gold as a store of value and a hedge against inflation.

Type of wallet: Cold Wallet Purchase cost: $59 Incorporated exchange: No The Ledger Nano S is the first generation of hardware wallets introduced by Ledger. It is also one of the first hardware wallets ever made. It followed shortly after the first generation of the Trezor. Like its successor, the Nano S is compatible with thousands of cryptocurrencies. The Nano S does not come with a USB type-C cable, so users with more modern smartphones may have trouble connecting to their devices. The Nano S is essentially the same as its successor, the Nano X, in that it supports the same list of cryptos and has access to the Ledger Live software. The features it lacks are Bluetooth connectivity and how many wallets you can have simultaneously active on your device. With Nano X, a user can store up to 100 wallets simultaneously. With the Nano S, you can only store up to 18. The Nano S only has enough storage to make wallets for a limited number of cryptocurrencies at a time. If you were to delete a wallet in order to add another type of cryptocurrency, you would not lose the cryptocurrency in the wallet you deleted. This is because that cryptocurrency is stored directly on the blockchain. The deleted wallet, and crypto within it, can still be seen in Ledger Live, but the wallet will not be seen on the Ledger device itself. This means that if you would like to send or receive to the wallet you have deleted, you may have to delete another wallet to make more room. That said, the Ledger Nano S is still a fantastic wallet for those looking to store their cryptocurrency safely for a fair price. It is also quite easy to use with Ledger Live, making it an ideal product for a beginner looking for safe and simple storage for a handful of cryptocurrencies. Pros Ledger Live has an intuitive and convenient user interface Secure crypto storage for a low price compared to other options Open-source software with the added benefit of customer and community support Cons Can only store up to 18 wallets at once Unlike its successor, the Nano S has no wireless Bluetooth feature https://www.ledger.com/

Type of wallet: Cold Wallet Purchase cost: $170 Incorporated exchange: Yes Trezor, like Ledger, is a name synonymous with crypto cold wallet storage. Its Model T is the second generation of hardware wallets they have created. The Trezor Model T is very much like the Ledger, but it gives the user the ability to access third-party exchanges, like Changelly and Shapeshift, directly in its website interface. While this is quite convenient, it hardly justifies its more expensive price tag of $170. The Model T utilizes a touch screen, which can be easier to use for beginners than the buttons the previous model used. The Trezor also has a MicroSD card slot, allowing you to use the MicroSD cards to encrypt the PIN and further protect your device from attacks. Like the Ledger Nano X, the Trezor Model T also comes with a USB Type-C cable so that you can connect to either your smartphone or desktop computer. Currently, the Trezor Model T supports nearly 1,400 different cryptocurrencies. Some consider the Model T to be a bit more secure than the Ledger Nano X due to the X’s Bluetooth connectivity. That said, Ledger users can simply avoid using Bluetooth if they so choose. Pros Web-based user interface with exchanges built-in A massive list of supported cryptocurrencies Open-source software with the added benefit of customer and community support No limit to the number of wallets you can have simultaneously Cons While it is a fantastic hardware wallet, its price point seems a bit high Small touch screen can make it hard to type on Hardware wallets can be confusing for a first time user https://trezor.io/

Type of wallet: Cold Wallet Purchase cost: $119 Incorporated exchange: No The Ledger Nano X is the second generation hardware wallet from Ledger, a French company that has been involved in the cryptocurrency space for several years. Ledger’s first product, the Ledger Nano S, was one of the first hardware wallets on the market and dominated the space for a number of years. Ledger recently experienced serious hacks that revealed detailed customer information including names, phone numbers, email addresses, and even home addresses in some cases. Though this does not affect people's private keys, it has led many to question the integrity of Ledger's internal security measures. The Nano X resembles a USB drive and connects to your device via USB or Bluetooth. This means that you can connect the wallet to your iOS or Android device and do not need a computer. It supports well over 1,500 cryptocurrencies. This list continues to grow each year as the community asks for support for their favorite cryptos. While the device itself is a cold storage hardware wallet, the Ledger team has created the Ledger Live software that provides a user interface for all your holdings. This gives users the ability to add new wallets for different cryptocurrencies to their devices and manage their portfolios. Ledger hardware wallets have been, and currently are, the most popular in the industry. The Ledger also comes with a USB Type-C cable so that it can be connected to either a desktop computer or a smartphone if preferred over Bluetooth. Pros Ledger Live has an intuitive and convenient user interface Can have up to 100 different apps stored simultaneously Open-source software with the added benefit of customer and community support Convenience of Bluetooth connectivity Cons Some in the crypto community believe Bluetooth integration to be another potential vector of attack, though USB is still an option Bluetooth feature adds convenience but is not as smooth as it could be Ledger devices only allow you to store a certain number of wallets simultaneously https://www.ledger.com/

Type of wallet: Hot Wallet Purchase cost: Free Compatible with hardware wallet: Trezor and Ledger devices Incorporated exchange: Yes Mycelium is an open-source and mobile-only Bitcoin wallet. Mycelium currently only supports Bitcoin. In some ways, Mycelium is quite similar to the Electrum wallet with some of the differences being that it is mobile-only, has a more refreshed user interface than Electrum’s, and also has a built-in exchange. Mycelium, like Electrum, is one of the earlier wallets in the space. Also like Electrum, you can set custom transaction fees so you can choose how long you’re willing to wait for a transaction to be completed. Mycelium also has a few more interesting features such as hardware wallet support, which allows users to hold their Bitcoin in an offline storage device while still using Mycelium’s user interface to see their holdings. Pros Ability to set custom transaction fees Ability to use hardware wallets Open-source software Cons Mobile only Only works for Bitcoin Could be confusing for a first-time user. https://wallet.mycelium.com/

Type of wallet: Hot Wallet Purchase cost: Free Compatible with hardware wallet: Trezor and Ledger devices Incorporated exchange: No Electrum is one of the original Bitcoin wallets. It has been around since 2011, two years after Bitcoin’s creation, and has changed little since. While this wallet is bare-bones in terms of its user interface and its commitment to only Bitcoin, it excels at this primary function. Electrum is also more suited for advanced users due to its complex options. Electrum is open source, allows its users to set custom transaction fees, and has the option to choose between legacy Bitcoin and Segwit. It also offers users the ability to determine the level of security they wish to use. For example, you can create a standard wallet, one with two-factor authentication, or a multi-signature wallet. You can also elongate your seed phrase with custom words. Electrum is perfect for the more advanced Bitcoin holder who wants great security features and customizability all in a simple layout. Pros Ability to set custom transaction fees Greater level of security than most hot wallets Ability to customize seed phrase Cons Bare-bones user interface Only works for Bitcoin No customer support https://electrum.org/#home

EXODUS Type of wallet: Hot Wallet Purchase cost: Free Compatible with hardware wallet: Trezor Incorporated exchange: Yes Exodus is a desktop and mobile wallet with a very simple user interface and an exchange built-in. One of Exodus’s most popular features is the ability to swap between a growing number of cryptocurrencies. Exodus currently allows for swaps between over 100 different cryptocurrencies. With its simplicity, this wallet is great for beginners just getting into the crypto space. It also has great support, which is an essential feature for beginners getting into what many would consider a confusing market. While it is great for beginners, more advanced users may find it lacking in some features. First, Exodus is a closed source wallet. This goes against the ethos of the idea of Bitcoin and blockchain and can create some security concerns as its code is not open for everyone to see. Instead, users rely on the Exodus team to ensure there are no holes in the security of its wallet. Exodus has an option to set custom fees in addition to automatically setting a fee that ensures the transaction completes quickly. Pros Huge variety of cryptocurrencies Built-in exchange Good customer support Cons Closed source software https://www.exodus.io/

In choosing a crypto currency wallet it is recommended to look at more than a dozen Bitcoin wallets all over the world and decided on the top four based on factors such as User Reviews, Security and Costs. Security is obviously a big consideration, so it’s important to use a wallet that is well used and has plenty of safety protocols in place. It’s also important to choose a wallet that works well with some of the larger exchanges so that you can quickly complete transactions in the open market.

You can’t convert Bitcoin to cash directly whenever you feel like it, but you can sell your Bitcoin anonymously on the blockchain in exchange for the fiat currency you desire. A crypto exchange can handle the transaction on your behalf and find a buyer so that you can quickly convert the value of your Bitcoin into the cash you need. Every wallet has different rules and time periods for transferring your fiat currency over to your bank account, but most can be done in 1-3 days after the Bitcoin sale is complete.