Bitcoin Wallets For Beginners: All You Need To Know
July 12, 2021, 1:12 p.m.
If you are a newbie to the entire concept of bitcoin or perhaps you just made your first buy in the popular cryptocurrency, you are probably wondering: Where does my bitcoin go, and how does a bitcoin wallet work?
Well, you’re in luck, we’ve written this article to answer all the questions you might have about bitcoin wallets and more.
What is a bitcoin wallet?
A simple way to think about bitcoin wallets is to first think about physical wallets. You store cash in your physical wallet and you can access it at any time to either pay for something or receive more money to put into it. Most of the time, your physical wallet is kept in your pocket for easy access but that also comes with your need to be a lot careful because it could easily get stolen.
A bitcoin wallet is a better version of a physical wallet. To start with, it is digital and prone to fewer security issues than the physical wallet in your pocket. It is a unique software program that safely holds and stores your bitcoin on the blockchain and has a secret key that tallies with the address of the wallet which is used to facilitate seamless transactions.
What is a bitcoin wallet used for?
A bitcoin wallet holds relevant information that allows a user to have access to their bitcoin. A wallet usually contains at least two keys: one public key and one private key. The public key allows the sending of bitcoin directly from one user to another while the private key gives ownership of the bitcoin in the wallet and must be kept safe to avoid an outsider from getting access to the bitcoin associated with it.
Types of bitcoin wallets
There are four main types of bitcoin wallets:
Desktop wallets
Just as the name implies, desktop wallets are installed on desktop devices and give the user full control and access to their wallet. The desktop wallet is used as an address to facilitate transactions and allow users to hold a private key. Some desktop wallets include Electrum, Bitcoin Core, and MultiBit.
Mobile wallets
Mobile wallets are almost the same as desktop wallets except that users can also send and receive bitcoin in a physical store either through “touch-to-pay” or by scanning a QR code. Examples of mobile wallets are Yellow Card App, Bitcoin Wallet, and Hive Android.
Web wallets
Web wallets are easily accessible because you can facilitate transactions using a web wallet from anywhere. You can send and receive payments on any browser or mobile phone. However, it is important to keep security in mind when choosing your web wallet because they also store your private keys. Examples of web wallets are Yellow Card and Coinbase.
Hardware wallets
Hardware wallets are the safest type of bitcoin wallets and this is because they store bitcoin on a physical device that is only accessible by plugging it into a computer. They are highly secure and less prone to virus attacks and theft. Unlike all other wallet types, hardware wallets are not free and often cost between $100 to $200. This type of wallet is best for bitcoin users who own large amounts.
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How to create a bitcoin wallet
Getting a bitcoin wallet is simpler and it’s free too. You can get your free bitcoin wallet in minutes with Yellow Card.
Follow these,e steps and you’ll be done in no time.
Creating a Yellow Card account
- Visit the Yellow Card Web App at web.yellowcard.io or download the mobile app and click on ‘Sign Up’ to create an account
- Fill out some basic details; full name, email, and phone number. Also, set a very strong password. You don’t need a bank account to open an account.
- You’ll be taken to an SMS verification page where you will be sent a text message with a 6-digit PIN. Enter this PIN to verify your phone number and create an account.
Sending bitcoin from your wallet
- Go to your account dashboard, click on ‘Wallet’, and then click on ‘Send’.
- You’ll be asked to enter the destination for where you would like to send your bitcoin. Here you have three destination options. You could either send bitcoin to other Yellow Card users by their email address or their phone number. You can also send it to an external wallet address.
- Enter the amount you would like to send and the details of where you are sending the bitcoin.
- Review and confirm the transaction then click on send.
All transfers sent to another Yellow Card wallet are instant and free.
Receiving bitcoin in your wallet
- There are two ways to receive bitcoin on Yellow Card:
- You could receive bitcoin from another Yellow Card user in which case all you need to do is give them your phone number. Transfers to another Yellow Card user are free.
- You could also receive bitcoin from someone who isn’t using Yellow Card. To do this, follow the steps below.
- Visit your dashboard, click on ‘Wallet’ and then click on ‘Receive’.
- When you do this, a QR code with your wallet address will pop up.
- Copy this code and share it with the sender or you can have the sender scan the QR code.
- You must ensure that the sender is only sending bitcoin to the bitcoin wallet.
Doing more with your Bitcoin wallet
Another great thing about Yellow Card Bitcoin wallet is that it also allows you to buy and sell Bitcoin directly to and from your wallet. Yellow Card makes it easy for you to buy Bitcoin easily and securely with cedis (GHS).
That means that with as little as 10GHS you can buy Bitcoin on Yellow Card.
How to buy Bitcoin with Yellow Card
Once you’ve opened a Yellow Card account, to buy Bitcoin, follow these simple steps:
- Login to your Yellow Card account - the first step is to log in to the Yellow Card account you have created by visiting web.yellowcard.io.
- Fund your wallet with GHS - To add funds, select deposit on your dashboard. You can easily fund your account with Mobile Money here. Please note that you should only add funds to the account you have created yourself.
- Buy Bitcoin - With funds in your Yellow Card account, the next step is to go to the Buy Cryptocurrency page and enter the amount you would like to buy, either in your local currency or in Bitcoin.
That’s it. The amount you just bought will instantly reflect in your Bitcoin wallet. You can choose to send it, save it or sell it at your convenience. Yellow Card offers the best buy and sells rate so we make it easy for you to convert your Bitcoin to Cash without stress.
How to keep your Bitcoin Wallet Safe
- Do not share your password with anyone. Your password grants access to your account and should be protected. This is the equivalent of protecting your physical cash wallet from being stolen.
- Only deposit money into the Yellow Card account you have created yourself. This way, you can keep track of your money and withdraw it whenever you want.
- As Yellow Card is a cryptocurrency exchange, we facilitate buying and selling of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. You should be careful of who you relate with regarding using cryptocurrencies on the internet. For more information and security tips, visit our Help Center or the Yellow Card Academy.
tag: Cryptocurrency, yellow card, Bitcoin, Fintech,