The Crypto Trader’s Beginner Guide: Choosing a Wallet in 2024/5

Cryptocurrency trading can be a high-risk/high-return method of interacting with financial markets. Unlike traditional financial trading, the crypto market runs 24/7 without pause, and offers a wide range of diverse assets and instruments that can often lead to significant gains in a short time-frame.

But before jumping into the fast and frenetic world of crypto trading, there are a few basics that any beginner should familiarise themselves with. 

In this article we’ll look at one of the most important decisions a crypto trader will have to make; namely, selecting a good digital asset wallet.

How to Choose a Crypto Wallet

A web3 wallet is essentially the trader’s vault for storing and securing their digital tokens. The latest generation of wallets provide even more additional services to make the entire process of sending, receiving, storing and trading cryptocurrencies – and even NFTs – easier for new and experienced users alike. 

Not every crypto wallet stores every kind of digital token, though; some focus exclusively on just one asset, while others may focus solely on tokens from the Ethereum ecosystem.

Therefore the main feature to consider when selecting a wallet is which tokens it holds, and whether those are the tokens you intend to hold/trade throughout your journey.

Let’s examine three standout wallets that are currently used by cryptocurrency traders in 2024.

Binance Web3 Wallet

The Binance Web3 Wallet is a portal into Binance’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, offering easy access to the world’s largest exchange by trade volume. 

While Binance does not specify an exact number, the wealth of coins and tokens supported by the wallet is more than enough to rival its major competitors. For tokens that aren’t supported natively, the option is available to add them in manually.

Key features of the wallet include:

Security Features: The wallet uses multi-party computation (MPC) technology to split your private key information between the wallet, cloud storage and the user’s own device. Because the user retains access to two out of three of these sources, their self-custody is assured, while also eliminating any single point of failure for potential attackers to exploit.

Integration with Binance Bridge: Token swaps can be carried out from within the app via the integrated Binance Bridge, as well as other bridge providers.

No-Key Setup: One of the most unwieldy parts of setting up a wallet is remembering seed-phrases and private keys. Because the Binance Web3 Wallet is already included in the Binance app, the process of setting up a new private key is completely side-stepped.

Seamless Connection to Binance Services: As the largest crypto exchange in the world, the Binance ecosystem has a lot to offer both new and experienced traders alike. Users can access a wealth of dApps and educational materials all from within the wallet.

Like the Coinbase Wallet, many of the Binance-specific features may be unnecessary for many traders, and may limit interoperability with other apps and networks. But for anyone who intends to make Binance their main trading venue, the wallet kills two birds with one stone.

Unfortunately, this one is only available through the Binance mobile app, meaning traders looking for a standalone desktop solution will have to look elsewhere.

Ctrl Wallet

Given that cryptocurrency traders are often forced to use multiple different wallets at the same time (owing to the exclusivity noted above), Ctrl Wallet focuses on providing services for as many different tokens and blockchains as possible.

Indeed, Ctrl Wallet’s support for over 2,300 different cryptocurrencies and blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, and THORChain, makes it one of the most comprehensive wallets available today. 

What’s more, it features more direct swap and bridge routes than any other wallet, making it simpler than ever to swap and trade cryptocurrencies from directly within the wallet – without the need to use an additional third-party exchange.

In addition to strong multi-chain and multi-asset support, Ctrl Wallet also features a host of ease-of-use features designed to make the crypto trading process more straightforward.

These include:

One-Stop Portfolio Tracking: Users can access a central dashboard which provides a detailed overview of all the assets held in the wallet, without having to log in to different networks. This means users can view and manage all their investments from a single hub.

Gas Fee Abstraction: Ctrl Wallet’s unique Gas Tank feature allows users to pay for on-chain transaction fees using a single balance of $USDC or $CTRL, irrespective of the blockchain network in use. This greatly simplifies the process of transacting with multiple disparate blockchains which until now typically demanded users keep multiple cryptocurrencies in reserve to pay for gas fees.

Integrated NFT Gallery: An NFT gallery featuring tokens from over 30 different blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana, and many others, provides users with a consolidated view of their favorite digital collectibles.

Security Features: Ctrl Wallet offers native hardware wallet support for users who want to connect their Trezor or Ledger devices. Malicious address alerts notifies users if they’re about to send their funds to a flagged address, while a strict no-IP tracking policy means users’ activities won’t be logged by invasive trackers and cookies.

Easy Setup and Customer Support: The wallet can be set up using social or Google accounts, while a round-the-clock customer support team is on-hand to assist users with any issues or queries. 

Ctrl Wallet is free to use and completely non-custodial, meaning you retain full control over your coins and collectibles at all times. Recently rebranded from XDEFI, Ctrl Wallet is among the highest ranked wallet apps on the Google App Store, and its rapidly growing user base increases daily.

Coinbase Wallet

Coinbase Wallet is the self-custody wallet provided by the team behind Coinbase, one of the largest centralized exchanges (CEXs) in the world. 

Despite its connections to the trading platform, the eponymous wallet is designed to be a standalone, non-custodial solution for storing and managing cryptocurrencies, meaning the user controls their own funds (well, after a fashion – more below).

Coinbase offers support for thousands of cryptocurrency assets, including those from Layer-2 blockchain networks such as Avalanche, Fantom, Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism – and that number continues to rise as more projects rise to prominence. 

In addition to providing support for a broad range of tokens, Coinbase Wallet also includes:

Security Features: Robust security measures such as biometric authentication are enabled to ensure easy, secure logins, and enclave technology to protect users’ private keys. The wallet can also be connected to industry-leading hardware wallets such as Trezor and Ledger.

Integration with Coinbase Exchange: For traders who decide to make Coinbase their main trading venue, the Coinbase Wallet can offer a seamless interface with the centralized exchange. 

Additional Coinbase-Centric Features: Coinbase promotional offers can be accessed from the wallet, as well as Coinbase’s array of educational materials. Any dApps running on Coinbase can also be accessed via the wallet. 

While Coinbase Wallet’s wealth of features rivals most wallets in the cryptocurrency space, many of its Coinbase-specific features may be unnecessary for many users. 

Additionally, some users have expressed concern over the fact that Coinbase Wallet is hosted on the exchange’s own proprietary servers, meaning users must trust its servers to be operational if and when they wish to access their funds. 

Conclusion

The overview of the three wallets listed above doesn’t just give a glimpse of three pro-grade wallets, but also conveys the subtle differences that must be taken into account when selecting a go-to crypto wallet.

Wallets tied to major exchanges like Binance and Coinbase are designed to work in synergy with those respective exchanges, and can eliminate an extra step in the process of trading digital assets. However, traders hoping to experience the full breadth of crypto trading may find themselves limited. 

All three wallets provide industry-leading security procedures to ensure the user retains control of their own funds, while using different approaches to achieve this end. All three also provide access to literally thousands of cryptocurrencies, NFTs, dApps, cross-chain bridge protocols, and more. 

The beginner crypto trader would be well-served by any of the above wallets, but their final selection should reflect what they plan to use the wallet for, the coins they intend to hold and trade, and the exchanges they seek to trade on.

 

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