We all know that in order to store cryptocurrencies, we need a special wallet called a cryptocurrency wallet. Unlike physical wallets, crypto wallets are specifically designed to store a single type of cryptocurrency. Generally, A computer software creates these wallets. But how many wallets are there and which ones are most used in India?
To answer that, let’s look at the many different types of wallets present in the cryptocurrency world. Mainly, there are three.
- Hot Wallets – These wallets are provided by the cryptocurrency exchange where you buy/sell/trade your coins. Unlike others, these aren’t stored on your computer and are the least secure of them all.
- Software Wallets – These wallets are similar to ‘hot wallets’ with only one difference. Here, a specific software creates a wallet on your computer to store cryptocurrencies. This creates an intermediary between the wallet and the internet.
- Cold Wallets – These are actual storage drives (like a USB flash drive) to store crypto coins. Security is the strongest in these wallets and many companies have started offering these solutions for prospective customers.
Even as Cryptocurrencies gain ‘currency’ globally, things are different in India. Cryptocurrencies are still a rarity here. Due to this, majority of the wallets used are ‘Hot’ or ‘Software’ wallets. Let’s discuss the top three.
#1:WazirX
If you live in India and have googled about cryptocurrency exchange, you would’ve likely known about this. WazirX is a popular cryptocurrency wallet, as well as the most popular cryptocurrency exchange.
It has partnered up with Binance (World’s largest crypto exchange), has over 200 trading pairs, a nominal trading fee of 0.2% and options for both market and P2P (Peer-to-Peer) exchange.
#2:Zebpay
Zebpay, like WazirX, is a multi-cryptocurrency exchange offering the facility of cryptocurrency wallets. It had started operations a while back and had to shut down due to RBI’s ban on cryptocurrencies.
But after the ban reversal, the company is back in operation. Zebpay stores cryptocurrencies in a secured pool, not in individual wallets with a private key. Although this may sound to be tedious, it makes it up for the security it offers.
Unlike others, Zebpay stores all the crypto assets in cold wallets that are signed using HSM (Hardware security). In addition to that, a proprietary solution protocol called Omnitrixx is used to secure all transactions. As of now, Zebpay supports eight cryptocurrencies and trading in multiple currency pairs.
#3:Coinbase
Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange with facility for a cryptocurrency wallet. It is a mobile-based wallet that stores all your cryptocurrencies.
Unlike others, Coinbase app is decentralized from its crypto exchange and has a secure enclave (Secure Element Technology). What this means is that it uses biometric authentication technology to secure your private keys. Like Zebpay, it has a support of eight cryptocurrencies plus all of the ERC-20 tokens too.