What is a Bitcoin Address? A 3-Minute Rundown
Tagged with: #bitcoinJuly 26, 2018 2:42 pm

There are four types of Bitcoin wallets that you can use: mobile, web, desktop, and hardware.
Mobile Wallets
Mobile wallets are the most convenient wallets to access, but your wallet provider will store your key on its app or your phone, so if someone knows your phone’s passcode and accesses it, they can easily send all your funds to one of their Bitcoin addresses.
To combat this security issue, consider only letting fingerprint authentication open your mobile wallet app.
You can download mobile wallets in the app store on IOS, Android, and Windows Phone.
Here’s a list of some:
Web Wallets
Web wallets are equally as convenient as mobile wallets, but they’re also just as risky.
If someone knows a few of your personal details, like your phone number, email address, and birthday, they can impersonate you, telling your wireless service provider that you need to switch your number to a new phone — their phone.
Then, they can go to your email account, click “forgot my password”, and your email service provider will text a “change my password” code straight to their phone. This allows them to break into your email account, prompt your Bitcoin wallet provider to send a “change my password” email, and hack into your Bitcoin wallet account, stealing all your funds.
Consider telling your cell phone carrier to ask for a passcode before any of your account details can change — it’ll be nearly impossible for hackers to uncover it.
You can sign up for a web wallet on a wallet provider’s website.
Here’s a list of some:
Desktop Wallets
Desktop wallets are software programs that you can install on your computer. They’re more secure than mobile and web wallets, but hackers can still exploit vulnerabilities in a desktop wallet’s security, like extracting unencrypted account recovery phrases, to steal your bitcoins.
Consider only using a wallet that encrypts your private key and account recovery phrases.
Here are some desktop wallets you can install on your computer:
Hardware Wallets
Hardware wallets are like external hard drives for your Bitcoins. They’re physical, offline pieces of hardware that you can plug into your computer to buy and sell items with Bitcoin and store in a safe place when you’ve finished conducting business.
Hardware wallets are the most secure way of storing your bitcoins because they limit your funds’ exposure to the internet and potential hackers.
Here are some hardware wallets you can buy online:
Bitcoin Address Example
Bitcoin addresses are 26-35 characters long, consist of alphabetic and numeric characters, and either begin with “1”, “3”, or “bc1”.
Currently, there are three Bitcoin address formats in use:
1. P2PKH (address starts with the number “1”)
Example:
1BvBMSEYstWetqTFn5Au4m4GFg7xJaNVN2
2. P2SH (address starts with the number “3”)
Example:
3J98t1WpEZ73CNmQviecrnyiWrnqRhWNLy
3. Bech32 (address starts with “bc1”)
Example:
bc1qar0srrr7xfkvy5l643lydnw9re59gtzzwf5mdq
Bitcoin is new and exciting, but it’s also relatively ambiguous, so it polarizes the general public. Its potential as a global currency exhilarates some people but terrifies others.
Bitcoin skeptics doubt the cryptocurrency is secure enough to become a global currency, but Bitcoin wallets, especially hardware wallets, are getting tougher to crack, and the one-time use of Bitcoin addresses make your transactions nearly untraceable.
Tags: bitcoinCategorised in: Inbound Marketing
This post was written by Keywords