4 min read
Ever since the enigmatic Satoshi Nakamoto devised the first blockchain, cryptocurrency has permeated our lives to the point of becoming a buzzword that every layman is familiar with, even if one isn’t aware of the technical details. After all, this is the future of our monetary transactions; the successor to the long-standing (and admittedly outdated) fiat currency.
What with the rise in cryptocurrency transactions, a mobile cryptocurrency wallet has become an important asset. This is essentially a secure software program consisting of public and private keys that are used to store, send and receive cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and Dash. If you want to do anything useful with cryptocurrency, you need a wallet.
Of course, there are hardware wallets as well but the mobile software versions have the added benefit of being easily and swiftly accessible. This is important in an age where time is of the essence and you’re better off going for convenient options when it comes to monetary transactions in general.
It is no wonder then that developers are trying to ensure that their wallets are available on as many platforms as possible. The wallets that we are going to discuss over here are available on both Android and iOS.
One caveat of using these mobile wallets is that they are not as secure as their hardware counterparts when it comes to dealing with very large amounts. However, if the swiftness of a transaction is your main priority, a mobile wallet is the way to go.
Therefore, these are the 7 best mobile cryptocurrency wallets (in alphabetical order) that you must consider the next time you decide to trade in your Bitcoin.
Blockchain
Having attracted a total of $40 million worth of investment in 2017, Blockchain has a solid reputation as a reliable wallet for Bitcoin transactions, even though it supports other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Stellar as well.
While its strength lies within its ease of use and reliability, it is prone to failures since it doesn’t do a good job of supporting high transaction rates. Like many other cryptocurrency wallets, its main protection methods include secure passwords, 2FA and the presence of a seed key.
Coinbase
With support for Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and Litecoin, this is yet another extremely popular cryptocurrency wallet this year. Its unique strength is its ability to allow you to plan the purchase and sale of cryptocurrency, as well as setup future transactions.
Coinomi
Not only does Coinomi support a plethora of cryptocurrencies, but it is also a highly secure application that allows you to recover your wallet even if you lose your mobile device. The wallet itself is password protected, and instead of saving the keys on the company servers, the developers chose to save them in the host device itself. This essentially renders the process of hacking into the company servers to steal funds a futile exercise.
Finally, its partnership with the ShapeShift service enables it to exchange various coins in the blink of an eye, which clearly gives it an edge.
Cryptopay
Developed as a British project, Cryptopay uses the conventional protection methods of secure passwords and 2FA to secure its transactions. However, what is unconventional about it is the fact that it’s tied to a debit card that is issued to you upon registering for this wallet.
GreenAddress
GreenAddress is different from all the crypto wallets mentioned so far in the sense that it only supports Bitcoin. It allows users to have multiple signatures on transactions and even send coins to other users via Facebook, Twitter, and email.
Jaxx
While this application does not focus on security (Jaxx doesn’t use important algorithms like 2FA), it is certainly your best bet if you want to perform transactions swiftly and easily. Its minimalist design is noteworthy (sending and receiving currencies is as simple as tapping one of two buttons on the screen) and prioritizing certain transactions by setting the speed of processing transactions.
Mycelium
Rounding off this list is Mycelium, a mobile Bitcoin wallet that is useful in terms of its minimalist user-friendly design and ability to allow you to back up your data, integrate with various social networks, search for the nearest Bitcoin sellers and even generate QR codes for payments.
