Bitcoin is a revolutionary peer-to-peer digital currency that allows people to purchase goods and services online without involving any intermediary like a bank. As the pioneer of this new technology, Bitcoin has seen its fair share of ups and downs. The first significant problem is the lack of reliable open-source bitcoin wallets, which is widely recognized by most. However, the good news is the rapid proliferation of wallet options, with many promising apps being released to this day (some even right now!). This guide will overview what makes an excellent open-source bitcoin wallet.
It should be pointed out that there are two types of Open-Source bitcoin wallets: client-side and server-side. A client-side wallet runs as a separate application on your computer (e.g., Bitcoin wallet), whereas a server-side wallet runs on the server-side. However, to do a thorough review, it is sufficient to answer how to use a reliable Open-Source bitcoin wallet on a user’s level. In other words, a practical and straightforward approach is whether it has features that the user can use.
Comparison of Open-Source bitcoin wallets
Bitcoin wallet (formerly Bitcoin-Qt) is the reference client explicitly created for the Bitcoin network. It has a lot of functionality and can be used as a desktop client or a server-side wallet. The problem with this wallet is that it needs to download all the blockchain data, which takes days. In addition, although it is reliable Open-Source bitcoin wallet and no one owns or controls this software, the developers of this program decide what code will be accepted. This may be a problem for developers who want to go in their direction by adding features or changing certain aspects of how bitcoin works.
Electrum is one of the most popular clients with many features, such as protection from inflation of new coins, many wallet types, and fast transactions. In addition, it is a client-side wallet which means it keeps users’ private keys. However, the disadvantage of this type of wallet is that if the computer it runs on is hacked or infected with malware, the thief can have access to all information in your wallets and steal your funds.
BitcoinSpinner is an ideal Android wallet for those who hate using computers.
It aims to be simple and easy to use for anyone with a smartphone. It has many features similar to Electrum but on a mobile platform and simple registration and login features with an automatic encrypted backup feature in case of phone loss or destruction. Armoury is a mighty client-side open-source bitcoin wallet that runs on Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux. It has complete power over your bitcoins and enables you to use them with any software or service regardless of differences in the protocol. In addition, this wallet provides several advanced features not seen in other wallets, such as secure cold storage options (a unique solution for offline wallets), encrypted paper backups, network-isolated storage, multi-signature transactions, and more. The only problem with this wallet is the lack of an Android version.
