Your Bitcoin wallets are your guardians. Aren’t you convinced?
You should do a lot of research to find the perfect wallet for you.
These wallets store your private keys which can be lost and you lose all of your bitcoins.
This guide – The Best Bitcoin Wallets – is a great resource for anyone new to crypto and Bitcoin.
Before you proceed, it is important to be familiar with the 5 Types of Crypto Wallets.
This guide explains the purpose of each type wallet, including desktop wallets and hardware wallets.
These two are my favorites because they are very difficult to hack, if you follow the best security procedures.
Oh, and we also spoke at length about hardware wallets in past.
You can see the Best Hardware Bitcoin Wallets of 2021 (+ Altcoins Supported). Today, I will be focusing on desktop wallets.
Let’s get in:
8 Best Bitcoin Desktop Wallets
1. Atomic
Atomic Wallet is a unique Bitcoin wallet. It allows you to store, transfer, buy BTC with a bankcard, and then swap with Atomic Swaps. Atomic was founded by Konstantin Gladych (ex-Changelly CEO) and is located in Estonia.
Atomic Wallet is a cross-platform desktop app that supports more than 300 cryptocurrencies as well as tokens and altcoins. The wallet can export/import private keys and generate its own private keys from a mnemonic-seed.
The wallet is currently only available for desktop operating systems. Mobile apps will be launched soon.
Atomic Desktop Wallet Download
Review of Atomic wallet
2. Exodus
It is illegal to speak about desktop crypto wallets while omitting Exodus wallet.
Exodus is a Bitcoin and altcoin wallet that was created by JP Richardson in mid-2015.
It supports Bitcoin and many other altcoins (precisely over 30 cryptocurrencies & tokens).
It is easy to see that it has been a lot of effort. I love the self-hosted cryptocurrency wallet.
Since the moment I first entered the cryptocurrency world, I have used this wallet. The wallet’s UI has improved tremendously and it also uses advanced technology.
You don’t need to register or undergo KYC checks to use this wallet. However, you will need to keep your email ID handy to back up your seed.
Recommended for: Intermediate and advanced users. Supported Operating Systems: Windows, Mac OSX Linux, Android, iOSCustom fee Feature: YesCost Feature: FreeSegwit Enabled : Yes, bc1 formate Download exodus wallet
3. Guarda Bitcoin Desktop Wallet
Guarda is a desktop wallet that’s great for Bitcoin users. You can store your private keys on your desktop and have full control over your Bitcoin assets.
Guarda Desktop wallet is available for macOS, Windows, Linux. Guarda supports more than 10,000 tokens and over 40 coins. A built-in exchange allows traders to trade their Bitcoin with other coins. The desktop app allows you to send, receive, trade, and convert Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Guarda supports BCH and ETH, Zcash and ERC20 tokens.
Guarda wallet also offers an import feature that allows users to transfer Bitcoin from another wallet into their Guarda wallet. This feature is great for traders who want to move to Guarda, but are worried about the difficulty in moving their private keys from one wallet into another.
Guarda wallet is a great choice for anyone looking to store their BTC and also store and trade on the same platform.
Recommended for intermediate and advanced usersCostFreeSegwit EnabledNo download Desktop wallet
4. Jaxx Liberty
Jaxx is another Bitcoin desktop wallet.
It’s a multi-currency wallet, which supports Bitcoin and many other altcoins. It was developed/maintained in Canada by Decentral Inc.
This HD wallet allows you to store your seed and protects your wallet with a PIN function. ShapeShift is an integrated crypto exchange.
It currently supports over 40 coins/tokens. Private keys import/export facility is built into the wallet.
Jaxx is currently redesigning its interface with a new wallet, but it’s still in beta phase. You can still use Jaxx’s desktop version, which has been time-tested.
Recommended for: AllSupported Operating Systems: Windows, Mac OSX and LinuxCustom Fee Feature : YesCost : YesDownload Jaxx Wallet
5. Electrum
Electrum was created by a volunteer developer in November 2011 and is one of the most trusted Bitcoin wallets.
It is open-source and released under the MIT license.
It is also lightweight, meaning that you don’t need to download the entire blockchain to sync.
Electrum can be used on both desktop and mobile devices. It allows you to set a Bitcoin transaction fee per transaction.
It is also a self-hosted wallet. This means that you can use Electrum to create your bank and control your seed, PIN, and other details.
Recommended for: Intermediate & Advanced Users. Supported Operating Systems: Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. Custom Fee Feature: YesCost : YesDownload Electrum Wallet
6. Armory
Armory, another Bitcoin-only wallet, was created by an experienced team and is open-source software.
It is quite heavy, so you will need to download the entire blockchain and set up a node in order to use the Armory wallet.
It has many other benefits, such as the fact that you don’t have to trust other listening nodes, and can verify many things yourself.
Using Armory wallet, one can also create cold storage bitcoin wallets. It also allows you to access multisig wallets via Lockboxes which are the best way to store large amounts of bitcoins.
Recommended for: Advanced users
7. Copay
BitPay also maintains Copay, a popular Bitcoin wallet.
It is a HD multi-signature wallet that is open-source and available for any innovation.
Its mobile version was very easy to use. You can also use it on your desktop.
This wallet connects to testnets, so you can try out different things without risking your BTC.
It is a multisig Bitcoin wallet that allows you to have up to two of three authorizers sign Bitcoin transactions.
Recommended for: AllSupported Operating Systems: Windows, Mac OSX and LinuxCustom Fee Feature : YesCost : FreeSegwit Enabled : No Download Copay wallet
8. Bitcoin Core
Bitcoin Core is the official desktop Bitcoin wallet created by Bitcoin core developers.
It is a full-node client, which means that one must download the entire Bitcoin blockchain to send/receive transactions. This is a memory intensive process.
The core functions as both a full node and provides wallet functionality to manage Bitcoin.
Although its UI isn’t as impressive, it is still one of the most popular wallets. It provides many features such as replace-by fees, child, payments for parent, mempool settings and other options for BTC transactions.
Recommended for: Advanced users
9. Coinomi
Coinomi, another multi-currency wallet, supports Bitcoin as well.
It should not be on this list as it is a mobile wallet. To cater to their customers, they will launch their desktop client in Q3. (I will add this section once it hits the markets.
Some of the most intricate features, such as the self-hosted mobile wallet that provides seed/PIN and an in-built currency, custom-fee, etc., will also be available in the desktop version.
It is also supported by a great team who is constantly improving their mobile product, so it would be reasonable to expect the same from their desktop wallet.
Coinomi Desktop wallet supports Mac, Windows, Linux.
Download Coinomi wallet
Conclusion: The Best Bitcoin Wallets for Desktop
Have you noticed a common thread among all the wallets?
All of them are self-hosted wallets.
This means that you will be responsible for the funds in these wallets. These wallets will give you your seed and pin to manage your bitcoins.
Investors can still get things wrong. That’s why we created this comprehensive guide on How to Keep Your Recovery Seed Safe and Secure.
Enjoy this article and please share it with any friends or family members who are looking for reliable Bitcoin desktop wallets.
These are some of the best articles we have found:
What is a HD wallet? How long does it take to transfer bitcoins? (Deterministic Wallet)
