For example, many people leave their BTC on the exchange canada phone number data where they bought it. While convenient, this doesn't give you full control over your digital assets. To prevent an exchange from losing your BTC, you should consider transferring your assets to a self-custodial wallet, where you're in charge of your private keys and securing your BTC .
This article explores the different types of wallets, including software, hardware, and paper wallets, and helps you find the right one for you.
How to choose the right Bitcoin wallet for you
Custodial wallets
Self-custodial
Hardware wallets
Paper wallets
The best Bitcoin wallet for you
How to create a Bitcoin wallet with Proton Wallet
How to choose the right Bitcoin wallet for you
When you're considering which Bitcoin wallet is right for you, the best place to start is looking at the differences between hosted vs. self-custodial wallets.
Custodial wallets
A custodial (or hosted) wallet doesn't actually let you hold your coins, meaning they're not really a wallet at all. Instead, your BTC is held by a third party (typically a crypto exchange) that pools all your coins in with its other users and then uses a database to keep track of who the coins belong to. They're almost always web app “hot” wallets, or wallets that are always connected to the internet. Hot wallets, since they're online, are generally accessible across devices but this also means they need strong cybersecurity.