14 Best Bitcoin Wallets For Secure Bitcoin Storage

As bitcoin prices dominate headlines, you might be wondering whether you should invest in the popular cryptocurrency.
Probably not: It's just too volatile. The virtual currency is known for wild fluctuations in price. The value of one bitcoin—which was created in 2008 by an anonymous programmer or group of programmers—reached its all-time high of $1,165.89 in November 2013 before taking a major dive, according to CoinDesk data.

Since then, prices have more or less inched up, and at the turn of the year, they started to approach record highs. On Thursday, the value of a bitcoin reached $1,153.02. However, later Thursday morning, prices suddenly fell by about $200.
"Liquidity dried up—no shorts, no sellers, which means a volatile little bubble formed quickly," Peter Smith, chief executive of bitcoin wallet Blockchain, told CNBC.
Those sudden ups and downs would be bad news for your portfolio. Although bitcoin had a more than 100% return on investment in 2016, it's also five times more volatile than the S&P 500, said Campbell Harvey, a professor of finance at Duke University, who described bitcoin as "an extremely risky investment."
Even if you were to buy bitcoin low and sell high, you still might not see the big payday you're hoping for. "You try to sell it, and by the time the order goes through, the price may have dropped," said Matthew Elbeck, a professor of marketing at Troy University. "It's really, really not worth it for the ordinary consumer."
If you do choose to take the plunge and buy a bitcoin, make sure it's a very small part of your diversified portfolio—and that you can afford to lose your investment. "I would never recommend this on a stand-alone basis," Harvey said.

Still, for some people living internationally—like Venezuelans plagued with a shortage of cash and those in China, where the government has restricted movement of capital outside of the country—bitcoin presents     an attractive option to get ahold of cash, Harvey said. Its rising popularity in these 

Bitcoin Core

Bitcoin Core is the first and original wallet. Using this option means having control over both your public and private keys, which ensures safe storage.

However, Bitcoin Core also requires a lot of space as the software comes with data on every bitcoin transaction ever performed.

According to the download page, as of 2016 you need 65GB of free space – this number will increase as more bitcoin transactions happen every day.

Multibit

Just over 30MBs, Multibit is a lightweight desktop bitcoin wallet.

Many people use it together with KeepKey (more about this below), a USB device that requires your manual confirmation before any bitcoins can be transacted.

Armory

Calling themselves ‘The Only Open-Source Wallet With Cold Storage and Multi-Signature Support’, Armory is one of the popular options around for desktop bitcoin wallet.

Private keys are stored in an offline computer, which means that only someone with access to the physical location of the computer (it is kept secret) can steal bitcoins.

Mobile Wallets

• Bitcoin mobile wallets are not only accessible and practical
• Many also incorporate other layers of security to ensure users’ bitcoins are not compromised.
• It is a good idea to keep only a small amount of bitcoins in mobile wallets while keeping the rest in more secure options.

Note: All the recommendations below are available for both Android and iOS users.

Mycelium

Mycelium is one of the safest and most recommended options for secure bitcoin storage on mobile. Boasting ‘bank grade security’, it boasts Hierarchical Deterministic wallets, private key deletion and ‘watch only’ accounts.

Wirex

This full-fledged bitcoin service provider offers both online and mobile secure bitcoin wallets. What differentiates Wirex from the rest is its ease of use while not compromising security.

Users get multi-signature (‘multi-sig’) wallets and can enable 2-factor authentication (2FA) for both app and Wirex-linked email address, making third-party breaches hard.

Xapo

Famous for its vault and security, Xapo combines cold storage and multi-sig technology to keep users’ bitcoins safe. Its servers are kept ‘behind reinforced concrete walls, a steel blast door and radio wave-blocking Faraday cage’, located ‘within the Alps’.

Online wallets

• Online bitcoin wallets are wallets that are easily accessibly on the Web via any device so long as it can be connected to the Internet.
• It is easier and faster to make transactions via online wallets due to its accessibility.
• Phishing, malware, insider hacking or plain lack of digital security knowledge makes it easy for hackers to steal bitcoins from online wallets.
• The failure of two huge bitcoin exchanges (Mt Gox and Bitfinex) make people wary of such services.

Although the bitcoin wallets recommended in this section have high reputation, we suggest you keep larger amounts of bitcoins in other types of wallets.

Blockchain.info

Blockchain.info is the most popular (8 mil wallets) website everyone uses to perform and check bitcoin transactions. They are often praised for its ease of use, multi-country support, and cross-platform capability.

BitGo

A respected name in the Bitcoin world, BitGo is considered a leader in blockchain security. BitGo is great for individuals and businesses who prefer near-instant transactions. Usually, a bitcoin transaction needs between 3-6 confirmations, taking about 30-60 minutes.

With BitGo Instant and its zero-confirmation technology, users can make both secure and fast transactions.

GreenAddress

Many bitcoin holders have the tendency to check bitcoin wallets multiple times to reassure themselves their bitcoins are still there. This constant login-logout might be unsafe if it was done over unsecured WiFi or exposed to malware or phishing tactics.

GreenAddress’s watch-only mode helps users to check balances without compromising safety. Hierarchical Deterministic wallets also help to keep users’ bitcoins secure.

Hardware Wallet

• The method of choice for many bitcoin holders to keep significant quantities of bitcoins
• Hardware bitcoin wallets are user-friendly and portable.
• All of these Plug-and-Play options give users complete control of their own bitcoins.

Keepkey

One of the biggest fears of a bitcoin holder is unknown transaction that depletes all of their bitcoin savings. KeepKey helps to alleviate this fear. Users will have to approve each outgoing transaction on the KeepKey device, manually.

Private keys remain in the device, which is also PIN-protected in case it falls into the wrong hands.

Trezor

A trusted name and endorsed by many key Bitcoin community leaders, Trezor is small and simple to use. It features security against malware and disaster recovery in case of theft or loss.

Ledger Nano

The smallest and most cost-effective option, the USD-sized Ledger Nano comes in a few variations. Everyday users can select between Ledger Nano or Ledger Nano S. The latter is the first hardware wallet that can also store Ether (ETH/ETH), making it the first of its kind.

Paper Wallet

• Bitcoin paper wallets are safe against hackers as the bitcoins are brought offline.
• Users have control of their bitcoins at all times as they keep own private keys.
• The problem, however, is storage. Paper can be destroyed, torn, fade or otherwise lost.
• Unlike hardware wallets, there is no recovery mechanism for paper wallets – so lost bitcoins are lost forever. This is something you need to keep in mind if you want to use this option.

BitcoinPaperWallet

Users can print tamper-resistant paper wallets with this services to keep their bitcoins offline. Offering additional security tips, designs and supplies, this website is a favorite among bitcoin cold storage advocates. It even has a handy video showing you how to use this paper wallet.

BitAddress

BitAddress.org is a no-frills free service that can generate bitcoin paper wallets easily.

countries are part of the reason behind bitcoin's rec.