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Though it has yet to eclipse the most popular crypto players in terms of market capitalization, privacy coin Monero (XMR) has gained a steady following among crypto traders. Buyers favor the coin for its built-in privacy and anonymity features like its ring signature, Ring Confidential Transactions (RingCT), and stealth address technologies. But these features can only be enjoyed to their fullest if a trader has access to a good Monero wallet.
An XMR wallet will have a huge role to play in a trader’s overall experience since no trader can store or exchange XMR coins without a wallet to keep their keys. But if you’ve just entered the market in search of a Monero wallet, you’ll soon realize that you have more than one option to choose from. The sheer variety in terms of wallet type and wallet features may be enough to give you choice fatigue. What are some considerations that you should make so that the selection process is easier for you?
To answer that question, here are five useful tips on choosing an XMR wallet. These should help you narrow down your choices and settle on the ideal crypto wallet for your purposes.
Tips To Choose An XMR Wallet
Ensure That Your Wallet Choice Supports XMR
Say that you intend to trade in more than one cryptocurrency and you want an all-purpose wallet that can store different coins. If Monero is one of those coins, you will want to make sure that your multi-coin crypto wallet actually supports XMR. Find out if it’s set up to accommodate XMR-exclusive transactions or XMR transactions that involve exchanging another coin.
Decide Between A Full Monero Wallet Or A Light Monero Wallet
One of the most important decisions that you’ll find yourself making about a Monero wallet is whether to have a full wallet or a light wallet. A full wallet, which possesses its own copy of the Monero blockchain, and therefore doesn’t compel you to connect to another person’s node, is the most secure and private wallet option. However, it’s also a resource-heavy option, given that Monero’s blockchain currently occupies between 95 and 100 GB of storage space. If you’re using a full Monero wallet and running a full node, it may take you a long time to see your wallet sync up unless you have powerful hardware and a reliable internet connection.
Traders who prefer greater speed and versatility out of their wallets can go for a lightweight wallet that’s free and open source. Though light wallets require access to another person’s node on the blockchain, they operate quickly and can be easily accessed from a smartphone or a tablet.
Make Privacy Your Priority
Regardless of the type of wallet you choose, you should also make sure that it possesses sufficient privacy and security features for your applications. Find out what protections your wallet comes with, what level of encryption it uses to protect your user data, and what mechanisms it uses to safeguard your anonymity.
Find A Wallet That Promises Good User Experience
User experience, or UX, should be another top consideration when you’re looking for a Monero wallet. In this respect, XMR wallets should be no different from the other virtual products that you use in your everyday life, such as a smartphone launcher, fitness tracker, or banking app. It shouldn’t be difficult to learn how to use your wallet and manage your Monero keys, and the wallet’s interface should be speedy and intuitive. If you can expect good UX out of your wallet, then you’ll have an even better overall trading experience with Monero.
Choose A Wallet That’s The Subject Of Ongoing Development
Lastly, you’ll want an XMR wallet that’s subject to constant upgrades and improvements. The technologies that power Monero will surely evolve, and the best wallet technologies should follow suit. Choose a product from a company that has an active, transparent, and prolific development team behind it. It would also be good to find evidence that they have excellent and responsive customer support.
The Bottom Line: Settling On The Best Choice Of Monero Wallet
Choosing the right Monero wallet is not as simple as picking the first option you see. Each wallet available on the market may offer its own unique set of advantages, which sets it apart from the others and makes it the most suitable choice for you.
What makes the selection process so difficult is that these digital wallets tend to excel in certain features at the cost of others. Often, the choice comes down to speed versus privacy. Some wallets can process data much faster than others, while other wallets provide anonymity safeguards that bolster user safety but slow down transactions.
At the end of the day, it is better to think of these characteristics as ideals or criteria when assessing a potential wallet option or when discerning the need to change one’s current wallet. Determine what it is that you desire most from your experience with Monero, and choose your XMR wallet accordingly.
