Looking for reliable answers on what is a desktop wallet? Cryptocurrencies need a place to be stored, just like it is the case with typical currencies. Desktop wallets serve this purpose by not only helping you store your coins safely but also send and receive additional coins. Each cryptocurrency has its desktop wallet, which runs just like any other computer program on your laptop or PC.
You only need to download and install a desktop wallet that matches whatever coin that you have. Desktop wallets offer you a convenient place to store your cryptocurrencies while waiting to undertake your next trade. Each desktop wallet is meant for a specific coin. For instance, a Bitcoin desktop wallet cannot be used to store and transact Ethereum, and vice versa.
For every purchase of a cryptocurrency, you get a private key that is saved on the desktop wallet’s software. Using a desktop wallet will grant you control and access to these keys, transactions, and your balance. The address of your desktop wallet is akin to a traditional bank account number. Whenever you want other people to transfer cryptocurrencies to you, they will need your wallet address.
Likewise, you will need their wallet address when you want to transfer coins to them. No two wallet addresses can be similar, and therefore, there’s little chance that someone else can access your wallet and get your funds. Besides this, you can create as many addresses as you want.
More Answers To What Is A Desktop Wallet
How Safe is a Desktop Wallets?
There is no third-party involvement when using desktop wallets, something that makes them relatively safer than online, mobile, or hardware wallets. Different cryptocurrencies prioritize different security-related aspects. While some emphasize on anonymity, others focus on security. All this is done to make the private keys of customers hard to steal or tamper with.
Generally, desktop wallets can only be accessed via the PC or laptop in which they were downloaded. This helps ward off hacking attempts thus ensuring maximum security to your wallet. Nonetheless, you can lose your coins if your computer gets hacked or infected by malware.
Most desktop wallets are anonymous in the sense that owners’ real-world identity is hidden. Nonetheless, you can still figure out how much money is in a desktop wallet, and the previous transactions that the owner has undertaken since most blockchains are transparent.
Public and Private Keys vs. Wallet Addresses
Once you have downloaded and installed a desktop wallet on your PC, you need a private key and a public key, which will give you control over your funds. Each cryptocurrency wallet address has a unique public and private key. The latter allows you to access whatever funds that are related to your crypto wallet address.
On the other hand, public keys are mathematically related to your wallet address. A public key is only a hashed version of your private key. This adds a security layer on your private key besides ensuring that your desktop wallet cannot get hacked.
The software technology of your cryptocurrency will link your private key to your public key thus authenticating that you are the owner of a desktop wallet. This allows you to transfer funds from your desktop wallet. We hope that this information answers your question on what is a desktop wallet and wish you the very best as you trade. For more informative cryptocurrency articles click here.