Types of wallets
At Bitvice, we focus on three types of self-custody Bitcoin wallets that can be set up to receive, store and secure your Bitcoin:
- Mobile/Hot Wallets
- Hardware Wallets
- Multi-sig Wallets
This is discussed further in our article: What is a wallet and why is it important to self-custody my Bitcoin?
Types of wallets based on amount of Bitcoin
Small amounts (~0.1% net worth) — use a Mobile Bitcoin Wallet
Blue Wallet (Recommended)
This wallet works on both Android and iOS mobile devices as well as a desktop version of Mac’s.
It has a great user interface.
Offers Bitcoin, Lightning and Multisig wallets.
Other recommended mobile wallets
Samourai (Android only)
Medium Amounts (~1-20% net worth) — use a Hardware Bitcoin Wallet
A hardware wallet is a physical device that looks something similar to a flash drive. It is a more secure way to store your Bitcoin than a mobile wallet, as it is only very briefly in contact with the internet when sending a transaction, if at all.
Ledger (Recommended)
This is the most entry level wallet from Ledger.com.
It is very reasonably priced and hundreds of thousands of people use this device worldwide.
It has a user-friendly desktop and mobile app that is linked to the device, to view your Bitcoin balance/s.
You can purchase two types of Ledger devices through the only licensed provider in South Africa:
*Please only ever download the Ledger software directly from the service provider at www.ledger.com
*Hardware wallets are discussed further in our article: How to setup a hardware wallet
Large amounts (more than 20%+ net worth) — use a Multisig Bitcoin Wallet
A multisig wallet is a collection of single key wallets combined together to form a single address output. However, for any transaction to be moved out of the multisig wallet, a certain chorum of the keys used to create the wallet must sign the transaction. For example, in a 2 of 3 multisig, a total of 3 keys are used to create the wallet and any 2 are needed to sign the transaction in order to broadcast it to the network. This means that 1 key can be redundant in this setup, allowing the user to have the peace of mind of knowing that if he loses one key, the other 2 can still sign a transaction and thus the Bitcoin held in the multisig is still accessible. Other multisig setups can include a 2 of 2, 3 of 5, 5 of 7, 7 of 9 etc. Thus a custom multisig setup can be built for any security requirement.
Casa Keymaster Multisig — More advanced privacy features (quite costly)
Keys.Casa is a ready-to-use Multisig provider app that can be downloaded to your mobile device (Android or iOS).
It is around ~R2,000 per annum for the recommended Gold plan.
All you need to do is have a hardware device, a mobile and the Casa app.
Casa guides you through the setup process here.
Sparrow Multisig Wallet (Free)
Multisig wallets are discussed further in our article: How to setup a free multisig wallet (Sparrow)
Contact support@bitvice.io if you need assistance in setting up a multisig wallet