Best Free Bitcoin Wallet: Our Top 3 Picks

If you have been part of the crypto world for a while, you probably already have a trusty crypto wallet. If you don’t or you are just a beginner, it is time you start looking for one. This is because storing your cryptocurrency in an exchange or other platform’s wallet is not a great idea.

With Bitcoin maintaining its dominance over other cryptocurrencies, many investors are likely to have this coin in their portfolio. If you are one of them, there are several specialized wallets you might want to consider using.

That’s why today, we bring you a list of wallets that might be of interest if you are looking to take your Bitcoin game to the next level. While we have mentioned some Bitcoin-specific wallets in the past, we have received feedback about them being too expensive for beginners.

For this reason, we have decided to compile a list of some of the best cryptocurrency wallets you can use to store your Bitcoin. It is important to note, however, that this list is not in order. We believe that each of these wallets shines in its own category.

As such, no matter which one you decide to go for… You can be sure you are using the best free Bitcoin wallet for your specific needs.

Let’s get started!

The Best Free Bitcoin Wallet for Desktop: Electrum

We have already mentioned this Bitcoin dinosaur in some of our other wallet reviews. Now, we are mentioning this wallet again as it is not possible to talk about Bitcoin wallets without listing this veteran. Electrum is just such a major player in the Bitcoin community that it takes all the awards…Well, maybe not the beauty award, but we’ll get to that later.

To begin with, Electrum emerged at the same time as Bitcoin, which allowed it to adapt to the cryptocurrency’s changes in real-time. This wallet was developed to be the perfect wallet to store your BTC, and despite having been launched in 2011… ten years later it still remains a solid option.

This is because Electrum differs from other wallets that seek to diversify their currency support. Instead of expanding to new tokens and networks… Electrum decided to be the best free Bitcoin wallet.

As for its tools, you can take it for granted that Electrum has everything you can ask from a wallet. In fact, many of this wallet’s features have been implemented in other wallets. This is possible because Electrum’s code is open source, which means it can be improved and audited by its community.

Let’s take a look at some of the tools offered by Electrum:

• Tor Support: Tor is a network that allows its users to remain anonymous when using the internet. By supporting this network, Electrum provides you with a means to increase your security and privacy.
• Different types of wallets: This feature allows you to have as many wallets as you want, no matter what type of wallet you need. The wallet types offered by Electrum are standard, multi-sig, 2fa, import private key, and watch-only wallets. Definitely, a great feature for power users to have!
• Hardware Wallet Support: With a lot of users opting to use hardware wallets to increase security, Electrum chose to add support for them. Ledger, Trezor, and Keepkey hardware wallets are all supported!.
• Choose your rates: Electrum was one of the pioneers in using a preference system for transactions. The principle is quite simple: if you want your transaction to be instantaneous, you can choose to pay a higher fee. On the other hand, if you would like to pay a lower fee…you can do so in exchange for your transaction having a lower priority.

The only aspect in which electrum is lacking is its design. In fact, it is not aesthetically pleasing at all. This can be shocking for new users who have grown used to aesthetically pleasing applications. That being said, no other Bitcoin desktop wallet works as well as Electrum. As such, the sacrifice is worth it.

The Best Free Bitcoin Wallet for Mobile: Mycelium

Despite Electrum being a wallet that has it all when it comes to managing your Bitcoin on a desktop… It lacks a mobile app. As such, many users who find themselves looking for a wallet that allows them to interact with their crypto on the move will be disappointed.

That being said, there are excellent options that will offer the convenience of mobile wallets to Bitcoin investors. One of these options is no other than Mycelium, the best free Bitcoin wallet for mobile users.

Like Electrum, Mycelium decided to separate itself from the rest of its competitors that offered a diversified wallet service. As such, Mycelium only offers support for Bitcoin.

Mycelium was launched in 2013 on the Play Store and sometime later, it was also released on iOS. While it no longer has this title, it was for a fairly long time the top-rated wallet on Android.

Unlike Electrum, Mycelium was designed with simplicity in mind when it comes to usability. The wallet simply has a main tab called “Fund.” Here, you will have access to your balance, the send and receive Bitcoin options, and quotations.

To make things easier, Mycelium even offers the possibility to register each user you send Bitcoin to. This shortcut also allows you to create QR codes to perform operations, making sending crypto a breeze.

In terms of security, Mycelium also stands out from its competitors. This is because many mobile apps are just desktop versions ported to mobile. Such apps do not bother to add extra security measures… even when it is known that the risk on a cell phone is much higher.

Mycelium fixes this issue by including security measures such as rotating the addresses to avoid being tracked.

While simple, such a feature can make a huge difference. If you are looking for technical security measures, worry not… You will still get them! Mycelium also offers integration with the Tor anonymous network, encrypted traffic, and more.

As far as your Bitcoin is concerned, the wallet offers you the possibility to install the app on a hardware wallet in case you want that extra security.

If you are a mobile-only user and cannot access Electrum, we definitely recommend trying Mycelium out. It is an application with a similar commitment to offering a professional quality service for users of the most popular crypto.

The Best Free Bitcoin Wallet for Those Who Value Privacy: Wasabi Wallet

Our third option is a little different from the other two as it is aimed at the users who are a little more “mysterious.” In terms of free Bitcoin wallets, Wasabi Wallet has a mechanic that will ensure your privacy is kept at all times.

Wasabi defines itself as an open-source, non-custodial, privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet for Desktop that also implements trustless CoinJoin. It is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Ubuntu users, so no matter what computer you have, you will be able to use Wasabi Wallet.

Let’s talk about the wallet’s main feature, a trading technology called CoinJoin. This feature is a way to make trades anonymous. This feature works as follows:

Suppose 10 people are trading at the same time, 5 sellers and 5 buyers. Those 5 sellers will make the transfer at the same time identified with a signature of their own that will also have a buyer.

All their cryptos will be sent simultaneously to Wasabi, which then distributes it using this signature to the buyers. In this way, Wasabi Wallet makes sure that you don’t know who they are trading with.

Maintaining this anonymity is a security guarantee much sought after by users who consider their privacy the most. Wasabi has another unique mechanic which is that fees are paid as a group.

The more users participate in these group transactions, the fewer fees they will pay since they “share” the expenses, and generally, you always come out winning. Even if there are only two users, the fees will hardly exceed 0.2% of the transaction.

This is a win-win for users of Wasabi as they not only get to protect their privacy but also save in fees!

Conclusion

While there are many Bitcoin-specific free Bitcoin wallets out there, these three wallets have proven to be the most popular. This popularity is not without reason as every one of them provides excellent features. If you are looking to make the best out of your Bitcoin, you can’t go wrong with these wallets.

Sure, most of them are just not as stylish and sleek as more recent wallets but, they have survived the test of time for a reason: They are the best at what they do!

However, we understand that a Bitcoin-specific wallet might not be for you. If this is the case, we recommend you check some of our crypto wallets reviews!