Bitcoin is now the favourite buzzword of the market and everyone seems to be keen to join this exciting track. This moniker has been stoking investor appetite and even a mention of Bitcoin in a company’s press release is sending its stock soaring high. Companies are rebranding themselves to create a new hum and capture investor attention. For instance, when Bioptix Inc, a diagnostic machinery maker for the biotech industry rebranded itself as Riot Blockchain, its stock doubled in value following the announcement. A foray into digital currency is proving profitable not just for companies. The latest entity to join the Bitcoin wallet space is Overstock, an early adopter of Bitcoin as a medium of exchange, which announced the beta launch of its cryptocurrency wallet on 14 September 2018.
Bitcoin wallets lead the way
Get your Bitcoin wallet free and join the growing pool of crypto enthusiasts. Bitcoin is attracting increasing trader activity and is steering a new wave of digital wallets. The number of people using Bitcoin wallets is perhaps a tantalizing pointer to the popularity of the king of cryptocurrency. According to an Oracle Times report, 766,649 wallets were added in August 2018 alone. According to data compiled by Bitinfocharts.com, there are almost 22 million Bitcoin wallets in existence.
What is a Bitcoin wallet?
A Bitcoin wallet is like your purse in which you store your cash, only that it is digital. Simply defined, a Bitcoin wallet is a software program in which Bitcoins are stored. The Bitcoin wallet saves the private key, which comprises a secret number of every Bitcoin address of the person who owns the Bitcoins. Bitcoin wallets help Bitcoin owners to send and receive Bitcoins. A Bitcoin wallet can be stored on your desktop computers or laptops, on your mobile phones, the web, and some specific hardware. Creating a Bitcoin wallet is a primary step in the process of obtaining Bitcoins. Although a Bitcoin wallet is analogous to the physical wallet, Bitcoins are not stored literally in the wallet. Instead, the Bitcoin wallets store relevant information such as the security key used by the Bitcoin owners to execute the transactions. A Bitcoin wallet provides the user with complete control over the wallet.
Mobile wallets and web-based wallets provide immense flexibility since they allow users to access their Bitcoins from anywhere. Hardware wallets store Bitcoins on a physical piece of equipment that can be plugged into a computer through a USB port. The hardware Bitcoin wallets are the only wallets that are not free. Mobile and web-based wallets are immensely popular with Bitcoin users. However, given that vital information pertaining to the private key of the Bitcoin user is stored online, users should be extremely cautious and should choose a wallet that offers robust security features.
Bitcoin’s popularity exploded in 2017, and the steady rise in the number of Bitcoin wallets during the year perhaps was a build-up to launch of futures contracts by Chicago-based exchanges CBOE and CME Group, which would pave the way institutional investors such as pension funds and insurers to play on Bitcoin. As the Bitcoin wallet space becomes crowded, the players will create niches for themselves. For instance, Overstock, the online retailer who made a beta launch of its Bitcoin last week, seeks to differentiate its wallet through robust security features such as the use of facial recognition as the key and innovative recovery characteristics. As Bitcoin continues with its magical journey and adds more wallets along the way, it is clear that the differentiation will turn louder.
