What Is A Desktop Wallet?
A Bitcoin Desktop Wallet is a bitcoin walletWhat Is A Bitcoin Wallet? A Bitcoin wallet is an app or software that enables you to send, receive, and store bitcoin. Although the term "wallet" is commonly used, bitcoin... that runs on a desktop/laptop computer and provides the highest level of functionality for building and broadcasting transactions. Desktop wallets are available for all major operating systems, such as Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Why Should You Use A Desktop Wallet?
Desktop wallets are a great medium between a full hardware walletWhat Is A Hardware Wallet? A Bitcoin hardware wallet is a dedicated device for generating and storing private keys as well as signing bitcoin transactions in a secure offline environment.... device and mobile wallets because not everyone is comfortable keeping all of their bitcoin on a device that is constantly connected to the internet or completely disconnected from the internet like a hardware wallet.
Some common features offered by desktop wallets are the ability to connect to your own bitcoin node and electrum server, coin controlWhat Is Coin Control? Coin Control is a privacy enhancing wallet feature that enables manual control of which UTXOs (unspent transaction outputs) you send in a Bitcoin transaction. This can..., multisigWhat Is MultiSig? Multisig, short for multiple signatures, is a security measure that requires multiple signatures in order to authorize and send a bitcoin transaction. It is a feature in... support, multiple script types, CoinJoinWhat Is CoinJoin? CoinJoin is a type of privacy-enhancing Bitcoin practice that groups multiple UTXOs (inputs) together and spends them with other users' transactions, making it more difficult to know..., multiple account support, BIP39 passphrasesWhat Is A Seed Phrase? A Bitcoin seed phrase -- also called a recovery phrase, wallet backup seed, or mnemonic phrase -- is a list of 12-24 common English words..., custom miner fees, air-gapped transaction signing/broadcasting, hardware wallet connectivity, and more.
The Best Bitcoin Desktop Wallets
While desktop wallets offer the highest level of functionality, they do not all offer the same features.
Sparrow Wallet
Sparrow Wallet is a bitcoin desktop wallet with a focus on security and privacy. Sparrow gives you to highest level of control over your private keysWhat Are Bitcoin Keys? Bitcoin keys are randomly generated strings of numbers and letters that are used to send bitcoin and/or verify ownership of a bitcoin address with a digital..., building transactions, and all of the best privacy features available in a desktop wallet.
Key Features of Sparrow Wallet:
– Connect to your own bitcoin nodeWhat Is A Bitcoin Node? A bitcoin node is any computer that runs the bitcoin software, enforces the bitcoin consensus rules, and validates bitcoin transactions and blocks. Bitcoin nodes are... & electrum server
– MultiSig support
– Hardware wallet integration
– BIP 32 HD wallet structure
– BIP 39 passphrasesWhat Is A Seed Phrase? A Bitcoin seed phrase -- also called a recovery phrase, wallet backup seed, or mnemonic phrase -- is a list of 12-24 common English words...
– BIP 44 Multiple accounts
– BIP 47 Payment codes (PayNyms)
– BIP 174 partially signed bitcoin transactions (PSBT)
– Manual script types and key derivation paths
– CoinJoin support (Whirlpool and PayJoin)
– Coin control
– Custom miner fees
– Fee BumpingWhat Is Fee Bumping? Fee Bumping is a method of increasing the miner fee of a transaction after it has been sent but has not yet been confirmed and added...
– Pay to multiple addresses
– Wallet passwords
– WIF paper walletWhat Is A Paper Wallet? A paper wallet is a single private key and the corresponding bitcoin address written or printed on a piece of paper. From 2011 to 2016,... sweeping
– Timelocks
Sparrow wallet is available on Mac, Windows, and multiple Linux distributions.
Electrum Wallet
Electrum wallet is a popular Bitcoin desktop wallet that has been around since 2011 and is well known for its speed, security, and ease of use.
Key Features of Electrum Wallet:
– Connect to your own bitcoin node & electrum server
– MultiSig support
– Hardware wallet integration
– BIP 32 HD wallet structure
– BIP 39 passphrases
– BIP 44 Multiple accounts
– BIP 174 partially signed bitcoin transactions (PSBT)
– Manual script types and key derivation paths
– Coin control
– Custom miner fees
– Wallet passwords
– WIF paper wallet sweeping
Electrum is available in Mac, Windows, comes pre-installed on multiple linux distributions as well as the popular amnesic OS Tails.
Blue Wallet
Blue Wallet is both a bitcoin desktop wallet as well as a mobile walletWhat Is A Mobile Wallet? A mobile wallet is a bitcoin wallet that runs on a mobile device such as an iPhone, Android, or tablet. Mobile wallets are free app... with a focus on quality user experience, security, and easily managing multiple accounts.
Key Features of Blue Wallet:
– Connect to your own bitcoin node & electrum server
– MultiSig support
– Hardware wallet integration
– BIP 32 HD wallet structure
– BIP 39 passphrases
– BIP 44 Multiple accounts
– Coin control
– Custom miner fees
– Fee Bumping
– Wallet passwords
Blue wallet for desktop is available on Mac, as well as a partner mobile wallet that is available on both iOS and Android.