My first wallet
For you to be able to store cryptocurrency you need a wallet.
There are multiple types of wallets, Cloud based, software OS based, offline based, also known as "Cold Storage Wallets".
This different types of wallets can either be created by the user or by utilising the software of services of providers.
My recommendation for beginners is to start with one of the Cloud Based solutions due to the simplicity of creating an account, the easiness of access from multiple devices, the security that comes with Cloud Computing and the possibility to buy cryptocurrency directly from your wallet software. Wallet providers also have exchange services for the easiness of purchase crypto directly to the wallet, but usually not much variety is offered.
Bellow you will find links for the most popular Wallets in the market:
(Currently only Coinbase allows you to transfer $ into your credit card, also offers a affiliate program, so if you choose Coinbase following the link above, you will receive 10$ of free bitcoin for your first 100$ equivalent transaction)
Now I will explain how can you make transfers between your wallets or between you and someone else:
To send Cryptocurrency you should select the option "send", here you will be asked the amount you want to send and the destination address:
To know the correct destination address you or the person wanting to receive the transaction should click "receive" and here the address will be displayed in the form of a QRcode or the address it self as shown bellow:
You should copy and paste this adress (public key) and insert it in the wallet you are sending the Cryptocurrency from.
Please note that due to the nature of Cryptocurrency transactions can take from 10min to some hours depending on how much fees you chose to pay.
After you have become more experienced in the cryptocurrency field and now you feel like you want to be the proud owner of a significant amount of Crypto, I advice to look into the solutions of Cold Storage Devices available in the market such has:
Cold Storage devices are beneficial because they keep your cryptocurrency stored just with you, therefore you are not dependent of the services of 3rd parties to store your crypto.
When you create an account on a Exchange multiple wallets are also created during the process. The typical situation is to have most of your crypto stored in one or multiple wallets(p.ex. Blockchain, BTC, Coinbase) and then to transfer the funds that you want to invest to one of the wallets of the Exchange you chose. (like Bitfinex or Cryptopia, check topic "Investing Cryptocurrency for Beginners").
How to truly become in control of you cryptocurrency? Answer:
PRIVATE KEYS:
Private keys store the all the information that can be inserted into any wallet to "restore" your access to your cryptocurrency.
This is in my opinion the safest way to make sure you are the only one in control of your funds.
Private keys can be transformed into seeds Ex: a sequence of 12 words that you can right down and store in a peace of paper allowing you to later on "restore" your Private keys information.
Wallets such as Electrum allow for this transformation and for the ability to import and export such keys.
NOTE: By the nature of the Private keys, anyone with access to such can have full access and control of your funds.
PUBLIC KEYS:
Like seen above, public keys are the ones you share with others to perform transactions, they are not the same as the Private keys, they are a mathematical transformation of them.
Both should not be confused for the reasons explained above.
DioAlma