Overview of the best Bitcoin wallets for beginners and experienced users
According to Riber's research as of March 2025, 4% of the world's population owns Bitcoin — around 330 million people. Over the past five years, this number has more than tripled, and Bitcoin's market capitalization has surpassed $2 trillion for the first time, putting it on par with the world's largest companies.
A Bitcoin wallet acts as a secure vault for cryptocurrency holders, but it's important to choose the right one based on user needs. Bitcoin wallets differ in terms of security, functionality, and ease of use.
Criteria for choosing the best Bitcoin wallet
Security
From a security standpoint, hardware wallets are considered the most reliable. Their main advantage lies in providing so-called "cold storage," meaning they don't require a constant internet connection. This greatly reduces the risk of hacking or theft, since most vulnerabilities are associated with being online.
A hardware wallet is a separate physical device, resembling a flash drive or small gadget, with a built-in Secure Element chip designed to store private keys. Extracting or copying data from this chip is nearly impossible. As a result, private keys remain inside the "secure container" and never directly touch the internet or a computer.
The security chip cannot be hacked remotely, and the wallet's private key never leaves the device. The wallet connects to the internet only during use, remaining safe from malware infiltration.
This design ensures funds are protected even if the computer is infected with viruses or compromised by attackers. However, hardware wallets are less convenient for everyday use compared to software wallets. Using them requires plugging in the device, entering a PIN, and sometimes confirming actions on the device screen. This takes more time than accessing a software wallet, where a few clicks on a phone or laptop are enough.
Therefore, hardware wallets are rarely used for frequent small transactions or daily payments. Their main purpose is long-term, highly secure storage of large amounts of cryptocurrency. Essentially, they act as a "safe": funds are secure, accessible, but using them takes longer compared to a "pocket wallet" (mobile or online).
Thus, the optimal strategy for most users is to keep small amounts for daily operations in convenient software wallets and significant savings in hardware wallets, where security is the top priority.
Best Bitcoin wallets in terms of security
Some of the most popular models are multi-currency hardware wallets from Ledger and Trezor, which offer a whole range of devices.
For example, the new Trezor Safe 5 model is equipped with the latest EAL6+ security chip, protecting against online and offline threats, and a small touchscreen.
The device supports advanced security features such as a passphrase and Shamir backup (SLIP-39). There is also a separate Bitcoin-only model of the Trezor Safe 5, supporting the same features as the multi-currency version.
New Ledger Stax devices feature a large touchscreen and Bluetooth connectivity for mobile devices.
There are also hardware wallets that support only Bitcoin. For example, the compact BitBox02 Bitcoin Only Edition with open-source software supports connection to PCs and Android smartphones. It also integrates with popular Bitcoin wallets Electrum, Sparrow, Specter, and Wasabi.
Blockstream Jade, in addition to having a large touchscreen and Bluetooth, has a built-in camera for offline transaction signing (PSBT). The device also supports multisignature and self-destruction after incorrect PIN entries.
Ease of use and mobility
The most convenient wallets are mobile wallets and web plugins, as they provide quick access to assets.
These types of Bitcoin wallets are best suited for everyday tasks and storing small amounts, as well as for interacting with DeFi applications. Mobile wallets also allow transactions and DeFi connections via QR codes using the smartphone camera. But their main advantage is access to crypto anywhere with an internet connection.
However, such wallets are less secure than hardware wallets, as they are vulnerable to online attacks. The more popular a wallet becomes, the more often its users are targeted. For example, according to Chainalysis, since late 2024 there has been a sharp increase in attacks on MetaMask, the most popular EVM wallet: hundreds of users are attacked daily.
Best Bitcoin wallets for ease of use
Coinbase Wallet, created by the well-known company of the same name, combines ease of use and multi-currency support. Coinbase Wallet is available as both a plugin and a mobile app, with built-in DeFi and NFT features.
The mobile wallet Exodus supports only basic functions (sending crypto, on-chain swaps, staking) but is one of the most user-friendly thanks to its minimalist interface. Like Coinbase, Exodus is also multi-currency and supports over 50 networks. Exodus also integrates with Ledger hardware wallets.
Trust Wallet has become one of the most popular Bitcoin wallets thanks to its advanced features and ease of use, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced crypto users. This multi-chain wallet supports swaps, multiple addresses, and integration with popular hardware wallets. Trust Wallet exists as a mobile app and plugin.
Functionality and privacy
Some Bitcoin wallets provide advanced features to enhance privacy and security when using BTC, as well as transaction management. Such wallets are usually favored by experienced users who want their transactions to be more anonymous.
Typically, advanced software clients also integrate with hardware wallets, further improving security. However, for beginners these wallets may seem complex, with a confusing interface.
Best Bitcoin wallets with advanced features
One of the most advanced Bitcoin wallets is Electrum, available for mobile and desktop, targeting experienced users. Electrum supports UTXO management to increase transaction anonymity, multisignature, two-factor authentication (2FA), and Replace-by-Fee. However, Electrum is less user-friendly than Coinbase or Exodus.
OKX Wallet, in addition to advanced features for DeFi apps and liquidity pool management, supports cross-chain swaps (token exchanges between blockchains).
Sparrow Wallet is an advanced Bitcoin wallet supporting PSBT (partially signed Bitcoin transactions) and hardware wallet integration. It also offers full spending and fee control, BTC transaction labeling, PayNyms, and Tor integration for added anonymity.
Specter Wallet is similar to Sparrow but also supports direct Bitcoin Core node connections and custom derivation paths.
Another popular Bitcoin client is Wasabi Wallet, a cross-platform solution supporting Tor and hardware wallet integration. Wasabi features advanced Trustless CoinJoin transaction mixing, hiding sender addresses while reducing fees.