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Electrum Wallet Review: Features & More

While searching for the best crypto wallet, you must have come upon the Electrum wallet. People holding Bitcoin who want a feature-rich wallet with lots of privacy settings will find Electrum useful. This beginner’s guide will cover details on Electrum wallet and go through major crucial factors you need to know before selection. 

What is an Electrum wallet?

Founded in 2011 by Thomas Voegtlin, Electrum is one of the oldest Bitcoin wallets. Overall, the Electrum wallet holds 10% of Bitcoin transactions.

Be it Linux, Windows, or Mac, Electrum wallet is suitable for all platforms.

The design of the Electrum wallet is lightweight with an efficient user interface. Electrum wallet interfaces with the Bitcoin network to avert the cryptocurrency users downloading the entire Bitcoin blockchain and running it with node coding.

Desktop wallet

As Electrum is a software wallet, it is considered one of the most secure software wallets. Nevertheless, Electrum is less secure than paper and hardware wallet variations.

Yet, the latest updates in the system made by developers have made Electrum one of the trusted online software wallets.

How does Electrum work?

Electrum wallet perfectly drives the path between usability and expert functionality. After installation, the wallet Electrum stores your keys on the device as encrypted files.

The interface of the wallet Electrum is lightweight, which saves you from downloading the 200GB entire blockchain.

Safely store Bitcoin

Using the software wallet, Electrum allows you to create multiple wallet types. Besides that, you can import existing bitcoin wallets to Electrum: You can even transfer your coins to your Electrum wallet.

Sending and receiving transactions is pretty handy. Right at the top of the dashboard, you will get the options. Follow the instructions displayed on the screen.

Features of Electrum wallet

Electrum wallet is bolstering its feet in the Bitcoin community by keeping the interface user-friendly with forthright sorts.

In this section, we’re highlighting some of the leading aspects of the Electrum wallet that make it stand among the most popular Bitcoin wallets.

1. Interface

The moment you land on the Electrum dashboard, you’ll surely be dazed by the interface. Without skimming through various tabs, you will perceive the options at the top bar.

Either you want to send cryptocurrency, receive or check the crypto exchange history; all options are right at the top bar. 

Electrum wallet safe

2. Cold storage

If this sounds new to you, let us give you a brief first. The fear of hacking and losing private keys among cryptocurrency traders is at its peak. And why not?

Private keys are the proof you’re the owner and can access the account. Without the private keys, you’re locked out of your account.

Cold secure storage

With that in mind, you should stores the wallet keys offline in cold storage with watch-only mode for the Electrum users. This feature prevents the chances of private keys being stolen by hackers.

3. Security and private keys

Although Electrum is a software wallet, the security features Electrum supports can wear out any top hardware wallet effortlessly. If you forget your password or the end-to-end encryption data of your private key, you can get your funds back from the seed phrase stage.

About Electrum

4. Hardware wallet support

Another top feature that makes Electrum wallet out-ranks other wallets. Being a software wallet, Electrum wallet is compatible with the hardware and multisig wallets such as Ledger Nano X and Ledger Nano S – the best hardware wallets. 

Hardware wallets

This compatibility secures the user’s private key offline from hackers. Bear in mind; you don’t need to own the hardware wallets to sell and buy Bitcoin. 

5. Customer services

How can we forget to mention the customer support of Electrum wallet? Electrum wallet has designed customer support extensively to make crypto trading effortless for beginners.

Along with the availability of chat agents 24/7, an active BitcoinTalk feature is also available. This category solves your queries in seconds.

Merits and Demerits of Electrum Bitcoin Wallets

Merits

  • Supports multi-signature wallet to secure the fund and private key;
  • Software-based design to limit downloading of Bitcoin blockchain with node coding;
  • Electrum wallet doesn’t store the keys solely. Instead, it keeps private keys offline to secure wallet and funds;
  • No information is available on the platform online;
  • Two-factor password protection prevents hackers from reaching the inside of Electrum wallet;
  • For even better security, two-factor authentication is present;
  • Integration with hardware wallets for additional security.
Supports bitcoin only

Demerits

  • Supports a single cryptocurrency – only Bitcoin;
  • Not regulated by any finance authority;
  • Electrum support team takes lengthy period solving the recent security breach;
  • Choosing Segwit wallet instead of the Standard one comes diverse complexities during the seed phrase stage;
  • Bitcoin’s steep learning curves are complex for beginners.

How to sign up on Electrum wallet

Before getting started on Electrum, you need to download Electrum on your device. The wizard setup of the Electrum wallet takes several stages in a couple of minutes. To make it unassuming for nontechnical folks, here is the step-by-step process. 

Multisig wallet

1. Download the latest version

Visit the official website of the Electrum wallet and download the latest version on your Linux, Home windows, or Mac device.

If you are downloading the Electrum wallet on your smartphone, then download the mobile wallet. Keep in mind the Electrum wallet is compatible with Android devices only.

2. Follow the instruction

Once your downloading process is complete, open the wallet on your device and follow the step-by-step guide to finish the downloading.

Ensure the version you are selecting is compatible with the operating system of your device. After downloading, choose the .exe encrypted wallet file to install the Electrum wallet.

This process will take a couple of minutes, have patience!

3. Create a new wallet

Let us proceed to the process by creating a new wallet. Here, you will receive two options;

  • Segwit wallet
  • Standard wallet

Either you are a novice or a pro, choose the standard wallet when beginning with the Electrum wallet. Segwit wallet has a specific P2SH Electrum address which might restrict you from receiving funds from sources that don’t support the BECH32 Bitcoin address.

Select standard wallet so you can receive and withdraw Bitcoin cash from any source or platform despite the wallet address.  

4. Fill the seed phrase

After selecting the Electrum Bitcoin wallet, a new recovery seed phrase will pop on the screen. Write down the data shown and click on save to secure the information.

The seed phrase data you saved will aid in recovering your keys when you lose them. Again check the seed phrase data you entered, whether correct or not.

Remember, your single mistake can lead you to lose your keys and funds forever. Once sure, click on confirm. Create a strong password and click on next.

5. Select the Electrum server

Most of the folks are stuck at this stage. Which server to choose? Instead of getting confused about which one to select, click on the Auto Connect option. The Electrum wallet will auto-select the best server it necessitates to run. 

That is how you create an account on Electrum hot wallet. After the complete setup, the main dashboard will pop on the screen. Here you will see the fund showing as mBTC pretty complex for a novice.

Direct to the settings > Tools > Preference/ Appearance and change the base unit to BTC. 

Is Electrum better than Coinbase?

Crypto traders are spamming the public forums with this verbose question; Electrum vs. Coinbase, which one is better?

Summon up, have a sneak peek at the comparison chart below;   

Comparison chart

The in-depth comparison shows that Coinbase is an out-ranking Electrum wallet with many advanced features. The security features Coinbase offers are also way better than the Electrum wallet.

Besides that, Coinbase supports up to 8 cryptocurrencies, while Electrum wallet supports only one- Bitcoin.

How to restore access to an Electrum Bitcoin wallet

So you have lost your wallet keys on Electrum wallet and looking for ways to restore them? Don’t worry. We got your back. Follow the process mentioned as such to recover your lost keys.

Community guidlines

1. Download from the official site

Visit the Electrum wallet and click on the download option. It will take a few minutes. Once the software is downloaded, follow the instructions mentioned on the screen to complete the downloading process. Run the .exe file to complete the installation.

2. Select your standard wallet

Refresh the windows and open the wallet. Now select the wallet. Select the same wallet you chose while creating your account on Electrum wallet, be it Segwit or Standard wallet.

3. Input your seed

Here is the main stage. Please don’t click on the new seed phrase as it is only for new users. Click on I already have the seed option. Here, paste the seed you saved while creating your account. Recheck the information. Make sure all input is accurate.

4. Create a new password

Now create a strong password consisting of symbols, upper and lower characters, and numeric. Make sure to write down the password somewhere in your database to prevent your wallet from getting lost again.

Fees and limitations of Electrum

Proceeding with our Electrum wallet review in this section, we’re highlighting the Electrum wallet fees it charges on Bitcoin transactions. 

The downloading process of Electrum wallet is free of charge. It means whether you download the wallet once or thrice, you won’t charge even a single penny.

Free and decentralized

Small transaction fees apply to trading and withdrawing electron cash. Bear in mind the transaction process takes time. Nevertheless, if you want a quick transaction, you can increase Bitcoin payments. The fees range between 0.1-0.7sat/byte.

Security features of Electrum

Electrum safe environment
  • No informational data display on the online dashboard to increase the chances of hacking;
  • End-to-end password protection to secure private keys;
  • Compatibility with major hardware wallets to upsurge security;
  • Simple payment verification for a bank account with QR code scanning;
  • Open two-factor authentication;
  • Coding is written in Python gaming language;
  • Local transaction signatures to secure keys; no interfere of server on the private keys;
  • Seed phrase as a security measure to restore keys when the device is lost or stolen.

Final thoughts

If you are looking for a safe and comfortable trading platform with low fees, the Electrum wallet is exactly what you need. The lightweight and user-friendly interface with end-to-end encryption of keys in a cold store averts the chances of hacking. Since the platform is present from the beginning, the trusted consumer rate is high. With the Electrum wallet, it doesn’t matter if your device gets lost or stolen. The seed phrase secures the keys with a third-party source.

A year ago, malware users are targetted unsuspecting crypto users through an Electrum Wallet scam asking for their credentials. The malicious actors are targetting users that are still using an older version of Electrum. The attackers find victims using fake Electrum servers to send pop-up messages to people using the wallet’s old version. These popups encourage people to install fake updates, allowing them access to their computer and wallet credentials.

Cybercriminals have been using a loophole in the operating method of Electrum wallets that allows them to set up servers and wait for users to randomly connect to their network. Hopefully, a lot has changed since this loophole was discovered.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some frequently asked questions related to Electrum wallet. Have a sneak peek to clear your confusion. 

Is Electrum a safe wallet?

After the detailed Electrum wallet review, we conclude Electrum wallet is safe. The end-to-end encryption with cold storage minimizes all possible chances of hacking.

Is Electrum wallet a good investment?

Safe, user-friendly interface, and private; that is what Electrum wallet is all about. Is it reasonable to invest in the Electrum software wallet or not? Yes, you should! But only if you want to trade Bitcoin.

Does Electrum charge a fee?

Electrum wallet charges a transaction fee of around 0.7sat/byte. This fee can be reduced to 0.1sat/byte in some cases.

Is Electrum Bitcoin wallet private?

About the privacy of the Electrum wallets, rest assured. The keys are secured on cold storage, away from the spectacle of hackers and other bitcoin clients. 

Bitcoin core vs. Electrum wallet – which one is better?

While comparing both wallets, we conclude Electrum wallet is way better than the Bitcoin core due to its rich security features, 2-factor authentication, and user-friendly interface. 

My Electrum wallet is frozen. What should I do?

It happens when you try to transact with Bitcoin higher than the limit. To solve this, wait for a while, then refresh the device. If the issue remains the same, then direct to customer support and let them handle the matter. 

Disclaimer. The information provided is not trading advice. Cryptopolitan.com holds no liability for any investments made based on the information provided on this page. We strongly recommend independent research and/or consultation with a qualified professional before making any investment decision.

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Alden Baldwin

Journalist, Writer, Editor, Researcher, and Strategic Media Manager:With over 10 years of experience in the digital, print and public relations industries, he has been working with the mantra, Creativity, Quality and Punctuality. In his waning years promises to build a a self sustaining institute that provides free education. He is working towards funding his own startup.As a technical and language editor, he has worked with multiple top cryptocurrency publications such as DailyCoin, Inside Bitcoins, Urbanlink Magazine, Crypto Unit News and several others.He has edited over 50,000+ articles, journals, scripts, copies, sales campaign headlines, biographies, newsletters, cover letters, product descriptions, landing pages, business plans, SOPs, e-books, and several other kinds of content.

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