This year
has seen the arrival of a number of “cloud” mining services - companies
that will sell you mining contracts and pay you out with the proceeds.
Generally this means you’re renting mining hardware directly, and you
get paid out with whatever that hardware produces.
Genesis Mining
is a bit different, in that you don’t rent the hardware directly.
Instead, you get a contract for a set amount of hashing power, which you
can target against various alt-coins like DarkCoin, LiteCoin, etc. At
the end of the day, Genesis Mining converts your mining efforts back
into Bitcoins and pays out into your own wallet.
The site has a nice dashboard that lets you allocate your hashing
power to one or more alt-coins, or just set it to auto and they’ll
calculate the most profitable coin to mine for you.
I signed up a bit over a month ago, and purchased a total of 6 MH/s,
for 1.52954788 BTC, or about $940 USD at the time. I’ve left the mining
set to “auto”, so Genesis Mining can figure out which coin is the most
profitable.
Here’s what my payouts have looked like since then (the date format is dd.mm.yyyy):
While I’ve made back 0.351144 (23% of my initial investment) in a bit
over a month, you can see that payouts are definitely trending down.
I’m happy with the payouts so far, but I would like to know, on a daily
basis, just what my MH/s are being used to mine.
I’ll update again in the future to show how it’s going. Hopefully, I’ll at least break even by the 6 month-mark.
GENESIS-MINING.COM is a well-established X11, Ethereum and Bitcoin cloud mining provider. They are the largest Bitcoin cloud mining provider and furthermore are now offering Ethereum/X11 mining contracts as well. All their bitcoin contracts are lifetime contracts, which is a big plus! Currently, they have 3 undisclosed locations in Europe, America and Asia. They represent their service on all the important Bitcoin conferences / events and are more transparent than any cloud mining service out there! GENESIS-MINING.COM aims at the average Joe and as well at the bigger investor. They aim to be one of the most competitive cloud mining providers out there. You can start off with a 100 GHS (Gold) Bitcoin mining contract for 26$ to get a nice overview of the service they provide. If you look for something bigger you can purchase 2000 GHS (Platinum) for 499$ or 10000 GHS (Diamond) for 2400$. Their website is very clean and has a very appealing design. We really like how easy it is to set up an account with them and start mining. When you signed up, just fund your account with some Bitcoin and choose a mining plan that suits your needs. If you don’t want to pay with your precious Bitcoin you can pay by bank transfer, Litecoin, Dogecoin and Darkcoin or Credit Card.
Once you got your account funded with GENESIS-MINING.COM you will start to mine instantly. Owners of a Bitcoin mining contract do not need to do anything, just watch and see yourself how the Bitcoins are flowing in, however if you bought / own a X11 mining contract now is the time to allocate your hash power. You can allocate all your hash power to AUTO, which will mine the most profitable coin and exchange your earnings to Bitcoin for daily payouts. But that’s not it, what really made us happy and excited to see is that you can split up your total hash rate to different coins. As of February 2016, you can distribute your hash power to: AUTO (Bitcoin), Dash, Litecoin, Dogecoin, BitcoinDark, PeerCoin, Namecoin and CureCoin. You are even able to vote via a Facebook poll which coins that they should add next into their mining portfolio. This clearly proves that GENESIS-MINING is listening to a lot to their customers and their desires. The ability to mine your own portfolio of Altcoins remains unique in the cloud mining world and is only provided by GENESIS-MINING. This is definitely a step in the right direction by giving the customers more options on how to use their X11 mining contracts. GENESIS-MINING.COM has not only a very appealing design but scores as well with an outstanding mining dashboard. Within the dashboard, you can see your current mining stats, earnings in US Dollar, mining allocation and transactions. If you decide to add more hash power you can do this easily by clicking upgrade hashpower while logged into your account.
To manage your account information, wallets for the different coins and to add two-factor authentification simply click my account. Their support is outstanding and they will address any questions or issues very fast! GENESIS-MINING.COM is a very customer orientated company and does everything to make you happy. We highly recommend them and we are sure that they will remain growing bigger and bigger in the cloud mining business.
User friendlyness?
+ Fast, easy and free signup
+ Fast and friendly support, quickly responding and resolving occurring problems
+ Investments as low as 100 GHS / 1 MHS
Website functionality?
+ Easy to understand and to operate dashboard
+ Very well thought design and general functionality
+ Mine your own Altcoin portofolio
+ Two factor authentification
+ Refferal / promo code system
– No option to trade or sell your KHS/MHS
Trustability?
+ Street adress
+ LinkedIN accounts
+ Telephone number
+ Pictures/Livestreaming of their hardware
+ Representing their service at the most important Bitcoin events / conferences
Price?
+ Low price per GHS / MHS
+ No hidden fees
HASHOCEAN has Six data-centres. High earning power. Return on investment within 5 months.
HashOcean is a cloud mining website created more than 2 years and a half years ago to the United States and it has 6 data centers in the world (2 in San Francisco, 1 in New York, 1 in Nuremberg and 2 in Singapore). Serious and transparent, it one of the biggest cloud mining sites of the world.
It’s necessary to create an account using your email address. Then you should check your email and log on to HashCoin by using the received data. As soon as you enter the site you get 15 Kh/s and your mining starts. You can control the statistics of earned crypto-currency every day on the Transaction page. If you like the productivity of this service you can purchase the powers on the Buy page.
HashOcean Cloud Mining is a good investment. Miners are going in groups to create a website and offer its customers in the use of mining powers. It is more productive than solo mining. Before investing check these projects and contact for details administration. Cloud Mining is currently the leader in the relation speed / productivity. It is an advanced type of mining team and represents the conclusion of the “contract” with the company. The entire process takes place on a remote server and does not require you additional costs.
Hash Ocean is a cloud mining site that a new site that has mixed review. Many of the bad reviews of Hash Ocean come from the fact they have the highest payout rate of any cloud mining site we have seen. Another issue is the website post news from 2013 while the domain was purchased in 2015, this interesting issued has resulted in many forum posters to call this site a scam. After reading their offer (they give a 15 GHS bonus when you purchase 20 KH/s cloud mining hash,) I decided to do give the site a test drive. Since there price of $6.20 (USD) for 20 KH/s to start up was so cheap I figured I would not be out too much if the site did not pay out. After a couple hours of my 0.00025592 BTC showing up in my Hash Ocean account, I decided I did not want to wait to long for the min of .005 so I purchase and additional 50 KH/s pushing my daily yield to 0.00060 BTC. Well today was the day the balance met the minimum payout and sure enough 0.00062475 BTC showed up in my Coinbase wallet.
After some further research it seems the company use to have another domain and may have split into 2 different companies. That may explain why some of the information on the site is dated to older then the site. I will keep you posted with updates but as of today they are paying. Click here to check out their pricing.
While I have invested money into this site I recommend not spending money you can not afford to lose. There Payout is very high which often indicates a ponzi scam of some sort. To be up to this point (12/27/15) they have paid on time every time, in the end that’s what we really care about.
Hash Ocean Pros:
Low Start up Cost
Fast return on investment
Easy to use interface
Hash Ocean Cons:
They measure in Kh/s which can be a some what confusing
No proof of mining
Support phone has very long hold times,
Can not select coins to mine
The Table below reflects the Payouts and ROI of Hash Ocean
HashOcean
Company Date Hash Rate Total Investment Total Pay Out ROI Status
Hash Ocean 1/1/2016 725 KH/s 0.49313983 BTC 0.33792445 BTC 68.52% Paying
Date of 1st deposit 11/07/2015
hashOcean is Still paying as 3/15/2016
While this graph shows an ROI of 6852% these numbers a bit misleading. of the 0.49313983 BTC I have invested 0.33792445 BTC came from Hash Ocean payouts. meaning I have only really invested 0.15521538 BTC to get a current daily return of 0.00521 which calculates to a 3.35% return a day!. Now keep in mind this took a while to get to this point, but as of March 2016 Hash Ocean still has the best daily payouts that I know of in the bitcoin cloud Mining business.
UPDATE: 03/15/2016 Hash Ocean is still paying on time!
Coinbase Review: A+
In my mind, nothing comes close to Coinbase in terms of ease of use and security. You link a bank account to the San Francisco-based start-up, and then send them money to buy Bitcoin at the currently offered price. They wait up to a few days to ensure your transaction clears (Bitcoin is a murky financial area, and they don’t want to risk identity theft or other problems until they have banks on their side), and then give you access to your coins. 30 days after you have a successful transaction, you can add a credit card to your account to enable “instant buys” of up to $1,000 per week. Regular speed buys are allowed at up to $50,000 per week, from a linked bank account. Their platform is very popular, and justifiably so–it makes owning and managing your coins very simple. They also take excellent security precautions–two-factor authentication on log-in AND on send, keeping the VAST majority (97%!) of their coins in offline storage, and so on. They are an excellent way to enter the Bitcoin ecosystem, and an excellent way to integrate Bitcoin into your business, if you’re so inclined. They also offer the excellent Coinbase Vault program–a system that allows you to place your coins into a very high-security lock, requiring two-factor authentication along with a mandatory waiting period before the coins can be moved.
What aren’t they? They AREN’T an exchange. They aren’t a trading platform. If your goal is to be buying and selling Bitcoin on its swings, you don’t want to be using Coinbase for your day-to-day trading.
Details:
Backed by Andreessen Horowitz
Biggest US player, focused on merchant integration
Easy platform for buying and selling
Good way to get money into the ecosystem
High fees and long waits make it unsuited for trading. It’s more like Western Union than like Scottrade.
There appears to be a coordinated smear campaign against them on the internet.
Pros:
Easy to use! No harder than PayPal
Secure, trustworthy, American
Good customer service
They pay your transaction fees when you move your Bitcoin around
Cons:
Fees of about 1%
Long lag time for initial purchase, and later purchases over 1BTC makes it hard to profit from market movement over the short term
Slightly higher than market price for purchase
Really just not intended to be used for trading
Will occasionally cancel orders for “high-risk behavior”
Arbitrary Coinbase Review Ratings:
Legitimacy: 10/10
Ease of Use: 8/10
Trading Utility: 3/10
Customer Service: 8/10
Would I recommend it to my mother? I did.
Bitcoin transactions per day more than doubled
Bitcoin-transactions-on-the-blockchain
In December 2014, the Bitcoin network averaged 86,038 transactions per day. In December 2015, the Bitcoin network averaged 202,869 transactions per day (as of 12/23/15). This means that daily transactions on the bitcoin network more than doubled (136% growth year over year) in 2015.
Despite the strong growth in transactions, no single use case has broken out to the mainstream. This is something to keep an eye on in 2016 and beyond.
Bitcoin became more global
U.S.vs International Coinbase users
The majority of Coinbase users now reside outside the U.S (international users grew from 44% to 51% of our total user base in 2015). Despite Coinbase being founded in the U.S. and gaining initial traction there, we’re now seeing exceptional international growth in countries like Brazil, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
Bitcoin volatility decreased
Volatility has been on the decline since bitcoin’s inception. In 2015, bitcoin volatility fell by 21%. More specifically, the bitcoin vs U.S. dollar exchange volatility (trailing 30 day average) fell from 3.98% to 3.15% this year. You can see some of the more volatile government backed currencies this year in the graph above for comparison.
Will bitcoin eventually become less volatile than some government backed currencies? We’ve seen some interesting debate on the topic which could point to either answer (both short and long term).
The price of bitcoin went up
The price of bitcoin gets a bit more attention than it deserves (we prefer to look at transactions per day as a better measure of how real usage is changing). However, the price still has a big impact on mining profitability, purchasing power of bitcoin holders, and consumer confidence, so it is worth addressing.
The bitcoin price went up 40% in 2015 (as of 12/23/15), making it one of the largest gainers this year vs other asset classes. As one example amongst many, gold was down roughly 10% this year.
The Bitcoin developer ecosystem grew
Number of GitHub repositories mentioning payment methods
In 2015, the elusive “killer app” for the Bitcoin protocol did not emerge. But developer activity was strong, as suggested by the the fact that the number of Github repositories mentioning 'bitcoin’ increased by approximately 40% Y/Y. Bitcoin developer applications improve upon the core utility and utilization of bitcoin, creating value for the Bitcoin network.
Conclusion
While much of the industry shifted to focus on blockchain technology this year, we remained focused on bitcoin and saw the ecosystem grow nicely.
Here are a few major events to keep an eye on in 2016:
- An emerging application layer for Bitcoin. In 2015 the infrastructure layer of bitcoin matured. With better developer APIs, the 21 Bitcoin Computer enabling a new group of bitcoin applications, and open source communities like Blockstack flourishing, we expect bitcoin applications to start to take off in 2016.
- The next bitcoin halving occurs in July. Currently, 25 bitcoin are created every 10 minutes (meaning that for the price to hold constant, there needs to be net buying activity of roughly 3,600 bitcoin per day). In July 2016, the mining reward will cut in half and only 12.5 bitcoin will be created every 10 minutes. This may cause the price of bitcoin to increase if buying activity remains the same or goes up.
Bitcoin’s future will be achieved by the collective work of thousands of people around the world, and we’re proud to be playing a small part in helping bitcoin grow.
Blockchain.info is a bitcoin wallet and block explorer service. Launched in August 2011, the service provides data on recent transactions, mined blocks in the bitcoin block chain, charts on the bitcoin economy, and statistics and resources for developers. Information from and links to the website are common in media coverage and in bitcoin forums. The Blockchain.info mobile app for Android allows users to securely send and receive bitcoins and browse block chain information. In December 2013, the company acquired ZeroBlock LLC, makers of the leading mobile bitcoin app.
Blockchain.info was the world's most visited bitcoin website in 2013, with over 118 million page views and over 3 million unique visitors in November 2013, and in January 2014 Blockchain.info reached one million user wallets.
In February 2014, Apple Inc. removed the Blockchain app from the iOS App Store, prompting a harsh response from Blockchain and public outcry in the bitcoin community, most notably within the Reddit community. In July 2014, Apple reinstated the Blockchain app back into the iOS App Store.
In October 2014, Blockchain.info closed a $30.5 million initial fundraising round, which was the biggest round of financing in the digital currency sector at that time.
In December 2014, Blockchain.info became one of the first prominent Bitcoin wallets to offer a dedicated hidden service on the Tor network, for users who desire to conduct Bitcoin transactions with greater privacy and lesser third party surveillance, as well as to provide end-to-end encryption for Tor users who were previously vulnerable to malicious exit nodes sniffing their keys and stealing their Bitcoins.
In early 2015, the company passed 3 million wallets created using their services.
In August 2015, Blockchain.info's CEO Peter Smith was invited to accompany UK Prime Minister David Cameron on a tour throughout southeast Asia to engage with local representatives about the UK's leading role as a global fintech hub.
Also in August 2015, Blockchain.info passed 4 million wallets created using their services.
Blockchain.info is an online financial service provider that works
closely with the world’s most popular form of alternative, electronic
currency, Bitcoin, including offering users an exchange platform and
secure wallets.
Bitcoin
is a form of “crypto-currency,” which means that it is an entirely
electronic form of currency that must always be encrypted to be secure.
Also, it only exists in a peer-to-peer format – there is no central
authority either issuing the money or tracking the transactions.
Instead, all Bitcoin functions are tracked collectively by a network.
The Blockchain is a database which holds information about all the
Bitcoin transactions which take place over the network.
In addition, they also claim to offer and operate Bitcoin’s largest
and most secure wallet service. Bitcoin wallets were designed to assist
their users in the very specific type of security that is required by
such a distinct form of currency.
In fact, in order to get started with Bitcoins, you purchasing a
wallet is the very first step to investing and trading. The online
wallet they choose is extremely important because it becomes their
Bitcoin address, which is necessary for all transactions.
Because Bitcoin wallets are not secured like online bank accounts,
you will want to make sure that you are working with a wallet provider
that prioritizes security. Blockchain.info says that this is their main
goal for all their clientele, which currently numbers more than 110,000
registered users.
To meet that security goal, their security policy is to hold as
little data as possible in the event that a security breach would affect
their users so all passwords or personally identifying information
wallet data is stored only in encrypted form.
They also run on privately owned hardware which can only be accessed
by certain administrators and perform regular security reviews of both
their code and servers.
Important info
Wallet Type: Web, Android, iOS
Verification: Trusted Server
Multisig: No
Open source: Yes
Privacy : Poor
Crypto supported: bitcoin
Vulnerability to malware: Secure
Private key stored: client side
Pros and cons
This industry stalwart is the most popular wallet out there
Go to spot for block explorer tools
Extremely well funded and working to enhance product
Has fallen behind newer wallets
Shares private info in certain circumstances
Has had technical difficulties now and again
Summary
Blockchain.info set the bar for security in the bitcoin wallet industry for many years, but has fallen behind newer wallets that have been quicker to integrate new innovations in the market.
Still, blockchain remains the most popular stand-alone wallet service online, with over 1 million users, and with a recent fundraising round raising $30.5 million, blockchain is sure to maintain it's position as one of the most popular wallets in the bitcoin market.
The blockchain Wallet
Wallets are encrypted client-side using random number generation, and only the encrypted wallet is stored on the blockchain server. Passwords to unencrypt the wallet and approve transactions are held by the user and are unknown by blockchain.info. Blockchain offers passphrases for password retrieval, 16 and 6 words for first and second passwords respectively, but if a password is lost and the user has not recorded the passphrases, a client's wallet is effectively locked forever.
Random number private key generation allows one private key per address. Multiple addresses can be generated, but each address brings with it a new private key. If you plan to utilize a number of addresses, for bookkeeping and such, this makes the backing up process a much more cumbersome task as old backups will not have any record of newly generated addresses. Automatic encrypted backups can be sent from blockchain info to email or dropbox after every new address is set. Paper wallets would need to be regenerated. So it is manageable, but not the most convenient solution in the market.
There are a number of security features aiming to limit client side and server side breach risk.
Entering the account requires two-factor authentication, and PBKDF2, a function which stretches passwords to prevent brute force attacks, is available in 5000 increments up to 20,000. Basically, this increases the computational effort required to crack a password accordingly. Users are also able to set up a an IP whitelist, allowing transactions to be made only from included IPs.
Offline Wallet
There is an option to create a watching-only wallet, or a wallet with no corresponding online private key. This means that while coin can be sent to the wallet, transactions only can be authorized from a paper wallet. blockchain calls this "cold storage", but security experts would most likely disagree for two reasons.
First, the paper wallet must be generated online. Recently, it was discovered that the unencrypted private key associated with the paper wallet was actually stored in the browser history. What a massive hole for hackers to exploit. As of February 2015, this has not been addressed by blockchain.
Secondly, for transactions to be signed by the paper wallet, the QR code must be scanned on the connected computer - severing the total disconnect between on and offline systems. The most security minded among you would most likely want to generate a new address and new corresponding paper wallet after each transaction.
However for most, this is a sufficient solution.
Mobile
blockchain has very good ios and android apps, which are easily paired to the desktop account by scanning a QR code which is kept behind a user password. Once the mobile is paired, the wallet can be accessed simply by entering a four digit pin, and most important features - like sending and receiving funds, are available in app.
Bottom line
Blockchain has been around for years now, and is the most popular wallet in the market. However, it has not kept up with security trends and this has led, as of late, to a number of small security breaches resulting in lost coin. A number of user-friendly functionalities, like HD for instance, are missing from blockchain.info. Blockchain is useful for on-the-go mobile bitcoin needs, but there are other more convenient and perhaps safer options for storing coin.
Although most bitcoin users rely on freely-available web and mobile wallets, recent security scares clearly illustrate the need for safer alternatives. Here, we take a closer look at one device designed to address the problem.
The Trezor hardware wallet is targeted at bitcoiners who wish to maintain a substantial stash of coins, but do not want to rely on third-party bitcoin storage services or impractical forms of cold storage.
Developed by Czech startup SatoshiLabs, the $99 device is essentially a USB dongle designed to add an extra authentication layer to all outbound bitcoin transactions.
By virtue of its design, Trezor can be used to sign transactions on 'unsafe' computers and is impervious to keyloggers and many other vectors of attack, so even if your host PC is compromised, the attacker has no way of getting your private key.
That's also where the device gets its name, as 'trezor' translates into 'vault' in most Slavic languages, including Czech. A kind of 'vault' for your private bitcoin key, Trezor claims to use a number of clever tricks to maintain security even on compromised and unsafe machines.
Here, we take a closer look at these failsafes one at a time, from setup to transaction.
Unboxing and specs
The device is roughly the size of an average USB stick, albeit somewhat wider, and ships in a very small package.
The box features a holographic sticker on top and a warning urging users to get in touch with support in case they suspect the package was opened.
The sticker feels redundant however, as there is so much glue holding the box together that it is practically impossible to open without causing an obvious amount of damage in the process.
The box includes the Trezor device, a USB to micro-USB cable, an installation manual and a (very) small lanyard.
As for the device itself, we got a white, plastic sample. It also comes in grey and black.
Although the company developed and marketed metal units, they are no longer on offer and the first batches went out to early Trezor backers earlier this year.
The CE and RoHS-certified device measures 60 x 30 x 6mm (2.4 x 1.2 x 0.2 inches) and weighs in at 12g (0.42oz).
While not certified as fully waterproof, the company says the device is at least water resistant.
In terms of hardware, Trezor is based on an ARM Cortex M3 processor clocked at 120MHz. It has a 128 x 64 pixel OLED screen that is both legible and crisp.
The second component of the user interface comes in the form of two hardware buttons, used to perform a number of actions necessary to set up the device and sign transactions.
A standard micro-USB port is located at the bottom. The micro-USB port is the device's only communication with the outside world and only source of power, as there is no battery on board.
As far as build quality goes, things could have been better.
The top of the device and the edges feel very robust, but the same cannot be said of the centre, between the buttons and micro USB port. This part of the device exhibits a bit of flex and it squeaks when pressure is applied.
However, the white plastic has a matte anti-scratch finish and it should be able to stand up to a fair bit of abuse.
The plastic lanyard pin is surrounded by sharp edges and the opening is poorly shaped, so inserting a lanyard can be frustrating.
This may sound like a case of nitpicking, so let's be clear: for a USB dongle, the build quality and design are excellent, but consumers spoiled by bulletproof high-end smartphones may find these minor issues annoying.
Trezor installation
Installing the device is straightforward, but it involves a bit of work.
There is no way of getting around this, as you must jump through a number of hoops since you are dealing with a secure device.
After connecting the device, the first step is to head over to myTREZOR and download a browser plugin. The process is automated, although the user needs to allow the plugin to install.
Once the plugin is activated, myTREZOR will prompt you to enter a PIN.
This is where the keylogger protection kicks in. You don't actually type the PIN, you have to click on an obscured numerical pad displayed in the browser.
The position of each number changes randomly, so every time you enter the PIN you will have to check your Trezor device for the layout.
An attacker using a simple keylogger, or even an attacker with complete remote access to the desktop, would not be able to determine the numbers, as they are displayed only on the Trezor device.
The next order of business is to write down a randomly generated 24-word seed. This seed will allow you to reconstruct your Trezor wallet in case you lose the device.
This is the only backup that can be used to recover your wallet in case of loss or theft. Trezor uses BIP39 and BIP44 standards for creating new wallets, so the generated seed can be recovered and used by other compatible wallets.
SatoshiLabs confirmed that users can use Mycelium 2.0, Wallet32 or Multibit HD to load Trezor's recovery seed to their computer.
Technically, the device does not use standard random algorithms, as they would make it prone to random generator attacks.
Instead, it uses deterministic signatures and external random entropy sources, which means it uses multiple different sources to generate the 'random' seed.
The whole setup should take no more than 10-15 minutes.
Convenience and everyday use
The Trezor wallet tries to reconcile two opposite extremes.
On one hand it adds a new layer of security, but at the same time tries to make the user experience as simple as possible.
The device tackles the problem admirably, since there is not a lot of work left after the initial setup.
Using Trezor is not time consuming and a transaction can be approved in a matter of clicks, with minimal interaction with the device.
You have to punch in the PIN to access the wallet and each transaction must be approved on the device.
While the default myTrezor wallet offers a sleek design and works quite well, it still relies on a single service.
For this reason, users wanting to avoid any form of centralisation can opt for either third-party wallet. The device currently supports Multibit HD (beta) and Electrum 2.0 wallets.
You don't need the device to receive bitcoins, only to send them. Even then, the process is rather straightforward, but Trezor isn't intended for every bitcoin transaction you make.
Ideally it should be used to secure a substantial cache of bitcoins, transferring them to more convenient mobile wallet platforms for smaller transactions.
One potential issue for the device is its lack of mobile support.
For the time being, the Trezor device can only work with desktop operating systems such as Windows, OS X and Linux. This means you cannot pair it with your mobile phone or tablet, unless you happen to use a Windows 8.1 tablet.
However, Satoshi Labs is working on enabling USB On-The-Go (OTG) functionality, which would enable its use on Android devices.
This is planned for future releases and an open-source library for Android OTG support is already available on GitHub. Another update will enable support for BIP70, the latest bitcoin payment protocol designed to offer additional security-oriented features.
Conclusions
The Trezor hardware wallet works as advertised. It offers a number of advantages over traditional wallets and renders your private key impervious to many forms of attack.
The downside is that it is simply not an on-the-go device that can be used to make everyday transactions.
Rather, it is a niche product for people looking to secure their bitcoins and top up mobile wallets from time to time.
In other words, if you do not have a bitcoin stash at all times, Trezor (and other hardware wallets) are simply not designed for you.
Crypto enthusiasts, BTC hoarders and small businesses are the target audience. It lives up to its name, as it is more of a crypto vault than a wallet.
Since Trezor has no battery and relies on external power, it could work as a mobile solution, provided Android support is implemented.
It is compact enough to carry around on a keychain and connect to a phone when necessary, so we expect Satoshi Labs to tackle OTG support soon.
Mycelium Review: Is it the best Bitcoin wallet?
Mycelium beats the competitors in many categories, but is it the best?
Mycelium for Android is the best Bitcoin wallet available. Aside from the enterprise-level security features, it has many other features making it more than a wallet, it becomes a trading platform, a vault, a wire-transfer, and more!
What is the Mycelium company? Who are they?
Mycelium is a semi-open-source developer/manufacturer specializing in top of the line bitcoin hardware, software, and security. Their website boasts they have the most secure bitcoin software and hardware, when combined enable enterprise level security. We’re going to review their wallet after noticing widespread acclaim. Afterall, the cryptocrooks doesn’t just reveal the scams, we acknowledge those on the cutting edge of bitcoin-based technologies.
“Growing from the dawn of the blockchain era. Acknowledged to be the best not the fanciest. Being adapted for use by the masses.“
Mycelium is not only working to create hardware that guarantees everyone access to secure Bitcoin storage, but they are working to keep Bitcoin a decentralized cryptocurrency in the hands of the people. Their ideological values reinforce their commitment to the Bitcoin industry at large. We’ll explain why we honor Mycelium as the best Bitcoin wallet.
The main screen of Mycelium wallet showing all accounts linked to the app. We have one send/receive and 1 watch-only.
Multiple Wallet to Choose From
The Mycelium Bitcoin wallet, first-and-foremost, allows users to send and receive Bitcoin. It does this using the best security available for consumers. Mycelium is a no-BS wallet, with each linked account front and center once the app is started. It is simple to create a new wallet to send and receive Bitcoin.
Cold-Storage Wallet
The cold storage functionality allows you watch Bitcoin addresses, without storing private keys. When scanning a private-key to spend a cold-storage bitcoin wallet, the phone encrypts the data sent to the Bitcoin network in order to offer the highest level of security. Mycelium wallet boasts itself as one of the oldest most secure and reliable bitcoin wallets currently in the market. One interesting feature that the Mycelium wallet has is Local Trading. Local Trading allows users to sell and buy bitcoins inside the App with a low fee of 0.2% per trade with a system similar to Localbitcoin. The mycelium system allows contacting two people to buy and sell bitcoin with an encrypted message system.
Mycelium Interface
Mycelium lists 3 sections horizontally, Accounts, Balnce, Transactions, Address Book. Users swipe left and right, with ability to access addition operations in the upper right. Nothing special about the transaction log, except a link to blockchain.info hash details. Even something simple like an address book is beautiful on Mycelium’s wallet app. What I admire most is the ability to send/receive from multiple addresses under one wallet while switching effortlessly between addresses. This allows people to transfer between personal addresses and organize thei bitcoin in place.
Competition to Mycelium
There are dozens of bitcoin wallets available, so competition is tough. But for an all-around, feature-rich wallet with hgih secuirty, Mycelium takes the prize. One can choose between different android bitcoin wallets such as Coinbase (50-100k users) or Blockchain.info (50-100k users) which store your private keys. Or choose Bitcoin Wallet (100-500k users) or Mycelium (20k users) for local-storage of the private keys. Mycelium has worked its hardest to protect private keys from being exposed. The only way for hackers to gain this data is on a rooted device, or malware with root access, although highly unlikely to happen, the possibility has to be mentioned.
Mycelium Local Trading
A map showing Bitcoin buyers and sellers using Mycelium local trader.
The Mycelium bitcoin wallet integrates a proprietary peer-to-peer trading platform. This platform allows users of Mycelium to enable GPS to find sellers/buyers nearby. This system has no rating system but includes encryption for secure conversations. This allows traders to buy and sell bitocin anonymously. We tested this platform by contacting a member “CHEAPEST” to by $50 of bitcoin. Unfortunately, we will not buy bitcoin from anyone via venmo, especially without meeting in person at a local place.
Although Mycelium’s local trading bitcoin is an interesting feature, we do not recommend buying through it unless one requests cash and a public place to complete the trade. Mycelium is semi-open source, so hard forks of the program could occur, but Mycelium has been constantly integrating new features.
Best Mycelium Wallet Features
HD Security – Sentence based wallet generation and back-up.
Easy back-up for securing private keys
Integrating local bitcoin trading
Completely Free (for now, including no fees for trading)
Even they warn you about trading without meeting!
Mycelium Negatives
Android only – As-of press date, Mycelium wallet is only available for Android devices.
Not able to sign messages – Although previous versions were able to
Local Bitcoin trading is prone to scams in current state
We couldn’t recommend Mycelium bitcoin wallet more, we use the Mycelium wallet and recommend everyone to check it out! We consider Mycelium the best Bitcoin wallet.
Posted by RikolaMint on 2:07 AM with 1 comment
Important info
Wallet Type: Desktop
Verification: full Node
Multisig: No
Open source: Yes
Privacy : Good
Crypto supported: bitcoin
Vulnerability to malware: Vulnerable
Private key stored: client side
Pros :
Bitcoin's OG, seven years and counting
Run the full node and contribute to the network!
Cons :
Hasn't really kept up with those newfangled wallets
Not HD
Desktop only
Summary
This is the mothership. Download Bitcoin QT, become a full node, and join the revolution. While this isn't the best wallet, or the most convenient, or the most secure, or the easiest to use, or the prettiest, it IS the oldest and has passed the test of time. If you prefer a more mature partner - with all the charm that entails - this is the one for you.
Getting started
Head over to bitcoin.org and download the bitcoin core wallet. When you first get the client up and running, you will notice a box at the bottom called "synchronizing with the network". As bitcoin core is a full node, get ready for a long wait, as you begin to download close to 8 years worth of blockchain records! PRO TIP: If the syncing seems to get stuck, click the "reload" sign. Learned that one from experience.
While you are waiting, you can go ahead and take care of some house keeping. Click on settings, and select "encrypt wallet". You'll be prompted to enter a new passphrase - 10 or more characters or eight or more words. Once you have encrypted the wallet it is entirely up to you to remember your passphrase! Failure to do so will render your bitcoin lost FORVER!!!
After you've encrypted the wallet, be sure to create a backup. This is best done on a usb drive or somewhere that is not the same computer upon which bitcoin core is running. The purpose of the backup is, after all, to be able to replicate the wallet elsewhere - most preferably on an encrypted USB drive. Simply navigate to file, select backup wallet, and save the .dat file to the drive.
The bitcoin core wallet
OK, so this is the grandaddy, the wallet which started them all. This is where Satoshi sent his first mined bitcoins, and the wallet provider in which they, along with another 979,950 still sit today. Using the core wallet means you are acting as a full node, making your altruistic contribution to the network. It also means, of course, that it you are missing out on many of the fancy bells and whistles of wallets which have come after it. Bitcoin Core is not an HD wallet. The client, by default, sets up with 100 addresses, one of which is used for each transaction or click on "new address". After you have eaten through those 100 addresses, you'll need to backup the wallet. Changing the passphrase requires backing up the wallet. Importing new private keys requires backing up the wallet. If and when you need to restore your wallet, it will only restore to the last backup point - this can be vital if additional private keys have been imported.
After you've sorted the admin, you can get on with requesting or sending bitcoin. The Spartan client has four tabs, overview, send, receive and transactions. Overview shows you the wallet balance and recent transactions. The send tab has a "pay to" bar, next to which you'll find a button for your address book, in which you may add bitcoin addresses and label them, and a paste button. You can choose to deduct any fee from the amount - a few which can be adjusted based on your required confirmation time, but comes with a recommended level - and clicking send gets the job done. The receive tab is...for receiving bitcoin. You can basically stick a message into a payment request form, which generates a QR code and address you can save or copy to send via email or sms.
And there you have it, more or less.
Bottom Line
Well, Satoshi Nakamoto uses it. What, you think you are better than Satoshi Nakomoto? Do you even lift, bro?
Accessibility / Usability: 90%
Trustworthiness: 85%
Value: 95%
Quality: 95%
Legitimacy: 95%
Customer Service: 95%
Details
Ease of Use
Getting the software set-up was as easy as visiting the MultiBit site, download, run the installer. Simple. They have good Getting Started instructions as well.
MultiBit is a lightweight client, therefore it does not download the entire blockchain, but does need to synchronize from remote hosts (via BitcoinJ).
One very nice thing about MultiBit is, you can drag a QR Code image into the wallet on the send screen and it will import it automatically (this is cool). We tested with the “Donate” QR code from multibit.org and it worked flawlessly.
There is fairly decent in app help, Good FAQ on the site and good support via various forums. The wallet supports multiple languages (35+ at this time) and includes a basic charting function for viewing your balance.
You can sign and verify messages via the private/public keys, which we don’t see in even some of the “enterprise” wallets. It is not often a standard user would need this, but it shows an understanding by the developer that we like.
It is worth a look through the preferences / settings to customize the software a bit to your liking.
We do have some trepidation as there have been troubles in the past with Multibit loosing bitcoin, which you can find on the various forums, but they seems be back from 2013. It is hard to tell if it is user issues or a bug. In almost all cases, the user was using 500+ addresses within the wallet.
One area that MultiBit really stands out from the crowd is its ability to have mutliple wallets open at one time. This is really great if you are segregating your funds between different wallets. Such as say, a personal wallet, small business wallet, savings wallet and so on.
Privacy
There is some privacy given up anytime you run a lightweight client, as it will scan for your addresses on a remote node. Otherwise, the app never asks for any personally identifying information.
Security
MultiBit is open source and can be viewed on GitHub. As well, all downloads can be checked via their signature.
All private keys are kept encrypted on your local machine (or on a USB stick) if you set a wallet password (not default though).
Pros
Bitcoin URI handling support.
Multiple separate wallets open at once.
Developers are active.
Cons
Limited exchanges supported for showing price.
No HD in this version, HD beta version available.
No password / encrypted wallet by default.
Summary
MultiBit is a great thin desktop wallet for the average user. It is often compared to Electrum, which is also a good choice here. MultiBit is the better choice if you plan to segregate funds and don’t want to spend time bouncing back and forth between open wallets. The addition of highly deterministic wallets in the future (and Trezor support) will really put MultiBit up there as a secure wallet that is accessible to the average user.
Posted by RikolaMint on 2:02 AM with 1 comment
Important info
Wallet Type: Desktop
Verification: SPV
Multisig: No
Open source: Yes
Privacy : Good
Crypto supported: bitcoin
Vulnerability to malware: Vulnerable
Private key stored: client side
Pros
Cold wallet solution like armory, without the full node
HD wallet has been around for years
Cons
Download only
Old school UI
Summary
Electrum is a lightweight, simple downloadable hierarchical deterministic (HD) wallet. While it doesn't have all the features of competitors like Bitcoin Armory, it is a thin client meaning users needn't download the entire blockchain and act as full nodes to use the wallet.
The Electrum online wallet
The Electrum wallet is HD, meaning that the public keys are algorithmically connected to the private key, and thus wallets and all corresponding addresses can be restored with just the seed, at any compatible HD wallet provider. This is extremely convenient for users that require more than one address, as the first backup is all that is required to import to Electrum or compatible wallets all associated addresses as needed.
After download, users are asked if they would like to 1) create a new wallet, 2) restore an existing wallet from a seed, or 3) create a watch-only version of an existing wallet. When creating a new wallet, a seed, represented as a 12 word mnemonic passphrase, will be generated which must be written and stored securely offline, and the user must create the password used to un-encrypt the wallet. The password and seed are maintained only client-side. If both are lost, Electrum cannot restore the wallet, which would be locked forever.
If users would like to use Electrum for cold storage, they must follow the following process:
- Download Electrum, and place the executable file on a usb cable.
- Run the installation on an entirely offline computer.
- Generate the seed, navigate to settings->import/export, and copy the master public key to the usb.
- Create a watch-only Electrum wallet on the online computer, entering the public key when prompted.
- To sign transactions offline, create a transaction in the watch-only wallet. Electrum, detecting a seedless-transaction request, will ask where to save - save the transaction on the USB.
- Load the transaction on the offline wallet, sign, and return to the online client to complete the transaction.
Mobile
Electrum is not accessible from handheld devices.
Bottom Line
If you are looking for a client-side cold storage solution and you don't want to invest in specialized hardware, the decision comes down to Electrum or Bitcoin Armory. Electrum is a lighter solution that doesn't require downloading the blockchain. Armory is a heavier version filled with more functionalities, including a multiple-signature option. The HD functionality on Armory is more robust, but overall, it is a much more difficult solution to master. You really can't go wrong with either.
Posted by RikolaMint on 2:01 AM with 1 comment
Important info
Wallet Type: Desktop
Verification: full Node
Multisig: Yes
Open source: Yes
Privacy : Good
Vulnerability to malware: Vulnerable
Private key stored: client side
Pros
Completely offline and free cold storage solution
Full node offers enhanced privacy
Configurable m of n settings
Cons
Difficult set up
Requires disused computer to use as cold storage
Some may not like running full node
Summary
Bitcoin Armory has arguably the most comprehensive set of wallet functionalities in the market. The online wallet is HD and has a flexible multiple-signature feature, meaning armory is among the top online wallets out there. But armory is perhaps best known for it's cold storage solution. Great online solution, great offline solution, one wallet.
Indeed, Bitcoin Armory provides enterprise cold storage solutions to some of the biggest names in the exchange marketplace, notably Bitfinex. If Bitfinex, the industry's largest USD/BTC exchange, has chosen Bitcoin Armory to protect it's bitcoin reserves, it is a good indication of the robustness of the solution.
There are two issues with Bitcoin Armory. The client is "thick" meaning that it requires the downloading and running of the entire blockchain, about 40gb and 2gb of ram to run. There is also, at time of writing, no mobile solution, which is very inconvenient for making transactions on the go.
The Bitcoin Armory Wallet
Bitcoin Armory cold storage
Cold storage eliminates the risk of client-side online storage, susceptible to malware, or server-side storage, with the threat of hacks, insider scams or insolvent operations. The only threat to cold storage wallets is physical theft, but securing against physical theft is much simpler than securing against viruses, keystrokes, trojan horses, and the threat of server-side meltdowns!
The armory cold storage system requires a private key to be held in a computer kept entirely offline. The corresponding public address is stored in the armory online wallet. The public address is called a "watching only wallet", as it has no corresponding private key online to sign transactions. While this type of address can receive bitcoin, outbound transactions may only be sent if digitally signed offline, with the signed transaction uploaded with a usb cable. Sounds complicated, but only takes a minute or two once you get the hang of it. Please see below a step-by-step guide to setting up the armory cold storage solution.
- Download armory on your regular PC.
- Copy the wallet to a usb drive.
- Install the wallet on the non-connected computer.
- Optional: encrypt the offline computer. Make sure you remember the passphrase!
- Make a paper or digital backup of the offline system, which should be stored safely.
- Create a Watching Only Wallet copy of the wallet in " wallet properties". Copy the wallet back to the USB drive.
- Transfer the wallet to the online computer. In wallet properties click on "belong to" and check "this wallet is mine.
- To sign transactions, create unsigned transactions in the online wallet, copy it to your usb, load it into the offline wallet, and sign offline. Then bring the transaction back to the online wallet, load it, and you've just signed with an entirely offline private key.
You've just created your cold storage system, and your private key is hermetically sealed from all the horrible malwares, trojan horses and other terrible things lurking on the internet!
Bitcoin Armory online wallet
The wallet is Hierarchical Deterministic (HD), meaning that multiple wallets can be set from the same private key, easily done through the armory interface. The multiple wallet function is very convenient, as you may organize different types of transactions according to wallet, which can help with auditing or accounting later. Within each wallet, multiple receiving addresses can be set, and descriptions added.
An additional value to the HD wallet feature is that a single paper or digital backup of bitcoin armory can restore all of the wallets and addresses that ever were or will be generated. Once the initial paper backup is made (and securely stored), a user will never need to make another backup.
Armory wallet encryption is meant to be tough against potential encryption-cracking techniques, and thus a passphrase is needed to un-encrypt the wallet. The user is the only one with access to the passphrase. If the passphrase is forgotten and no paper backup has been made, the wallet is lost forever!
There is a unique lockbox feature with flexible multiple-signature configurations, allowing from 1-2 to 7-7 signatures required. This flexibility is meant to allow scaling to suit families who would like husband and wife to cosign transactions, to large corporations requiring a certain number of executive signatures.
Mobile
Alas, Bitcoin Armory is meant for savings and has no mobile solution.
Bottom line
Bitcoin Armory is a very complex product for a new bitcoin user. Anyone can use it as a simple wallet, but to take advantage of its unique host of features and gain maximum security for your coin, you'll need to invest a bit of time in learning the system. If you master bitcoin armory, you'll never want to work with another wallet.
Despite relatively meager funding, Armory is at the forefront of bitcoin wallet innovation. If you don't mind downloading the blockchain and acting as a node, and you are ok using a different product for mobile needs, armory is arguably the best place to store your coin.
Posted by RikolaMint on 1:59 AM with 1 comment
Important info
Wallet Type: Web
Verification: Trusted Server
Multisig: No
Open source: No
Privacy : Poor
Crypto supported: bitcoin
Vulnerability to malware: Vulnerable
Private key stored: server side
Pros
Insured wallets
Famous cold-storage solution
Issues debit cardCons
Horrendous support
Might not value your privacy as much as you do
Difficult and intrusive set up
Summary
Xapo likes to do things big. They brand their cold storage “deep” cold storage, and provide it free to customers. They describe a network of armed guards and and biometric scanners across diverse locations, each serving to guard private key fragments. They chat about sending part of their security structure into low orbit, to ensure that only cosmonautically-inclined hackers would have a chance of breaching Xapo’s server. They have a debit card that is connected directly to user’s account, and so they provide both security and an easy bitcoin off-ramp.
Where they fail, and miserably in our opinion, is in their management of the little things, and by little things we mean their customers. Of every bitcoin service we have reviewed Xapo has the absolute worst support. The internet is flooded with stories from customers of their inability to breach Xapo’s wall of silence. This author himself written four separate emails to Xapo, in the capacity of both of an interested customer as well as the owner of a bitcoin review site, and has never received a response. This, combined with a really poor debut for their debit cards, rife with hidden fees and bugs, draws a picture of a company with its head in the clouds and feet suspended somewhere mid air.
According to CEO and founder Wences Casares, Xapo aspires to be the Bank of America of digital currency. It’s financial backing and infrastructure gives this wallet company as good a chance as any. However, all gripes about Bank of America aside, they demonstrate a modicum of respect for the customers who entrust them their money. It’s a lesson Xapo would do well to learn.
Security
Famous for its "deep cold storage", Xapo boasts a network of offline servers and paper wallets protected by biometric scanners, radio-wave blocking cages and armed guards. These "vaults" are distributed across multiple geographic locations ensure that, even if a government were to bypass the cryptographic and physical security measures employeed, all other vaults would remain intact. More importantly, the vaults are insured by the Meridian Insurance Group, so even in the unlikely event of a breach, customer funds are protected. Xapo has recently been making waves with a plan to locate specific elements of its security architecture in a low Earth orbit satellite. Lest you immediately think that this smacks of a publicity stunt, Xapo explains that the satellite possesses a piece of data that can never change, absent a physical breach of the satellite. If there is a security breach back on Earth, the way in which the satellite communicates will change, thus instantly raising the alarm bell.
Entrance to the vault requires inputting your password, and you can choose to set up two factor authorization as well, which is recommended. Additional users can be granted access to your vault as well to implement multiple signature functionality. Minor irritant - every additional click forward or backwards through the vault requires an additional password input, which seems redundant and interrupts user flow.
Transferring money into the vault requires inputting address and ID number, and depending on your location, they might refuse service. US and European customers should be fine. Vault withdrawals are time delayed by 48 hours, during which time a series of authentication measures are undertaken to ensure request integrity. The progress of this authentication procedure can be followed in a users transaction history.
The Product
Xapo has a beautifully designed website with intuitive navigation and integrated, step by step directions for all the Xapo features offered. Debit card management, vault and hot wallet access, and all accounting features are available on both desktop and excellent iOS and Android mobile solutions.
The Xapo Debit Card
The online wallet can be likened to a checking account, meant only to hold day-to-day funds. And as is custom with checking acccounts, Xapo offers debit cards issued by Visa, but these come in EUR, USD and GBP varieties. Unlike for instance e-coin, which operates like a prepaid card which must be filled with currency prior to usage, the Xapo card pulls bitcoin directly from your online hot wallet, quickly makes an exchange on bitstamp, and the merchant - or cash dispenser - pays out in fiat.
Please find below the fee schedule and limits.
Fee Description Amount
USD EUR GBP
Odering fee Includes standard shipping $20.00 €18.00 £13.00
Annual Fee First year free $12 €10 £7
Withdraw cash ATM domestic $2.50 €2.25 £1.75
Declined transaction $1.00 €1.00 £1.00
Non-local currency transaction Currency conversion 3% 3% 3%
Point of Sale charge 0 0 0
Services Card replacement $5.50 €4.50 £4.50
Removal of unused funds $10.00 €10.00 £10.00
Xapo Debit Card Limits
The Upgrading of limits requires submission of proof of identification and address.
Standard Limits Upgraded Limits
USD EUR GBP USD EUR GBP
Purchase limit (per purchase) $2,500 €2,500 £ $10,000 €10,000 £8,000
Purchase limit (per day) $2,500 €2,500 £ $20,000 €20,000 £16,000
Purchase Limit (lifetime) $2,500 €2,500 £ NoLimit NoLimit NoLimit
ATM Withdrawal (per transaction) $200 €200 £ $1,000 €1,000 £800
ATM Withdrawal (per day) $400 €400 £ $2,000 €2,000 £1,600
ATM Withdrawal (lifetime) $1,000 €1,000 £ NoLimit NoLimit NoLimit
There was much customer dissatisfaction with high fees that were not properly disclosed by Xapo, but Xapo explained that this was due to miscommunication with the third-party card issuer, and there isn't much reason not to take them at their word. They were honorable in refunding monies to affected customers. Additional technical hiccups don't detract from the potential of this service.
Bitcoin account management
Xapo offers users the ability to create multiple wallet addresses, each with custom administrative permissions. When first setting a wallet, an admin can add users and set permission levels, including their ability to make transfers from the account, designate users as transaction approvers, and set their approval threshold. While this can be useful for a family account - as debit card-linked accounts can be allocated to children, for instance, with designated spending levels - for institutional clients it allows robust accounting and fund allocation between teams or departments, client investment accounts, savings accounts, spending accounts, etc. A partnership with bitwage allows full payroll management directly from Xapo, with employees receiving funds into debit-card enabled accounts instantly.
In a sign that Xapo is looking to become a one-stop bitcoin shop, wire transfers are now accepted to fund Xapo accounts. Aside from client-side bank charges and any applicable conversion fees, Xapo charges a 1% fee, and the bitcoin should appear in customer accounts within 2-5 days.
Mobile
Xapo offers the full functionality available on its desktop client through ios and android applications. Transactions are synced in real time across all user devices. Users can send payments via email, QR code or vault address, and debit card are manageable directly from the app interface.
Bottom Line
We could be looking at a future titan of the digital currency market. Xapo combines insured, bank-grade savings account security with easy access and usability for spending cash. We would like to see bitcoin's status as cost-free interlocutor between currencies leveraged for lower debit card fees. Keep an eye on Xapo's actions in Mr. Casares' home country of Argentina, where Xapo has disruptive potential.
