What is a wallet? The first step to using Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies in general is a so-called wallet, i.e. an electronic purse or wallet. Because: Without such a wallet, coins can neither be received nor stored, let alone spent. This may sound strange at first, because it may all be new territory for you. However, it is not that complicated and you can imagine it quite simply like this: Just as your online bank account is an interface to the "normal" or better known money system, your wallet is your personal interface to the coin network. These wallets contain so-called "open keys" (similar to the familiar IBAN number), which allow cryptocurrencies to be issued, sent and received. Only the private keys that grant you access to your coins need to be secured and stored, not the coins as such. This is because the coins are in the network (on the blockchain). I use the word coin here as a term for both Bitcoins and all other cryptocurrencies that are stored in so-called wallets. In addition to Bitcoin wallets, there are also so-called "multi-asset wallets", wallets on which different cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Dashcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, etc. can be stored.

To put it in a nutshell: a wallet is nothing more than an application on a website, an app or a hardware device such as a USB stick that manages the private keys of the respective coins.

Wallet