Basics of a Bitcoin Wallet

Bitcoin is becoming more and more popular as a means of playing real money online casino games. And with this popularity has come more questions about this cryptocurrency, especially regarding Bitcoin wallets. That said, let's discuss what exactly these wallets are and cover some of the different types of wallets that you'll come across.

What is a Bitcoin Wallet?

A Bitcoin wallet holds the private keys that you use to access your Bitcoin address and use the funds. Alternatively, these wallets may also allude to the client software being used to manage your private keys. Considering that a Bitcoin wallet is your tool to access funds, it's a good idea to back up this information on a flash drive or even write it down on paper.

What Type of Bitcoin Wallets are available?

What's nice about Bitcoin wallets is that you can use them in several different ways. One of the most-popular includes the original Bitcoin Core client, which you can install on your desktop or laptop. This allows you to create a Bitcoin address for sending and receiving the cryptocurrency as well as storing private keys.

But what if you're not at your desktop or laptop and you still want to make an online casino deposit or withdrawal? This is where a Bitcoin mobile wallet comes in handy because when you have this app on your smartphone or tablet, you can use it to make transactions directly from your mobile device. Some of the Bitcoin mobile wallets that you'll find include Android's Mycelium and Xapo along with iOS's Blockchain.

Yet another type of Bitcoin storage unit includes online wallets, which keep your private keys on a hard drive that's controlled by a company, but still available for you to access through the internet. The big advantage to this is that you can access your keys from anywhere using any device. The downside is that there's always the chance a nefarious person could gain access to your online wallet. Examples of online wallets include Coinbase (mainly US/Europe) and Circle (many parts of the world).

Are Bitcoin Wallets Anonymous and Safe?

Bitcoin doesn't involve a central banking system or government, and it's completely anonymous. However, they can be tracked by any company/entity that wishes to do so. This doesn't pose a huge threat to online casino players because governments are highly unlikely to track your gaming transactions.

Nevertheless, some players like to use Dark Wallet, which is a crowdsourced Bitcoin wallet that allows for stealth addresses, coin mixing and financial privacy. These features combine safety and anonymity to keep your Bitcoin transactions from being recorded.

Looking at things from an overall perspective, Bitcoin wallets give you plenty of versatility when playing at online/mobile casinos. Just make sure that you properly keep track of your keys and you'll have no trouble using this cryptocurrency to play online slots and other games.