Topic: What is the main appeal of online wallets and why do people use them? (Read 1028 times)
People they afraid and they often have the misconception that someone else, here the owners of the online wallets, are more appropriate than them to keep their money safe. Fortunately if someone reads about wallets and ask others like here he can easily go to another solution.
May 02, 2017, 09:35:11 PM
To me, it seems like offline wallets are way more secure.
Every wallet has pros and cons, a wallet in cold storage is very safe but many don’t have that many coins to need such storage on the first place, so they prefer to use web wallets, because they can access their funds anywhere and also because some of this services pay the miners fees. 
May 02, 2017, 06:26:27 PM
As others already said, online wallets is easier to use, people don't need to download anything. It's more usual, because it's very similar to services like PayPal or bank account. Also, online wallets have more features like exchange, block explorers and so on. Finally, earlier there was only Bitcoin Core wallet which requires lot of space and resources and people wanted for more user-friendly wallets. Some have stereotype that is complicated to use desktop wallets.
May 01, 2017, 11:45:15 PM
To me, it seems like offline wallets are way more secure.
Honestly I use online wallets cause I find it easier to use and accessible anytime anywhere. Then you don't even need to manage it, all is managed by wallet owners. Secondly it's embarrassing but I have no clue how to use a hardware wallet. Even despite spending so much time on Bitcoins, I yet need to know a lot about it. But I would be interested to know is using online wallets really risky or its ok to use them? Any one who has personal experience of using both may guide me, like what problems they faced or why one should not use online wallets?
May 01, 2017, 11:39:32 PM
To me, it seems like offline wallets are way more secure.
There is no doubt that offline wallets are more secure, but many newbies are not aware of it and don't realize the importance of holding your private keys.As for more experienced users who trust their Bitcoins on online wallets, I guess that the main reason is the ease of use they provide and the low fees(Coinbase charged zeros fees until recently for example).
May 01, 2017, 05:51:43 PM
Why do Wallets sometimes have seeds and sometime wallet.dat files. For example PIVX has a file you have to store but other only have a seed?
You need to back up the wallet.dat file and always make sure that you have the private keys to your wallet. You must really note down the seed and the password and if you loose them you will end up loosing everything.With online wallet you only need to remember the password and the pin when it comes to xapo and the ease of sending and receiving the coins is the greatest appeal of online wallets. May 01, 2017, 05:29:28 PM
Why do Wallets sometimes have seeds and sometime wallet.dat files. For example PIVX has a file you have to store but other only have a seed?
May 01, 2017, 04:53:33 PM
To me, it seems like offline wallets are way more secure.
There is no doubt that offline wallets are more secure, but many newbies are not aware of it and don't realize the importance of holding your private keys.As for more experienced users who trust their Bitcoins on online wallets, I guess that the main reason is the ease of use they provide and the low fees(Coinbase charged zeros fees until recently for example).
May 01, 2017, 04:41:19 PM
For me it is mainly because I can access my wallet on any device I'd like to. I use three different computers and I like being able to check it on the fly on my phone too. It is also easier to use, but also it lacks some advanced tools, but I can easily live without them.
May 01, 2017, 04:39:09 PM
Any wallet is unsafe if your system gets hacked or your password. Even physical wallets are prone to virus and people have lost their coins due to it. Till you own your private key, it's fine to have an online/offline wallet. It doesn't make a huge difference unless you own like 50-100 btc.
May 01, 2017, 04:31:04 PM
It's just peoples' familiarity with banks "taking care" of their money for them, which is ironic considering bitcoin is meant to abolish the need for banks...
May 01, 2017, 01:57:35 PM
Aside from the convenience, Web wallets tends to be more popular in newbies . When a tutorial about bitcoin features a wallet it is typically a web type so newbiew will create an account of that . For me blockchain.info was the first one which is I just heard of . But as you said it is not that secured so I stopped using them, the reason is obvious because there are better choices so web wallets are not appealing to me .
May 01, 2017, 01:15:04 PM
because the safety for offline wallet was too much for handling at the first like always sync and access every time
but online wallet will give you faster and easier method to store the bitcoin while piling up also they offer such 2FA for stronger protection
but online wallet will give you faster and easier method to store the bitcoin while piling up also they offer such 2FA for stronger protection
May 01, 2017, 01:04:37 PM
The big companies like Xapo, Coinbase aside, how many custodial wallets are left?
I find it mind bending that someone would use an obscure one after stuff like the Tradefortress thing, yet I still see people popping up on here mentioning problems with wallets I've never heard of.
I find it mind bending that someone would use an obscure one after stuff like the Tradefortress thing, yet I still see people popping up on here mentioning problems with wallets I've never heard of.
May 01, 2017, 12:54:44 PM
There are some coins which you cannot store locally, like Synereo AMP, Steem etc.
May 01, 2017, 11:43:33 AM
To me, it seems like offline wallets are way more secure.
The simple truth of the matter is that the ease of use like someone else has said and not really not about safety as even in the past attacks have even been more on exchanges compared to wallets which have equally improve in their security over the years and they have been good at keeping our funds safe at least up till today.
May 01, 2017, 11:31:36 AM
To me, it seems like offline wallets are way more secure.
People use online wallets just because you don't have to sync to the blockchain and online wallets are accessible from anywhere, in my experience.I personally use both a desktop/offline wallet and an online wallet, and I only use the online as a dump point for most incoming transactions and then I move the rest somewhere else. Nothing special and most of it ends up moving out of it anyways.
May 01, 2017, 11:31:00 AM
It is very convenient, simple and can be earned on some. Only you need to beware of scammers who can steal the password and all the funds from your wallet.
May 01, 2017, 11:29:22 AM
there are two types of web wallets:
1) those that don't give you access to the private keys like coinbase.
these are very newbie friendly. and a new member who has a hard time grasping what bitcoin is feels a lot more at home when using such wallets that are also looking a lot like what they are used to, like PayPal for example. on top of that these wallets offer some features that are good to be fair. for example the fact that they pay the transaction fees (although may seen stupid to some) is useful to others. and also coinbase for example provides someplace to buy and sell bitcoin too.
2) wallets that don't have access to your private keys like blockchain.info
these are still newbie friendly because the similarity to PayPal thing is still there, you open a browser and have an account and just remember your password. but have the benefit of giving you your private keys.
and both of these are good for being accessible from anywhere and on any device. imagine you are out and want to buy a small item. you go to one of these accounts and log in and make the payment without needing to carry your bitcoin wallet around.
but of course if you can it is always best to use a desktop wallet even as your hot on the go wallet.
1) those that don't give you access to the private keys like coinbase.
these are very newbie friendly. and a new member who has a hard time grasping what bitcoin is feels a lot more at home when using such wallets that are also looking a lot like what they are used to, like PayPal for example. on top of that these wallets offer some features that are good to be fair. for example the fact that they pay the transaction fees (although may seen stupid to some) is useful to others. and also coinbase for example provides someplace to buy and sell bitcoin too.
2) wallets that don't have access to your private keys like blockchain.info
these are still newbie friendly because the similarity to PayPal thing is still there, you open a browser and have an account and just remember your password. but have the benefit of giving you your private keys.
and both of these are good for being accessible from anywhere and on any device. imagine you are out and want to buy a small item. you go to one of these accounts and log in and make the payment without needing to carry your bitcoin wallet around.
but of course if you can it is always best to use a desktop wallet even as your hot on the go wallet.
May 01, 2017, 11:28:05 AM
I like using online wallets because when i'm not using my computer I could still open my bitcoin wallet through my phone. Yes,I think they're not that secured compared to offline wallets that's why I only leave small amounts in my online wallet.
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