ZoneBitcoin EditorialElectrum is one of the oldest Bitcoin wallets in existence. For a long time, Electrum was the first choice for Bitcoin maximalists who were looking for a secure and practical wallet to use.
The wallet is easy to use and available for desktop and Android mobile devices. A recent update to the wallet allows users to also be able to use Lightning network payments, making it even more convenient to use the Elerctrum wallet. It still remains a very popular wallet among the bitcoin community today.
Check out our review of this wallet to see if it is suitable for your bitcoin practice.
Overview of Electrum Wallet
Electrum is an open-source MIT-licensed Bitcoin wallet that allows users to store their bitcoins. Electrum is a non-custodial wallet, which means that they have their own keys and then have 100% control over their assets. Moreover, it is also possible to export your private keys to other Bitcoin wallets.
Electrum is very appreciated by the community of bitcoiners because the wallet has interesting features such as multi-signature, compatibility with physical wallets like Trezor or Ledger for example. Likewise, it has no single points of failure because anyone can run their own server with Electrum. There are therefore no stops (downtimes) when you use your Electrum wallet.
The wallet uses the Simple Payment Verification (SPV) method to verify all transactions without users needing to download the entire Bitcoin blockchain. This makes Electrum lightweight, allowing users to quickly send and receive BTC.
For an even better BTC payment experience, Electrum supports the Lightning Network for faster and relatively cheap Bitcoin transactions.
What are the advantages of Electrum?
| Benefits | Drawbacks |
| – Easy setup on different devices – Compatible with major physical wallets – Beginner friendly – Open source code – Supports Lightning Network | -Only supports Bitcoin – Bugs and security flaws in the past – Lack of customer support -Design that is old |
What are the advantages of using Electrum?
👉 Easy setup on different devices: Setting up Electrum on a computer and Android mobile device is relatively easy, even for a complete beginner. Electrum has implemented an installation wizard that helps guide users through the initial setup.
👉 Compatible with major physical wallets: The wallet supports different physical wallets including the Ledger Nano S, Trezor and Keepkey.
👉 Personalized Security : Electrum allows users to choose whether they want to opt for multi-signature, two-factor authentication (2FA) and standard security options to protect their assets. You should know that a multi-signature wallet offers the highest level of security because the private keys are shared between several parties.
👉 Easy to use for beginners : Using the Electrum wallet is very simple to understand, when it comes to sending or receiving bitcoin.
👉 Useful features: It is also possible to issue invoices and follow the verification of transaction history for example.
👉 Open source wallet: The wallet software is open source and licensed under the MIT license. This is a huge asset for the community because by opening the code to the public, it reduces the risk of bugs and security vulnerabilities. Hundreds of independent developers have verified it and even contributed over 15 changes to the wallet code.
What are the disadvantages?
???? Bitcoin only support : This is not really a disadvantage for people who want to hold and own bitcoin only. However, for those who want to hold other cryptocurrencies, the Electrum wallet is therefore not optimal for them. Users can only store Bitcoin on Electrum.
🔻 Security issues in the past : You should know that Electrum has experienced some security issues in the past. In 2018 in particular, hackers managed to exploit a vulnerability in version 3.3.3 of the Electrum client with a very clever phishing attack. The vulnerability was quickly corrected. However, this was damaging to the image of the wallet, which since then has never experienced such attacks again.
🔻 Lack of customer support: Electrum does not offer direct customer support like other wallets that are not open source. To ask questions, users must post them on the Reddit forum or BitcoinTalk which is the preferred way to obtain information on Electrum. Likewise, the site provides guides and tutorials to help users if they need help.
How secure is Electrum?
The Electrum wallet is a non-custodial wallet. In fact, users have their private keys. They can use the wallet's additional security features like two-factor authentication (2FA) and multi-signature to add a layer of protection. They can also integrate a physical wallet to increase the security of their bitcoins.
The wallet does not support automatic updates, so users must update their wallets frequently to ensure they are using the latest version. This can then be destabilizing if an earlier version contains vulnerabilities.
What is the level of confidentiality and anonymity?
Electrum allows users to make Bitcoin transactions without ever revealing their identity. It is a KYC (Know Your Customer) free wallet that can be used to own and hold Bitcoin anonymously.
The Electrum wallet encrypts both private keys and recovery phrase to protect user privacy. To decrypt the wallet file, users need to enter their password.
In addition to wallet encryption, Electrum allows users to run their own servers if they prefer to have more privacy. To ensure that all servers are sending correct information, it uses the SPV to verify the data sent.
How to install Electrum?
Installing the Electrum wallet is simple. Simply go to the official website and click “Download” to begin the installation process. The wallet is available in particular for Android, macOS, Windows, Linux and Python.
You will have to choose whether you want to use Electrum as desktop software or as a mobile application. In this case, Android users can install it either by downloading the APK file directly or from the Google Play Store. It is lightweight and offers an excellent compromise between ease of use and safety. There is no availability yet on the Apple Store although it is available in computer version, on a Mac.
The desktop version is certainly basic (and the design is old) but it offers all the features a bitcoin user needs. The desktop version allows users to send and receive Bitcoin, check transaction history, and create invoices as well. Finally, Electrum also supports the Lightning Network if a user wants to send Bitcoin faster while saving fees.
During setup, the wallet will ask you to choose the type of wallet you want to create. You can also choose to import an existing wallet. If you create a new wallet, be sure to note your seed phrase with the words in order.
—> Read: Tips for securing your seed phrase
What are the fees?
The Electrum wallet is free on all supported devices and operating systems. Users can download the mobile wallet from the Google Play Store and the desktop wallet from the official website.
When sending Bitcoin, the wallet charges a default fee of 0,2 milliBTC (1 mBTC = 1/1000 of BTC) for transactions. In the advanced settings, users can customize the fees if they want to speed up their transactions, for example.
Final opinion on the Electrum wallet
Electrum is one of the oldest software wallets but offers basic features that a user needs to use Bitcoin. The simple user interface, multi-signature security and 2FA, as well as support for integration with the Lightning network, make it a quality Bitcoin wallet.
However, its simplicity may put off some users who are looking for more advanced features and a more attractive design. In this case, some will prefer to use a wallet like Wasabi wallet or even the excellent Samourai Wallet which is even more relevant for user confidentiality.
See also:
- The different types of bitcoin addresses
- Tips for protecting your deed sentence
- Understand what CoinJoin is
- Our opinion on Wasabi Wallet
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