With the steady growth in the cryptocurrency network, various trading platforms have been developed for bitcoin transactions to take place.
A wallet has come to be a necessity for any long-term investor.
However Picking a Bitcoin wallet can be a tough challenge – there are so many different wallets in the market. Picking just a single one might seem almost impossible.
MyCelium
In the digital currency universe, a very few companies have been in the game for as long as Mycelium.
Brought to life in 2008 by a team of hardware engineers, Mycelium has grown to meet the expanding needs of bitcoin users.
The Mycelium Wallet is among three products the company has launched in the bitcoin field.
MyCelium Bitcoin wallet – was conceived with the intention to create an all-around functional, yet easy to use Bitcoin wallet.
It is, hence, no surprise that the Mycelium Wallet has surfaced as one of the most popular products in the cryptocurrency market.
Mycelium was established as an iOS and Android Bitcoin wallet app. Pretty easy to install, and ideal for daily basis use.
If you’re an Android user looking for a solid Bitcoin wallet, I would definitely suggest the Mycelium app.
The Mycelium is prepared with features you’ll love, such as GPS-assisted local trading and aggregated key control.
It has pretty much anything the mobile Bitcoin user requires.
With over 500,000 downloads and a 4.1-star rating on the Google Play Store, you can see how accepted the wallet has become.
Before we get into the installation of the app, let us look at some of the distinctive features that make mycelium wallet stand out from other wallets in the market.
Mycelium Wallet Main Features
Some of the fundamental features of the Mycelium wallet include:
- 100% power over your private keys.
- Your keys never go beyond your device until you transfer them.
- There is no need to get a blockchain.
- You can easily install and operate the wallet within seconds.
- HD (Hierarchical Deterministic) is enabled, so you can handle multiple accounts and never re-use addresses.
- HD wallets make use of a “master seed” key to acquire all future bitcoin addresses.
- You only have to back up your keys once to make them secure.
- Ultra-fast associations to the bitcoin network via the Mycelium supernodes.
- Watch-only bitcoin addresses along with private key import.
- Watch-only addresses are primarily stored in your wallet without its corresponding private key; this means that the wallet can look out for outputs – but not spend them.
- Single address accounts, where you can securely store large amounts by deleting the private key from the device, then importing it back when needed.
- Allows you to secure your bitcoin wallet with the help of a PIN.
- Congenial with other bitcoin services.
- Provides assistance for BIP38 keys.
- You can locate other users to trade bitcoins in-person applying Mycelium Local Trader feature.
- Local Trader is a technically a decentralized in-person exchange moulde directly into the Mycelium wallet.
- It utilizes your bitcoin private key for registering and authenticating with Mycelium servers.
- Shoppers and traders have ratings through the in-app reputation system; this is based on the number of trades that were successful or aborted.
- Even when you have an account, the only information collected on Mycelium servers is your bitcoin address, nickname, trade history, and trade orders with the provided location.
- Master seed key based, which enables you to make one backup key and remain protected forever.
- For improved privacy and availability, you can combine to Mycelium super nodes through tor services.
- Dynamic fee handling feature to guarantee timely execution of transactions based on blockchain load.
- Show fees/bytes in transaction details to determine execution time.
- Private key import.
- Allows you to spend directly from paper wallets (single key,
xPriv , or master seed). - Works well with hardware wallets, and you can spend directly from your
favorite hardware wallets. - Mycelium especially supports popular hardware wallets like Trezor, Ledger (Nano, Nano-S, Unplugged, HW.1, and Trustlet), and KeepKey.
- Send and receive bitcoins by setting an amount in fiat currency, then switch between fiat and BTC.
- Address book for commonly-used addresses.
- Transaction history with full transaction details.
Setting up a Mycelium Wallet
Step 1: Creating Your Wallet
Download the Mycelium Wallet app from Google Play and install.
Open the app, and select“New wallet.”
You can use your wallet right away.
Step2: Ensuring security
Let’s back up our wallet, with the 12 words paraphrase, called a seed key.
In the topmost right corner, you will find three dots (the menu) and select “Backup.”
Twelve words will be displayed individually.
Write them down on a paper, and save it safely.
You won’t have the permission to take a screenshot.
Don’t write the keywords anywhere else on your PC or an email.
Anyone who happens to gain access to your 12 words can enter your wallet and Bitcoins.
To guarantee you wrote down the words accurately, you will be prompted by Mycelium to type in the words anew, one by one.
Step 3: Creating the PIN
Apply a PIN code to keep your wallet from being used by others.
You will need to enter the PIN code for every single time you use the wallet.
In the topmost right-hand corner of your screen, go to the menu option, select “settings.”
Then select the“Set PIN Code” option.
Decide a PIN code that you can remember.
Without the PIN code, you would not be able to manage your Bitcoin.
If you lose the PIN, the only way to access coins would by using the seed key.
Remember that, if you misplace your password or lose your device, access to your bitcoin will still be denied without the PIN.
However, skilled hackers can crack PIN codes without much effort.
If you ever misplace your PIN code make sure you have your 12-word seed key then, install the Mycelium on another device.
When you open Mycelium for the first time, you’ll see an option to recover a lost wallet.
Enter your seed key and transport your coins to another address.
Step 4: Sending and Receiving Bitcoins
Receiving Payments
Select the option“Receive” under your balance tab to accept a payment.
If you choose the option, under “Optional Amount,” you can ask for an amount of your preference.
Give the sender your Bitcoin address by:
Making them scan your QR code.
Sharing your address by using the “Share Bitcoin Address” option, or you can copy paste and sent it in the form of a message.
Wait for the funds once they have been sent.
Right below the “Transactions” tab, you will be able to see the transaction on the Blockchain.
Take note that it takes around 10 minutes to obtain one confirmation.
You will be able to re-send the funds only 10 minutes after you have got at least one confirmation.
Sending Payments
Click on “Send” option below the “Balance” tab to transfer payment.
Use any one of the following three alternatives:
The simplest and smartest option is to “Scan QR Code.”
Next option would be to copy and paste the recipient’s Bitcoin address that you copied to your “Clipboard” earlier.
Select “Manual Entry” and type in the recipient’s Bitcoin address. A typo will result in loss of your coins. So this is not a recommended method.
After the address has been entered, type in the amount you want to send the recipient by clicking on the “Enter Amount“ icon.
You may choose the type of currency in the top right-hand
Keep in mind that if you are making the payment online, the amount you ’re transferring may be entered automatically when scanning the receiver’s QR code.
In that case, avoid modifying the amount. You will be shown how many Bitcoins to send the merchant.
Select “OK” to go back to the payment screen after the amount has been entered.
Before you click “Send,” make sure that all the details are accurate.
To confirm the transaction, you have to enter your PIN code. You’re now finished! You’ll find particulars under the “Transactions” tab.
Mycelium Bitcoin Wallet Issues
Mycelium doesn’t come without some issues, although I think most of them are relatively small, and some users might not find them as an issue at all.
However, to be fair, I have listed out some of the cons of the wallet.
- Lack of push notifications, meaning you have to open the wallet to check for incoming transactions.
- Lack of customization options for the address book. Yes, you can add custom names for each address, but that’s all.
- Lack of customization in the fee structure.
Final Verdict
Finally, Mycelium has been one of the bitcoin community’s most successful wallets for years – and good reason. Many people enjoy the wallet’s enhanced security.
You can send and collect bitcoins with private keys that never move from your control.
You can also purchase and sell bitcoins from within the app, find a local trader marketplace, or link Mycelium to a hardware wallet for enhanced security. There’s even a secure chat app.
If you’re looking for a mobile wallet for storing Bitcoins, and your device is Android compatible, the Mycelium is hard to beat as a full-featured mobile wallet.
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