Exodus is one of the most popular cryptocurrency wallets, used by thousands of traders worldwide for its ease of use, hardware wallet integration, and decent token support. Still, Exodus is not without shortcomings that other digital wallets were quicker to address and resolve, which is why we’ll also take a look at some of the cryptocurrency wallets that you can use instead of Exodus.
Let’s get started!
What Is a Cryptocurrency Wallet?
A cryptocurrency wallet, also known as a digital currency wallet, is an app where users store their private keys. This key is designed to keep your digital currencies secure because you use it to digitally sign every transaction. Think of the private key as your password, composed of a random string of digits and letters, guarding your digital vault.
When you create a cryptocurrency wallet, you also get assigned a public key. The public key, also known as a wallet address, has a similar role to a bank account and you can share it with other crypto traders in order to receive assets from them.
Types of Crypto Wallets
Essentially, cryptocurrency wallets are divided into three categories:
- Software wallets;
- Hardware wallets;
- Paper wallets.
Software Wallets
Software wallets are also known as hot wallets due to the fact that they work online, meaning you need to have an internet connection in order to use these types of crypto wallets. On the crypto market, there are three types of software wallets:
- Web wallets. Using this wallet, users can access blockchain assets through an Internet browser, without downloading and installing anything. Coinbase, Kraken, Binance and Gemini are some of the most popular crypto exchanges that offer web wallets.
- Desktop wallets. Software that users have to download and install on their computer devices in order to use them. Exodus, Electrum, and Bitcoin Core (a Bitcoin-only wallet) are some of the most popular desktop wallets.
- Mobile wallets. As the name suggests, these wallets are specially designed for mobile devices and usually have both iOS and Android versions. Some commonly used mobile wallets are Mycelium and Coinomi.
Hardware Wallets
Hardware wallets, also known as cold storage, are electronic physical devices that look like USB drives and work offline. These wallets generate the private and public keys using a random number generator (RGN) and store them without connecting to the Internet. This is why hardware wallets are safer from hacker attacks and malware.
These wallets are a good option if users want to store their cryptocurrencies for a longer period of time or in case they hold a large number of crypto assets. Most of the hardware wallets allow users to set up a password or PIN code in order to protect the wallet and a recovery seed phrase that users can use to recover their assets in case their wallet gets stolen or lost. Some of the most popular hardware wallets are Trezor and Ledger.
Paper Wallets
Paper wallets are a type of cold storage wallet. They essentially represent a piece of paper on which the public and private keys are printed out in the form of a QR code. When you want to make a crypto transaction, you only need to scan this QR code that you can get from the paper wallet platform.
Some paper wallet platforms allow you to download QR codes and then create wallet addresses and private keys offline. This feature adds extra protection from hacker attacks.
What Is Exodus Wallet?
Exodus is a multi-currency software wallet that supports a wide range of coins and tokens, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Dash (DASH), ERC-20 tokens, etc. Until recently, Exodus was only available for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems, but now there are iOS and Android versions as well.
Exodus is a non-custodial wallet that gives you substantial control over your digital assets. This wallet doesn’t directly maintain or take custody of the user’s assets, instead, it’s responsible for how the wallet works.
As a lite wallet, Exodus doesn’t require you to download the whole blockchain onto your computer or mobile device, and this, in turn, makes the setup remarkably faster.
Exodus is a very practical wallet. It’s also one of the first cryptocurrency wallets that features a cryptocurrency exchange app called New Exchange and crypto staking services within the app itself. It offers a perfect visual presentation of the value of the crypto assets. Similar to the Apple software to which Exodus is often compared, the wallet is all about intuitive layout, which makes you feel as if you know how to use it without ever being taught.
How to Download and Open the Exodus Wallet?
In order to start using Exodus, you’ll need to follow a few simple steps:
- First, go to the official Exodus website and download the software that’s suitable for the operating system of the device you’re going to use;
- After you download the app, wait for the installation prompt to appear on your display;
- Once you install the app, open the wallet. On the left side, you’ll see a Wallet tab that you need to click on;
- You can store various digital currencies into your Exodus wallet. Just click on Wallet and then click on Receive. This way you’ll create one of a kind QR code. You can also use this code to send digital assets from the Trezor hardware wallet to Exodus.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Exodus
Some advantages of using Exodus:
- Makes it quite easy to exchange one digital currency for another and keep track of daily losses and earnings;
- Supports over 100 crypto coins and tokens, including ERC-20 tokens.
- Has a user-friendly interface and layout;
- Offers very professional customer support;
- Provides anonymous and easy trading when integrated with ShapeShift.
Some disadvantages of using Exodus:
- There’s a higher risk of hacker attacks because you’re dealing with a software wallet;
- There’s no high-level protection such as two-factor authentication or multi-signature support, only a user-created password and a recovery phrase.
- There’s no support for crypto-to-fiat exchanges.
The Best Exodus Alternatives
Electrum
Electrum is another hot storage wallet that was launched only two years after Bitcoin was developed. Unlike Exodus, Electrum provides two-factor authentication and private key encryption, as well as a multisig feature that enables users to trade Bitcoin between several wallets.
Moreover, Electrum supports hardware wallets, such as Trezor and Ledger, which can be integrated for extra protection. Electrum’s downside is that it’s a Bitcoin-only wallet, meaning it supports only Bitcoin transactions and none of the other cryptocurrency transactions.
Coinbase
The Coinbase Wallet is a crypto wallet and decentralized application (dApp) browser that’s controlled and maintained only by its owner. It’s considered as one of the safest digital currency wallets, primarily because it’s incorporated in the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange. It’s a virtual crypto wallet, which utilizes hot storage for digital currencies, meaning that the Coinbase wallet is a hot wallet.
This wallet supports a limited number of cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin. Additionally, Coinbase wallet supports over 50 fiat currencies, such as USD, AUD, EUR, and CAD. It has a web version (for Windows, Linux, and Mac) and a mobile version (for Android and iOS).
Coinbase wallet is a better alternative because not only can you trade crypto-to-crypto but you can also trade fiat-to-crypto trading pairs. Another advantage of Coinbase is that it offers more security features than Exodus, and it supports more hardware wallets as well.
Trezor
Trezor is the first cryptocurrency hardware wallet to be released. It’s a cold storage wallet that enables you to securely store, receive and send more than 1,000 crypto coins and tokens, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and ERC-20 tokens as well. And this is why Trezor is a better option than Exodus, which supports a little more than 100 crypto coins and tokens.
Due to the fact that Trezor is a hardware wallet, it’s way more secure than Exodus. It stores your private key offline and offers a 24-seed recovery phrase, so if you lose your Trezor wallet or if it gets stolen, you’ll be able to recover your wallet and regain access to your assets. This isn’t the case with software wallets like Exodus since once you forget or lose your private key, your assets are gone for good.
Trezor hardware wallets are compatible with Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. There are two Trezor models: Trezor Model T and Trezor One.
Jaxx Liberty
With Jaxx Liberty, you can securely maintain Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and over 90 different crypto coins and tokens. You get to view your holdings and crypto prices, communicate with cross-platform blockchain wallets, and even get links to third party trading services, all in one application. Moreover, you can access your transaction history and account balance, as well as detailed information about every cryptocurrency and its price changes in real-time.
The Jaxx Liberty wallet has versions for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android operating systems and features great customer support, available 24/7.
A Few Words Before You Go…
Exodus is one of the most popular hot wallets, particularly if you are just starting to swim in cryptocurrency waters. The appealing design of the intuitive interface allows you to trade digital coins and tokens in small amounts without the need for long processes, which makes Exodus a great digital wallet option.
However, upon closer examination of its features, we can see that Exodus fails to deliver in the security department. While other crypto wallets like Coinbase, Trexor, Ledger, and Jaxx Liberty include 2FA, encryption, and multisig support, with Exodus, you have to rely on your password and an extra recovery phrase.
Therefore, if you plan on storing your cryptos long-term, we advise you to turn to Exodus’ alternatives.