The Central Bank of the Philippines legalized 16 crypto exchanges in 2020, which was a significant step forward for the country’s cryptocurrency adaptation. Since then, many global and local cryptocurrency exchanges have been serving in the Philippines, letting you buy and sell Bitcoins.
Once you buy Bitcoins in the Philippines, you will need to store them in a Bitcoin wallet. This article will tell you about the top Bitcoin wallets in the Philippines as we have compared their features, pricing, pros, and cons.
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Physical assets do not back Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. As they exist in the virtual or digital world, you will get a public address and private key to secure your ownership when you purchase a Bitcoin. The private key will contain the information needed to trade it in the future.
The primary purpose of Bitcoin wallets is to store that private key and protect it from external threats like cybercrime, power outage, and accidents.
There are two main types of Bitcoin wallets – software-based and hardware-based.
You can access the software wallets from your phone or computer. Many software wallets have their proprietary apps for desktop and mobile platforms.
On the other hand, the hardware wallets are like small USB drives that you can carry in your pocket and connect with a laptop or mobile phone. Both software and hardware wallets can include online and offline storage. When a wallet can connect to the internet, it is called a hot wallet. In contrast, a cold wallet cannot connect to the internet.
There are pros and cons to each type. Let’s now look at different types of Bitcoin wallets in the Philippines.
When you buy Bitcoin in the Philippines, the Coinbase wallet is an excellent choice to store your purchased BTC. You can also connect it to major crypto exchanges globally and transfer your Bitcoin to Coinbase for secure storage.
Coinbase supports over 100 cryptocurrencies and coins. In addition to cryptocurrencies, you can also store your NFTs and other digital assets in this wallet.
Key Features:
Fees:
Coinbase Wallet is free to use. However, you will need to pay the transaction fees when you transfer money to the wallet or withdraw from it.
Pros
Cons
Trust Wallet by Binance is considered one of the most secure Bitcoin wallets. It has also launched a specialized wallet application for Bitcoins known as Bitcoin Wallet. Bitcoin wallet supports over 1 million NFTs, coins, and digital assets.
Binance lets you buy USD 50 to USD 20,000 worth of BTC from the Binance exchange and store it safely within your Bitcoin wallet. The app is available for both iOS and Android systems.
Key Features:
Fees:
Binance offers a Trust wallet free of charge. However, you will have to pay the transaction fee for using the Binance exchange.
Pros
Cons
One of the best Bitcoin wallets available in the Philippines is Coins PH. It gives you full control over trading and storing your digital and fiat currencies. Coin PH also lets you pay merchant bills, transfer money, and load funds right from your phone with a straightforward user interface.
Coins PH has multiple verification levels based on how many transactions you would do per month. For example, if you cash in up to PHP 50,000, you will belong to level 1. At level 1, you will simply need to provide your phone or email for verification. Similarly, for level 2, with transaction volume up to PHP 100,000, you will need to provide your proof of ID and selfie.
Key Features:
Fees:
Coins PH is completely free to use. When you pay via Coins PH, they charge a minimal fee from merchants, but not the end-users. Also, there is no transaction and conversion fee. You may, however, need to pay the network fees depending on the currency you are trading.
Pros
Cons
Created as a desktop wallet in 2011, Electrum is a trusted and one of the oldest Bitcoin wallets. Unlike most other Bitcoin wallets that support multiple cryptocurrencies and digital assets, Electrum only supports storing Bitcoin, making it very simple to use on a day-to-day basis.
The desktop wallet is very lightweight, and you will not need to run a full node and download the entire Bitcoin blockchain to use it. Instead, you can simply connect to secure external servers.
Key Features:
Fees:
Electrum is entirely free to use for everyone to store their Bitcoin. It is licensed under MIT, and there are no fees of any type.
Pros
Cons
Mycelium started its journey almost at the same time as Bitcoin, and since then, it has served as a Bitcoin hot wallet for many years. In addition to Bitcoin, Mycelium also supports Ethereum and a few other major ERC-20 tokens. Despite being a hot wallet, it also has cold or offline storage for added security.
The mobile app is available for both iOS and Android users, and you can also download it as an APK from their official website. Mycelium is based on the Simplified Payment Verification (SPV) method, which means you can download a simplified version of the complete Bitcoin blockchain.
Key Features:
Fees:
The Mycelium app is free to use, and you will only need to pay the regular network or gas fees during transfers.
Pros
Cons
Exodus is a beginner-friendly cryptocurrency wallet in the Philippines, supporting over 200 coins, NFTs, and digital assets, including Bitcoin. The wallet integrates seamlessly with Trezor One and Model T hardware wallets and has desktop and mobile versions.
Exodus is a non-custodial wallet that gives the users complete control of their private keys. Although most non-custodial wallets do not double as a crypto exchange, Exodus lets you enjoy crypto trading facilities through their partnership with FTX, which is a custodial cryptocurrency exchange.
Key Features:
Fees:
Exodus is free to use. However, you will need to pay the network fees.
Pros
Cons
Bither is a simple and intuitive Bitcoin wallet for you to store your Bitcoins from the Philippines securely. The desktop and mobile version of the wallet is available for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Key Features:
Fees:
You can use Bither for free. However, you will need to pay the network fees for transactions with this wallet. Unfortunately, Bither shows only static fee suggestions. Thus, you may often pay more than what is shown on the screen before the transaction.
Pros
Cons
BitBox02 is a simple Bitcoin wallet manufactured and marketed by Shift Crypto AG of Switzerland. It has several features that competitors like Ledger Nano or Trezor do not have. BitBox02 supports unified accounts so that all the supported scripts of Bitcoin accounts are automatically included.
In addition, BitBox02 supports encrypted end-to-end communication between the device and the app. A dual-chip design secures the hardware wallet.
[maxbutton id=”3″ url=”https://coinlib.io/newsroom/recommends/bitbox/” text=”Trade with BitBox02″ ]
Key Features:
Fees:
BitBox02 has two editions, with the same price of USD 149 (PHP 7,825). One is the Bitcoin-only edition, and the other is the multi-currency edition.
Pros
Cons
Ledger Nano X is one of the market leaders for Bitcoin hardware wallets trusted by over 4 million customers globally. It has been highly praised by tech review outlets like Forbes, TechCrunch, and Bloomberg for its great range of functionalities and security features.
The device is protected by a CC EAL5+ chip that can withstand sophisticated cyber attacks and protect your Bitcoins. Ledger Nano X houses a large screen and connects to your phone via Bluetooth for more interaction and convenience.
Key Features:
Fees:
Ledger Nano X is available at USD 149 (PHP 7,825) on Amazon. Ledger Nano S’s lite version is available at USD 59 (PHP 3,100). Meanwhile, Ledger Nano S Plus costs USD 79 (PHP 4,150).
Pros
Cons
Trezor Model T is one of the best Bitcoin hardware wallets available on the market. Released in 2018, the Model T was a massive upgrade over the original Trezor One. The wallet comprises excellent touch screen and top-of-the-line security features.
Trezor Model T supports the storage of Bitcoin, passwords, digital coins, tokens, and many other NFTs. You can create BIP32, BIP39, BIP44, and SLIP39 recovery seeds with Trezor to easily backup your entire wallet.
Key Features:
Fees:
The Trezor Model T would cost you EUR 249 (PHP 14,000). The less pricey Trezor Model One is available at USD 85.
Pros
Cons
As of March 2022, there are over 18,000 cryptocurrencies, coins, and digital tokens in the market, reported Investopedia. There are also so many coins that follow the same technology as Bitcoin. In addition, wallets differ based on their pros and cons.
One advantage of having multiple Bitcoin wallets is sharing your security phrases across multiple wallets for better security. However, it will take you more time to perform transactions and multiple authentications on the downside.
Therefore, if you are a serious investor in this growing market, it is likely that you will have to deal with several different coins, and multiple wallets will benefit you.
No wallet in the market is perfect for every user. For instance, Trezor Model T is an industry leader in terms of security. However, it has a hefty price tag, which is overkill for entry-level users. On the other hand, Ledger Nano S costs only USD 49 but lacks many advanced features, making it difficult for you to scale as a Bitcoin investor.
Thus, when choosing a wallet, conduct thorough market research based on its pricing and features to pick the right one for you.
The number of wallets you should have depends on what type of investor you are. For most entry-level investors, having a simple, free software wallet serves the purpose. Meanwhile, if you hold multiple cryptocurrencies, it is good to pair your software wallet with a hardware-based one. Your affordability also plays a major role.
Many wallets support multiple cryptocurrencies, and at the same time, a few are exclusive to particular ones only. If your wallet is a Bitcoin-only edition, you cannot store Ethereum or any other currencies there. You can, however, opt for wallets that support multiple currencies to have some flexibility.
Coins PH is one of the most popular software-based Bitcoin wallets in the Philippines. You can simply install the app from Google Play or App Store. The registration process is relatively straightforward, where you will simply provide your email address or phone number. You will only need to provide more authentication-related information if you want to cash in more than PHP 50,000 per month.
Bitcoin is not illegal in the Philippines. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, has licensed 16 cryptocurrency exchanges to operate in the country. Several exchanges like Coins PH let you buy and use Bitcoin for cash withdrawal or merchant payment.
As of May 2022, there are nine Bitcoin ATMs in the Philippines where you can deposit or withdraw Bitcoins to your wallet. Many of them support multiple cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin.
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