What is Electrum Wallet? Reviews and how to install electrum crypto wallet [2020]

What is Electrum?

Electrum is an easy-to-use simple bitcoin wallet software that was born almost as early as possible. Open source wallets with an emphasis on speed and low resource usage.

Currently electrum wallet is available on platforms: Windows, OSX, Linux and Android.

The Electrum Bitcoin wallet only stores Bitcoin. It does not provide support for any other cryptocurrencies. This includes any of Bitcoin’s forks (like Bitcoin Cash such as). However, cryptocurrency users forked the Electrum software to provide support for different BTC forks.

Electrum is currently listed by CHK in: List of Top 9 best Bitcoin wallets 2020-2021

It uses remote servers to process the most complex parts of the Bitcoin system. It allows you to restore your wallet with a recovery phrase (just like the wallets you often use).

Watch now: What is Bitcoin? The most comprehensive information about virtual currency BTC

Features of electrum wallet

• Control your money: The wallet offers complete control over bitcoin. Meaning that no third party can freeze or lose your money.
• Simplified confirmation: Confirmed transactions are verified via SPV (the method through which a user can check whether some transactions are included in a block without having to download the entire block data).
• Transparency: The developers of this wallet publish the source code to the client. Any developer in the world can test the code.
• Two-factor authentication: With a remote server active to sign transactions.
• Privacy barrier: Prevent hackers from tracking your balances and payments. Set up and use Tor as a proxy to prevent an attacker or Internet service provider from linking your payment to your IP address.
• Full control of charges: The wallet allows to change fees after the money is deposited. It also provides fee suggestions based on current network conditions so that your transactions are confirmed in a timely manner.

Overall quite similar to bitcoin core. You can find out bitcoin core wallet here: What is Bitcoin core? Evaluate the features and how to create an account

Overall assessment of pros and cons of electrum wallet

Advantages

• First of all, it is free software.
• Instant: User doesn’t need to download the full set blockchain because electrum is the wallet that gets the blockchain information from the server. There is no delay and it is always updated.
• Quite good compared to regular bitcoin payers.
• Although it is retrieving blockchain information from the server, the private key is never shared with the server.
• Bitcoin is your own. There is no user information in the server. You guys have complete control over the private key.
• Increased security because it is a multi-sign wallet.

Defect

It can be seen, however, that the basic elements of a bitcoin wallet are quite complete. Or the advantages are quite a lot, but also need to evaluate a few disadvantages before using the wallet as follows:

• First, it’s still a hot wallet. The problems we have with hot wallets are the same with electrum.
• Only bitcoin is supported. It is quite good for you who just want to use this wallet with bitcoin, but quite inconvenient for those with higher needs.
• Wallet was hacked at the end of 2018.

Instructions for setting up and using electrum wallet

Note: The latest release version of the software is Electrum-3.3.8. Electrum warns them that using older versions (eg 3.3.4) are susceptible to scams.

I will guide you step by step on the Windows operating system for you to easily imagine:

Step 1: Go to electrum.io and select Download at the top of the screen. Then choose Windows Installer.

Step 2: When downloading the setup file, open it up and select Install to continue.

Step 3: Wait for the installation to complete select the button Close.

Step 4: Next it will ask you if you want to connect to the server you know, or do it automatically. If you do not know who trustworthy running the Electrum server, you should let Electrum automatically connect, that is, choose Auto connect and press Next.

Step 5:The default wallet name is default_wallet. Choose next to continue.

Step 6: Now there are 4 options:

• Standard wallet (Standard wallet): It allows creating a brand new wallet (2 types of Legacy or SegWit addresses). Only a private key is required to sign a transaction for this wallet.
• Wallet with tow-factor authentication (Wallet with two-factor authentication): You are provided with 2 of 3 keys. The third is managed by the TrustedCoin service. Google Authenticator is also needed.
• Multi-signature wallet (Multi-wallet): A wallet has many necessary private keys.
• Import Bitcoin addresses or private keys (Enter Bitcoin address or private key)

Step 7: In the item Keystore This Select Create a new seed to create a new wallet. Then choose next to continue.

Step 8: There are two standard wallet address options available Segwit and Legacy. Choose Segwit and press next.

Transactions are made for cheaper SegWit addresses and take up less space in a block. To understand more about segwit, read here: What is SegWit? What is Segwit Bitcoin (Segregated Witness)?

Step 9: Now it’s time to save 12 recovery phrases. It’s up to you to copy or copy something, as long as you keep it carefully and secretly. Continue to press Next.

Step 10: Reconfirm the saved recovery phrase, write in the correct order, and select next To go to the last step is to set a password for the wallet.

Step 11: Set a password to access the wallet, remember to set a strong password when there will be a strong message on the screen. Choose next to finish the process of downloading and installing electrum wallet.

That’s it, the process of downloading the installation and setting up things. Easy, right. Next, you need to operate with sending bitcoin.

How to send bitcoins on electrum wallet

Turn on the electrum app and in the home screen switch to tab Send. You need to enter the following information to be able to send bitcoin:

• Pay to: Paste the BTC wallet address you want to send to.
• description: Description
• Amount: Number of mBTC (Unit is smaller than BTC and convert 1BTC = 1000mBTC)
• Fee: Fee Adjustment Bar – Electrum integrates an appropriate fee to confirm your transaction, you can adjust it (by dragging the slider only).

And then press the button Send to send.

How to receive bitcoin on electrum wallet

Simple, you switch to tab Receive and note the following information:

• Receiving address: Your bitcoin receiving address. You deposit bitcoins into this address or copy that address to the person who wants to send you bitcoin. This address may change after someone sends you bitcoin. However, the address before you can still use it.
• Description: Description
• Requested amount: Amount requested (The unit is still mBTC)
• Request expires (Request expires): Choose never, 1 day, 1 hour or 1 week.

Notice that the next qr code will be created continuously when you change the description and requested amount. Send that qr to the payer is done. This is quite suitable for you to have payment service needs.

After finishing, press Save to save in the request section below. You can then choose new to make another request.

How to use multiple wallet addresses at the same time

As I said above, after each use of the address to receive or request bitcoin payment, that address will change (follow the box Receiving address tab Receive Please).

How To: Select View -> Show Address.

Show Address finished, select tab Address to display the full address. The address that is attached to the request that you send with it is the amount in the address in the column Balance.

Set up and use the ledger cold wallet with electrum

If you do not know how to buy a genuine cold wallet or use a cold wallet, you should read two articles about the wallet Ledger Nano X and wallet Ledger Nano S.

Request

• Download electrum (can install or not yet installed)
• Turn on Ledger live
• Install the bitcoin application on the cold wallet: In this step, you keep looking to the bitcoin application on the ledger, when you see the bitcoin application Press two buttons to agree. Then the cold wallet shows “Use wallet to view account“Then leave it and do the following steps:

Steps to be taken

For electrum application not installed

1. Connect and unlock the ledger cold wallet and open the bitcoin application.
2. Launch electrum from start to step Standard wallet and press Next.
3. In the keystore section (this one selects differently than the wallet setup above): This step selects Use a hardware device and choose Next.

For electrum application already installed

1. Connect and unlock the ledger cold wallet and open the bitcoin application.
2. On the electrum wallet choose the order File -> New / Restore (Ctrl + N combination)
3. Go to the selection step Standard wallet then choose next and also choose Use a hardware device and choose Next.

Done with two cases, now to the general step: Select next when you see the Item Hardware Keystore have ledger device as shown below (If electrum screen as below, connect successfully)

The address has been created and the account balance is displayed in the tab History. Now you can manage your BTC from the ledger cold wallet using Electrum.

Is it possible to recover a forgotten password

Can’t recover your password. However, it is possible to recover your wallet from the original 12 recovery phrases and choose a new password. If you lose both your password and the seed, there’s no way to get your money back.

To restore your brother’s wallet from its recovery phrase, create a new wallet. But choose the “I already have a seed“And proceed to enter the recovery phrase.

How to update to the latest electrum version

Remember to always save 12 recovery phrases before performing an upgrade. To upgrade Electrum, just install the latest version. To do this will depend on the operating system you’re using.

Note that the wallet files are stored separately from the software, so it is possible to safely remove the old software version.

Some Electrum upgrades will modify the format of your wallet file. For this reason, it is not advisable to downgrade Electrum to an older version once you have opened your wallet file with the new version. Older versions may not always be able to read new wallet files

The wallet file is a file default_wallet when you setup the application for the first time.

In addition to the above features, you can refer to and fix the errors here. Click here

Conclude

After seeing me review this wallet, do you use this wallet to store bitcoins. If so, please read the article I shared with you to have the most comprehensive view. Thanks.