What is and how to use Ethereum Mist wallet?
Ethereum has the second largest market cap and represents one of the best crypto investments. In order to trade or innvest you need to have a crypto wallet that supports the cryptocurrency you want to deal with. In this article we will see what an ethereum mist wallet is and how to use mist wallet to send and receive your crypto tokens.
Key takeaways
- Mist, often referred to as a wallet, allows users to store and manage ETH tokens and those linked to the Ethereum blockchain. It’s a software wallet providing full control over private keys, which are stored on the user’s device.
- Mist is compatible with Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux. However, it requires downloading the entire Ethereum blockchain, needing significant storage space.
- The wallet’s interface is basic and straightforward. Installation involves downloading the latest version from the official website and installing the Ethereum blockchain. Users choose the “Main Network,” set a secure password, and can add accounts for transactions.
What is Ethereum mist?
Before we see how to use mist wallet let’s see what ethereum mist is.
The official Ethereum Wallet is a feature built into the Mist Browser. Mist is a browser still under development used to interact with the Ethereum blockchain simply, in particular to explore dApps.
It offers many features and constitutes a sort of “front-end” allowing you to exploit the potential of the Ethereum blockchain. Mist is often referred to as a wallet.
The official Ethereum Wallet is indeed integrated into Mist, and can be downloaded as a single product to let the user concentrate on their wallet functions. This is of course a software wallet, which gives the user full control of their private keys.
These will be stored on their device. Mist is compatible with Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, but its use requires downloading the Ethereum blockchain and therefore requires significant storage space.
You will then be able to store and manage your ETH tokens as well as all the tokens linked to the Ethereum blockchain.
How to use Mist Wallet?
The interface of the official Ethereum wallet is quite simple to understand, because it is basic.
If it is significantly less pleasant than Exodus or Jaxx (which, moreover, are multi-currency wallets and offer many more features), it does not pose any particular difficulties in use, and you can quickly find what you need. look for.
Its installation, on the other hand, is quite technical, since it requires installing the Ethereum blockchain. Here are the steps you will need to follow for installation:
- Download the ethereum wallet, the latest version from the official website
- Launch the Mist application once the download is complete (the blockchain will be downloaded when the application is first launched)
- Choose “Main Network” and not “Test Network” (which corresponds to a tool for developers)
- Choose a secure password
- Click on “Add account”, “Create account”, then choose your strong password.
You will then be able to add funds to your wallet, then place transactions in the traditional way via the “Send” tab and wallet address. The account password will need to be entered to confirm each transaction.
Mist wallet security features
Developed and maintained by the developers who created Ethereum, the wallet integrated into Mist is often considered one of the most secure ways to store ether.
Only cold wallets (hardware or paper wallets) can surpass the security of the official Ethereum wallet. The private keys are stored on your computer and therefore give you complete control over your funds.
Make sure you don’t lose your password or private keys, so you can always access your funds. Remember to write your password and keys on paper and keep them in a safe place.
Better yet, you can copy them onto a metal wallet to ensure you always have them in the event of fire, flooding, or simply wear of the paper.
Pros and cons of the Ethereum Mist wallet
The advantages of mist wallet
- Ability to obtain ether against bitcoin or US dollars directly from the application
- Strong legitimacy of the software developers
- Strong security
- Possibility of deploying smart contracts directly from the wallet
- Multi-signatures
- Excellent user support
Disadvantages of Ethereum Mist wallet
- Mandatory installation of the Ethereum blockchain (therefore a long and very storage space-intensive installation)
- Few accessible tutorials
- No mobile version
- Unmodern interface
- Inferior security than hardware wallets
- Only allows ether and Ethereum tokens to be stored
In Conclusion: How to use Mist wallet
The official Ethereum wallet from Mist software offers a secure solution for making fast transactions on the Ethereum blockchain and deploying smart contracts.
Basic, its interface may be suitable for beginners. However, downloading the complete blockchain remains a real constraint in terms of time and storage space.
Lightweight wallets like Exodus or Jaxx offer a better choice of cryptocurrencies, a nicer interface, and more features, for barely less security.
In the same way, to interact with the Ethereum blockchain, MyEtherWallet and MyCrypto offer very interesting features by giving the user control of their private keys.
A connection to these sites with MetaMask and via a hardware wallet allows you to benefit from a functional, pleasant, and reasonably secure wallet without having to download the entire Ethereum blockchain
