Large amounts of bitcoins should not be stored on your Android device! If you want the most secure Bitcoin wallet then you will need to use a hardware wallet like the Ledger Nano X or TREZOR T.
You should always do research before downloading or installing any Bitcoin wallet.
Samourai Get Samourai Read Review Considered to be one of the most feature rich and private Bitcoin hot wallets on the market. Bitcoiners love the coinjoin features native to Samourai, however the Android wallet is currently in beta so may be unstable.
Zengo Get Zengo Zengo is a new kind of cryptocurrency wallet where your private key is encrypted and stored on Zengo's server and accessed via your Android's facial recognition technology. This makes it easier to restore your wallet if it's ever lost, but you must trust Zengo to be honest and competent at protecting your keys.
Blockstream Green Get BS Green Read Review Blockstream Green is one of the most unique and secure Android Bitcoin hot wallets on the market. It uses a 2-of-2 style backup so if you ever lose your backup, you can use any two factor authentication to recover it. It's also super simple to set up and requires no registration other than an email address. You can even store your Liquid assets on Blockstream green now.
Ledger Live Get Ledger Live Read Review Ledger Live is a little bit different than all the other wallet apps on this list. That's because you actually need a cold storage like Ledger hardware wallet for it to work. This is not a bad thing because it is by far the most secure Android Wallet app on this list. But that extra security means that using it isn't exactly 'free' since it requires you to purchase a Ledger hardware wallet.
The google play store has more than one Ledger Live app listed. A few appear to be frauds. We have linked to the one Ledger itself has linked to, but if you want to be certain, we recommend going to Ledger's page where they link to their google play app page.
BRD Wallet Get BRD Read Review BRD (based in USA) is good for new bitcoin users who are just getting comfortable sending and receiving bitcoins. The UI is one of the best among Android Bitcoin and cryptocurrency hot wallets and you don't need to do any sort of sign up process to use it. However, some users report syncing issues and technical support is considered to be lacking.
Jaxx Liberty Get Jaxx Jaxx Liberty (based in Canada) is a very popular bitcoin wallet with support for tons of different coins, like litecoin, ethereum (eth), bitcoin cash, dash an in-app cryptocurrency exchange and native block explorers. The news panel that lets users know of the latest news regarding their coins is a nice touch. Some, though, have run into issues with various altcoins on Jaxx Liberty.
Edge (AirBitz) Get Edge Edge is a feature packed Bitcoin wallet for Android. It aims to make spending bitcoins a breeze, since it offers a Bitcoin merchant directory and the ability to buy gift cards from within the mobile app! Also Edge takes advantage of your Android device by allowing you to use your fingerprint to unlock your wallet.
Aqua Wallet If the advanced features offered by Blockstream Green seem a little too complicated for you, Blockstream also just released a single-signature, non-custodial mobile cryptocurrency wallet called Aqua. With Aqua, you can hold Bitcoin, Tether, and LBTC (Liquid BTC) just like Blockstream green. The main difference is there is no confusing multi-signature involved. Its just a simple, but well designed and easy to use mobile wallet for Bitcoiners.
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Now that you have chosen a wallet, let's transfer some funds into it.
In this brief walkthrough, we will show you how to add funds to your Android wallet
For you to add funds to your Android Wallet, you will need to find an cryptocurrency exchange to buy cryptocurrency from then transfer it to your Android Wallet. Many Android Wallets have crypto exchanges native to them (as seen above), however, these exchanges generally charge very high transaction fees for the convenience, so it’s generally better to use a dedicated crypto exchange, like Kraken or Coinbase.
You’ll need to choose an exchange that services your country and/or state. You can find a full list of exchanges sorted by country and preferred payment method on our exchange finder or you can see the most popular exchanges below:
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After you have bought your cryptocurrency (such as bitcoin, ethereum (ETH), bitcoin cash, litecoin, dash), you’ll need to send it to your wallet. To do that, do the following:
After that, you should receive a confirmation with a transaction ID of some kind. Here is what that might look like.
Android Wallets have the advantage of being free and easy to use. However, using an Android Wallet also poses many dangers to your coins.
Making sure your coins are not stolen through malware or ransomware is difficult to avoid on an Android Wallet.
Hardware wallets are a great choice because they connect offline, never connect to the internet. They store your private keys and sign transactions you send to them. You verify the transaction on the screen of the hardware wallet, and give the signed transaction to the Android device.
If you plan on storing large amounts of coins, we either recommend a hardware wallet exclusively or choosing an Android Wallet that allows you to hold your private keys on a hardware wallet.
Hardware wallets are a great way, then, to keep your coins safe if you want to use an Android Wallet. Instead of housing the private keys on your mobile device or tablet, you store them on your hardware wallet and the desktop just acts as a user interface to the send and receive coins.
Unfortunately, Only Blockstream Green, Ledger Live, and Mycelium support hardware wallets, so options are limited if you are serious about taking your security seriously and using an Android Wallet.
COMPARISON
Now that we've got our Android wallet set up with a hardware wallet, let's explore a few additional points on security.
PINs, VPNs, and Steel wallets are great additions to our security stack.
Make sure your Android wallet is protected by a 4 to 6 digit PIN number. Much like your bank account, most wallets have a PIN password that is the absolutely minimum when it comes to protecting funds you keep on your wallet. This prevents someone who has your mobile device from accessing the coins and sending them to another wallet that they own.
A PIN is not very strong security, but it’s good enough to prevent most people who have temporary access to your unlocked phone from taking your money.
All the Android wallets on this list support BIP39 seed words, otherwise known as ‘recovery phrases’. If your phone is lost, destroyed, or stolen, you can use this phrase to recover your funds to a new device.
However, most people write down these words on a piece of paper. When their home catches fire or is flooded, they lose the device and the backup to the elements. You should therefore consider a steel backup device like the Billfodl.
We’ve mentioned this before, but its worth repeating: you should treat your Android wallet the same way you treat your real world wallet or billfold. You wouldn’t carry every dollar you own in your pocket. You should also not hold all your coins on your Android wallet. You need to store them on a hardware wallet.
When making Bitcoin transactions on your Android wallet, it is a good practice to use a VPN. This prevents your ISP or hackers listening in on your connection from tying your IP address (and therefore your personal identity) to your Bitcoin transactions. It’s a good privacy practice that is cheap and easy to implement.
Below are some of our most asked questions by readers.
If you're wondering about a topic on this page, odds are we have the answer here.
For now, Blockstream’s simple single-sig wallet called Aqua is not available on Android. It is coming though. For now, you will need to use Blockstream green.
Aqua is a single signature mobile only wallet, meaning anyone with access to your phone (either physically or remotely) could steal your coins. In exchange for the increased risk, the wallet is easier to use.
Aqua is new, and if you have an iOS device, it can be a great addition to Blockstream Green Desktop. Take a closer look at it its security features and look in the video below:
Guarda wallet is a software wallet that was launched in 2017 for supporting for Ethereum (ETH). It is available on Android.
Electrum wallet is one of the most trusted crypto wallets which stores only Bitcoin.
Yes, Bitpay is available on the Google Play Store.
Investors should use a hardware wallet, not an Android wallet. Android wallets are not very secure, so anyone holding large sums of money in crypto are advised not to use Android wallets.
Exodus is a wallet that supports over a hundred cryptocurrencies. In the beginning, Exodus was originally available only on desktop (Windows, Mac, or Linux), but is now also available for iOS and Android mobile platforms as well.
Jordan Tuwiner is the founder of BuyBitcoinWorldwide.com. His work has been featured in The Guardian, International Business Times, Forbes, VentureBeat, CoinDesk and many other top Bitcoin media outlets. His articles are read by millions of people each year looking for the best way to buy Bitcoin and crypto in their country.
He has also written extensively about the history, technology, and business of the crypto world. Jordan is also the creator of some of the internet's most famous Bitcoin pages, including The Quotable Satoshi and Bitcoin Obituaries.
To learn more about Jordan, see his full bio.
