7.5 Introduction to Bitcoin Wallets

A master private key (like a password) from which you can generate public keys that you can share with others to receive and send bitcoins.

The mobile or desktop interface from which you can interact with the Bitcoin network to retrieve your bitcoin balance, send and receive transactions, and broadcast them to the network. Different types of wallets, along with their benefits and tradeoffs, will be described in the next section.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at two concepts we describe when using the term “wallet”:

Unlike physical money, bitcoins are not actually present in a Bitcoin wallet. Instead, they live on the distributed ledger that the Bitcoin network constantly verifies and secures. So, how can you own bitcoins? You have ownership of your bitcoins only when you own the private keys allowing you to sign transactions and transfer ownership of your bitcoins to someone else. This is the act of sending bitcoins.