Most of the action goes down on exchanges, where you can either buy cryptocurrency directly or trade it with another owner. And while exchanges are generally quite safe to use, your holdings are potentially exposed to hackers and thieves. What’s worse is that once your bitcoins gone, it’s gone for good. That’s why you want to take your bitcoin or crypto off the exchange and put it in a wallet.

Like crypto itself, wallets come in a variety of forms. In the general sense, there are both “hot” and “cold” wallets. A “hot” wallet is one that’s connected to the Internet. A “cold” wallet is offline and stored in a place that can’t be accessed by Internet invaders. Suffice it to say, “cold” wallets are much safer than “hot” wallets. Here’s a more intensive breakdown:

The most common type among crypto and bitcoin wallets, a desktop wallet is one you can download directly onto your desktop. While it’s not connected to the Internet, it’s still not entirely safe because if your computer crashes or gets exposed to malware, you could still lose your crypto. For that reason, you want to make sure you copy down the adjoining data (private key, etc) elsewhere so it doesn’t get lost forever.

Crypto hot wallets don’t get much hotter than this. On the other hand, online wallets aren’t without their advantages. One is that they’re incredibly convenient, storing your information on the cloud and always having it readily accessible. Another advantage is that your public and private keys will always be retrievable, even if your computer crashes. Of course, all those perks won’t matter if hackers are able to get your information and steal the money itself, which is beyond retrieval once nabbed. Furthermore, don’t think of hackers as targeting your wallet alone. What they do is target a database with thousands of wallets in it, and swipe them all at once. Just a quick FYI: you’ll usually need to undergo an ID verification process to set up an online wallet.

Think of the best smartphone crypto wallets as having the same general functionality as a desktop wallet, except you install them as apps on your mobile device. They’re convenient and readily accessible, and you can even use them to scan other wallet addresses for transfers. Like desktop wallets, however, smartphone wallets are only as safe as the smartphone itself. To be safe, you should back up all the relevant information on a separate platform.

Think of a hardware wallet as a desktop wallet that stores your information on a separate USB stick or external hard drive. That grants you a certain degree of freedom, in that you can plug the USB stick into any computer and access your wallet. Just remember to keep your hardware wallet secure for obvious reasons. That means backing it up on a regular basis or having a way to retrieve the contents if there’s a crash. There are some hardware wallets (known as purpose-built crypto hardware wallets) that have security measures built in.

For the utmost in security, paper crypto wallets might be your best bet. They take all the action off your computer or smartphone, printing your public and private keys on a piece of paper, which thereby serves as your wallet. However, what sounds easy at first can get downright complicated. For starters, paper wallets oblige you to create your own public/private keys. For that, you’ll need a key generator. You’ll also need a software wallet so others can send money to your public key, which usually takes the form of a QR code on your paper wallet. Also, if you want to send money from your paper wallet to someone else, you need to first send it to a software wallet. Hence, the paper wallet–while arguably the safest – is primarily for advanced users only.

We’ve broken down the best crypto and bitcoin wallets below to make life a little easier for you. The list contains all five types of wallets and provides quality alternatives to some of the more popular wallets on the market.

A supremely efficient wallet, Exodus offers a range of cryptocurrencies as well as the ability to trade on the ShapesShift exchange. The wallet is encrypted, but it does not offer two-factor authentication.

All the bitcoins out there swear by Mycelium, which only offers bitcoin and delivers a range of features, including integration with your hardware wallet. This is one of the best Cryptocurrency wallets on the market thanks to is highly integrated bitcoin technologies that specialise in hardware, software and security.

On the widely-used Coinomi, you’ll have access to a trouble-free layout and a number of cryptocurrencies. This bitcoin wallet is designed for storing multiple currencies on an Android phone. You can securely store currencies including Ethereum. Coinomi provides support for a wide variety of digital assets and a built-in exchange for fast and simple trading. The wallet combines market-leading encryption thanks to hierarchical deterministic security.

A perennial favourite among Aussies, LocalBitcoin allows you to trade bitcoin directly with other users. Unlike other online bitcoin wallets and stock-like exchanges, LocalBitcoins allows you to trade directly with another person. This makes the process easy and fast. Because there are no corporate overheads to take care of, you can get your bitcoins instantly. LocalBitcoins aims to support every suitable payment method its user community supports. Finally, for every trade, LocalBitcoins offers escrow protection to ensure the bitcoins and both traders are safe.

Compatible with a range of cryptos, Ledger Nano S keeps your money safe and sound inside a preciously portable hardware wallet. This bitcoin wallet supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Stellar and many more. To increase capacity, you can safely install & uninstall applications on your device to optimize your needs. The industry leader in security, your key will remain protected in a certified secure chip.