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Best Solana Wallets (A Guide)
To use Solana and store your Solana safely you will need a wallet. Coinbase describes Crypto wallets as wallets that ‘store your private keys, keeping your crypto safe and accessible’. They also allow you to send, receive, and spend cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana.
Solana DeFi summer is approaching, be prepared.
As a blockchain and an ecosystem Solana is different from many other popular cryptocurrencies. Solana is known for NOT being ‘EVM-compatible’, which means that the Solana blockchain cannot directly interact with the Ethereum blockchain or any other EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) based blockchains.
This means the popular wallets you may have heard of, including Metamask, ‘Trust Wallet’, ‘Rabby’ will not work with Solana.
So what wallets work with Solana?
Solana has 2 main popular wallets, ‘Phantom Wallet’ and ‘Solflare’. Phantom is the more popular of the pair but there’s no right or wrong choice. You can also use and store your Solana on a hardware wallet such as a Ledger, which is safer than Phantom or Solfare because Phantom and Solfare are software wallets. Since hardware wallets are physical devices, a hacker would need access to the seedphrase and device itself in order to attack you. This form of cold storage is seen as safer than a software wallet.
With your software wallet you are signing transactions, dealing with pop-ups, and interacting with numerous dapps. Unless you install an extension you may not know what you are signing, making you more susceptible to hackers. Despite the risks most people who regularly conduct onchain activities use a software wallet to do this.
Phantom Wallet is a native wallet designed for Solana. This is a self custodial wallet meaning you control the contents of your wallet Without the Phantom team ever having access to it. Phantom is renowned for being easy to use and a place where you can house both your cryptocurrencies and your NFTs.
There is zero fee customisation so this might be something to consider. It also comes with built-in scam protection, helping you understand what transactions you are signing. Phantom is also well known for being a place Where you can stake your Solana, receiving a respectable ~5-7% yield. They also have a great mobile app wallet. It's also very fast with low transaction fees, so you can make numerous swaps!
Solfare is also the original, first ever Solana wallet. Solflare is developed by the Solana Labs team, who also boast/developed a mobile app. 17% of all Solana is currently staked via Solflare wallet, generating a similar yield to Phantom.
With Solflare you can stake your Solana, interact with Solana dapps, easily read your history and manage your NFT collection from within the app. They also have ‘SolScout’ , a great gamified on-boarding process for beginners new to the wallet and the Solana ecosystem.
Choosing the right Solana wallet is a crucial step in ensuring the security and convenience of your Solana holdings. Ultimately, the choice between Phantom and Solflare, or even a hardware wallet, depends on your specific needs and preferences. Whichever wallet you select, be sure to prioritise security and stay informed about the transactions you make in the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency.
