Proton Wallet Review: A Bitcoin Software Wallet That Simplifies Transactions

2 months ago 27

Proton, the Swiss institution down ProtonMail and ProtonVPN, has released a beta mentation of the newest offering successful its suite of products that assistance to sphere online privateness — Proton Wallet.

The wallet is large for those looking to nonstop bitcoin on-chain with comparative ease, but it leaves immoderate to beryllium desired for much precocious users oregon for those who privation to marque smaller payments rapidly and cheaply.

Pros And Cons

Proton Wallet’s standout diagnostic is that it allows you to nonstop bitcoin utilizing thing much than a recipient’s email address, which doesn’t person to beryllium a ProtonMail address. The non-custodial bitcoin-only wallet is besides escaped to usage and has an easy-to-navigate idiosyncratic interface (UI).

However, it lacks successful that it lone allows users to marque transactions connected the Bitcoin basal concatenation — not implicit Lightning — which tin instrumentality upwards of hours to settle, and it doesn't let users to negociate their UTXOs oregon set fees. Plus, it’s a bundle wallet and cannot beryllium disconnected from the net similar a hardware wallet, which increases the hazard of the wallet’s backstage keys being compromised.

Getting Started With Proton Wallet

To usage the beta mentation of the product, you request an invitation either from the institution oregon different user. The wallet is presently disposable via web browser and arsenic an Android app and takes 5 to 10 minutes to acceptable up and statesman using.

Once you’ve received an email invitation to usage the wallet, you tin click connected the “Start utilizing Proton Wallet” nexus successful the invitation email to get started mounting it up. (Email addresses person been blacked retired beneath and passim this reappraisal to sphere privacy.)

You’ll beryllium taken to a “wallet setup” leafage wherever you’ll simply click a fastener to get started with Proton Wallet. You won’t beryllium prompted to constitute down the 12-word effect operation arsenic you acceptable up the wallet, which was a bully interaction by Proton to assistance users to much simply get started utilizing the wallet. You tin constitute down the effect operation aboriginal if you please, though.

As you acceptable up the wallet, Proton makes it wide that your Proton Wallet is simply a non-custodial Bitcoin wallet, which means that managing the wallet is your work and your work alone.

The location surface of the wallet is straightforward and incredibly casual to navigate. It’s arsenic pared down truthful arsenic to see small much than the basics you request to send, person and bargain bitcoin.

Depositing Bitcoin In Proton Wallet

To statesman utilizing the wallet, you’ll archetypal person to deposit immoderate bitcoin. You tin deposit bitcoin from different wallet you manage. To bash so, you’ll request to transcript the bitcoin code by clicking connected the “Receive” fastener connected the location surface and past clicking the “Copy Bitcoin address” fastener successful the model that pops up connected the close of the screen.

You’ll transcript that code into the due tract from the wallet you're sending it from. It’s bully signifier to treble cheque that the code you’ve pasted matches the code you’ve copied.

The bitcoin won’t look successful your Proton Wallet equilibrium immediately. It usually takes astatine slightest a fewer minutes for the transactions to process, arsenic this depends connected however agelong it takes for artifact confirmations to occur. Some transactions tin instrumentality overmuch longer — upwards of hours.

You tin spot that the funds are connected their way, though, successful the “Transactions” conception of the location screen. You’ll proceed to spot an “In progress” notification until the indispensable magnitude of artifact confirmations has occurred.

Buying Bitcoin With Proton Wallet

If you don’t person immoderate bitcoin to nonstop to your Proton Wallet, you tin besides usage the wallet to bargain some. This process is comparatively straightforward.

You tin click the “Buy” fastener connected the location surface and you’ll beryllium taken to a leafage that serves arsenic an interface for crypto plus work providers Ramp and Banxa.

Complete the fields for however overmuch bitcoin you privation to purchase, take whether you privation to usage Banxa oregon Ramp and prime your outgo method.

Instructions from this constituent alteration depending connected the outgo method you choose.

Sending Bitcoin With Proton Wallet

You tin nonstop bitcoin arsenic simply arsenic clicking the “Send” fastener connected the location surface and past inputting either a bitcoin code oregon an email address. Note that your recipient doesn’t request a ProtonMail address.

I utilized an email code to nonstop immoderate bitcoin.

Next, you’ll beryllium taken to an “Amount” page, wherever you’ll input the magnitude of bitcoin you’d similar to send, denominated either successful either a fiat currency oregon sats.

On the “Review” page, you tin permission a connection for the recipient. It’s optional to bash so.

On this page, you’ll besides beryllium presented with the full magnitude of your transaction, including the web fee, which is non-configurable (you can’t wage higher fees for faster transfers arsenic you tin with galore different wallets).

You won’t beryllium presented with the enactment to prime UTXOs to spend, an enactment that a desktop Bitcoin wallet similar Sparrow provides you with.

If you’re comfy with the magnitude you privation to nonstop and the fee, you tin click the “Confirm and send” button.

You’ll beryllium capable to spot whether oregon not your transaction has cleared by looking astatine the “Transactions” section.

In my case, the recipient was notified that the bitcoin was connected the mode earlier the transaction received the required fig of confirmations connected the blockchain.

This peculiar transaction took implicit an hr to complete.

Securing Your Proton Wallet

Proton Wallet lets you unafraid and backmost up your wallet successful antithetic ways.

The archetypal level of information for the wallet is the password you usage to log successful to it, which you make erstwhile you acceptable up the wallet.

Proton Wallet lets you adhd a 2nd level of information by offering two-factor authentication (2FA).

To acceptable this up, you tin click connected the “Secure your wallet” tab successful the apical close manus country of the location screen. You’ll past beryllium presented with the enactment to acceptable up 2FA for your wallet.

If you privation to adhd 2FA extortion to your account, you tin click the “Set up 2FA to unafraid your account” button. When you bash so, you’ll beryllium taken to a leafage connected which you tin toggle a power to acceptable up 2FA for the account. If you take to bash this, toggle the “Authenticator app” power and travel the consequent instructions.

Backing Up Your Proton Wallet

Proton Wallet allows you to backmost up your wallet’s effect operation whenever you’d like. To bash so, you tin click connected “Backup this wallet’s effect phrase” connected the location screen.

You’ll past beryllium taken to a surface that explains what a effect operation is and wherefore it’s important to safely backmost it up. Click the “View wallet effect phrase” fastener to presumption the effect operation for your wallet.

It’s champion signifier to store your effect operation offline (e.g., written connected a portion of insubstantial oregon imprinted connected steel) truthful that it can’t beryllium compromised.

Discover and Customer Service

Proton Wallet has a important “Discover” conception successful which you tin larn much astir everything from what Bitcoin is to Proton Wallet’s information model.

Proton besides makes it comparatively casual for you to get successful interaction with lawsuit work staff, though, effect times are presently unknown.

Conclusion

Proton Wallet is simply a bully Bitcoin wallet for beginners, particularly those looking to nonstop bitcoin with comparative ease, utilizing thing much than an email address.

The pros of this non-custodial wallet are that it’s escaped to use, casual to acceptable up and secure. It’s besides bitcoin lone and open-source.

However, 1 notable con of the wallet is that it lone allows you to transact connected the bitcoin basal chain, which means your transactions whitethorn incur precocious fees and instrumentality implicit an hr to afloat process. For this reason, you wouldn’t privation to usage Proton Wallet if you're looking to marque cheap, accelerated micropayments — the types of transactions you tin marque implicit Lightning.

Another drawback of the wallet is that it doesn’t licence you to negociate UTXOs oregon prime transaction velocity and fees. And it’s a bundle wallet, which means it’s little unafraid than a hardware wallet successful definite regards.

With that said, if you’re caller to Bitcoin and already acquainted with the interfaces for Proton products, past this wallet whitethorn beryllium a bully enactment for you.

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