Wallets

Typically cryptocurrencies are "stored" in wallets.
A wallet is a software program that is installed on a computer, tablet or smartphone that it is used to see the balance, transactions, and obviously enables us to send and receive cryptocurrencies. Really a cryptocurrency is not stored literally in a wallet as if it were a conventional purse, rather it allows us to manage our digital assets comfortably.

There are wallets that allow you to manage different cryptocurrencies, and others that can only be used to manage a single cryptocurrency.
The cryptocurrencies have two networks to operate: testnet and mainnet. This is the first lesson to learn.

The testnet is a network for testing (as you might guess). It is perfect to learn how to use cryptocurrencies without risk of losing money, because the cryptocurrencies that are transferred using the testnet have no economic value. You can not buy or sell them.

The mainnet is the main network where cryptocurrencies that have economic value are transferred. You can buy or sell cryptocurrency in exchanges.

There are wallets that need to download the entire blockchain before they can work, while others can be used once installed (light wallets). This is one thing to take into account because downloading some blockchains may take some days!

So where do I save my cryptocurrency for testing?

Below you will find several links to the testnet wallets that are used in the most important cryptocurrencies.

As a rule of thumb, if you are not a software developer, I suggest that you use bitpay. This wallet can be configured with mainnet and testnet. It can work with testnet bitcoin, testnet bitcoin cash, testnet xrp and testnet ethereum (Kovan).

With Bitpay you don't need to download the entire blockchain, so you can use it right away.

Another good wallet for mobiles (iOS or android) is Coinbase wallet. It has multi-coin support for testnet (btc, bch, eth, ltc) and some ERC-20 tokens. Also you don't need to download the entire blockchain, so it is as fast as wind.

We might provide you some online wallet, but we decide not to do it because it is very important that you own and keep your private keys secured.

Ethereum wallet

The easiest and fastest Ethereum wallet is Metamask. It is an extension for the web browser. It does not require downloading the entire Ethereum blockchain.
It can work with several testnet networks (ropsten, rinkeby, kovan) and with the mainnet network.
A testnet address is the same in testnet and mainnet. So you must be very careful reusing the same address in both networks. It is advisable to use a different address for each network.

Testnet address format

Address begins with 0x

Bitcoin wallet

One of the most popular wallet for Bitcoin is Electrum, but tipically it requires to download the entire blockchain, so we might use copay, or bitpay for testing.
These ones do not need to download the entire blockchain before they can work, so they are faster than the official wallet.

Testnet address format

Address begins with m,n,2,tb1

Bitcoin cash

The same as bitcoin, you can use Bitpay for testnet bitcoin cash.

Testnet address format

Address begins with bchtest:

Ripple

The same as bitcoin, you can also use Bitpay for testnet ripple XRP.

Testnet address format

Address begins with r

NEM wallet

The most popular NEM wallet is nanoWallet. It has several features other than send and receive XEM. You can config it to use testnet or mainnet.

Testnet address format

Address begins with letter T

It does not require to download the entire blockchain to work.

Tron wallet

You can use Shasta web to create an account and manage your assets.

Testnet address format

Address begins with T

EOS wallet

There is a testnet web called Jungle where you can create and manage an account.

Testnet address format

Account (a-z,1-5 are allowed only. Length 12)

Stellar wallet

The easiest wallet is Stellar Laboratory that includes an account generator, a faucet and a block explorer.

Testnet address format

Address begins with G

Cardano wallet

The wallet is called Daedalus

Testnet address format

Address begins with letter T

This version requires to download the entire blockchain, so it will take time before you can use it.

Neo wallet

The most popular wallet is Neon. You can also claim gas with this wallet. But you can use the official wallet here for testing.

Testnet address format

Address begins with A

Dash wallet

The official Dash wallet is called Dashcore You must download the entire blockchain before you can use it. You can config it to use testnet or mainnet.

Testnet address format

Address begins with y

Litecoin wallet

The official Litecoin wallet is called Litecoin core You must download the entire blockchain before you can use it. You can config it to use testnet or mainnet.

Testnet address format

Address begins with m,n,2,tltc

Monero wallet

The official Monero wallet also can work in tesnet Monero github You must download the entire blockchain before you can use it. You can config it to use testnet (node: monero-testnet.exan.tech:28081) or mainnet.

It is possible to know if a project has active development in Github. In blockspot.io you can view a Github graph showing how many Github commits were done per week. This gives a lot of insight into how much development has been done on the project.

Testnet address format

Address begins with letter 59 or 9

Zcash wallet

The official Zcash also can work in testnet but there are other popular wallets that may work in testnet.
In official client you must download the entire blockchain before you can use it. You can config it to use testnet (add testnet=1 addnode=testnet.z.cash) or mainnet.

Testnet address format

Address begins with letter tm, ztest