Best PIVX Wallets: 6 of the Safest Places to Store PIVX
PIVX is a popular proof-of-stake (PoS) cryptocurrency that allows those who hold it to earn more PIVX by staking or by running masternodes. Additionally, its implementation of the Zerocoin protocol makes it the only fully anonymous PoS cryptocurrency in existence.
PIVX has made massive gains in price since its launch back in February of 2016. While you might feel late to the party, consider that the price of PIVX now is considerably below the all-time high of $14.25. That means you can still get PIVX at relative bargain prices and see substantial gains, while also taking advantage of the PoS feature of the coin that will net you additional PIVX coins simply by staking your current holdings.
If you do choose to pick up some PIVX you’ll want a safe place to store it, and you’ll also want to know which wallets will be best for staking your PIVX and earning some interest. I will explore five of the best PIVX wallets to do this.
Top 6 Best PIVX Wallets
Despite the popularity of the coin, there aren’t a large number of wallets suitable for storing PIVX. There are even fewer that will give you the functionality to stake your coins and earn your staking reward. Nevertheless, there are still a few options that may find suitable.
When you are deciding on which PIVX wallet you would like to use, there are a number of factors that you have to consider. These include things like the security of the wallet, its user friendliness, staking ability and community support. Of course, a trade-off is sometimes required as I will explain below.
PIVX Core Wallet (Desktop Wallet)
This is the official PIVX wallet. It was developed by the same team that created PIVX and is your best choice if you are also looking to stake your coins and earn a staking reward.
Due to the fact that it is a staking wallet, it does need to download the entire PIVX blockchain. This will take some time and will take up a bit of space on your PC. But once the download is complete and the wallet syncs with the blockchain you’ll have a secure environment for storing your PIVX, and you’ll be able to stake your coins to earn more coins.
The wallet can also be used to run full PIVX node masternodes. This means that if you are able to stake at least 10,000 PIVX, not only will you earn the standard staking reward but you will also earn the masternode reward.
Lastly, because you are operating a full node on the network, the official PIVX wallet makes it possible to use the Zerocoin protocol. This means that you can use all of the features of the protocol including the ability to send completely anonymous transactions.
The official PIVX GUI is available for Windows, Linux and OSX and is the best choice for anyone serious about holding and staking PIVX.
PIVX Light Wallet (Desktop Wallet)
This is another wallet that was officially developed by the PIVX team. It is their "light" version of the fully featured core wallet that we mentioned above. One of the main advantages of this wallet is that it does not have to download the entire blockchain. It will only have to download the block headers which makes it faster.
There are a number of exciting features that are packed into the light wallet. These include things such as the Mnemonic passphrase security and autofill, in wallet currency conversion, payment requests and of course QR code generation.
This wallet will also allow you to stake your coins which means that you can still earn that PoS reward for holding a certain amount of PIVX. The only disadvantage of this wallet is that there are some features which are in the core wallet that are not included. For example, there is no zerocoin implementation so you cannot send funds anonymously.
The PIVX light desktop wallet is available on Windows, MacOS and Linux.
Ledger Nano S (Hardware Wallet)
If you’ve read any of our previous wallet reviews you know how we feel about the Ledger Nano S hardware wallet. It’s simply one of the best and safest ways to store your cryptocurrencies, and that includes PIVX. With the Ledger hardware wallets you know you’ll be getting the latest in cryptocurrency security, meant to keep your coins and tokens safe from hackers and other bad actors.
This is because a hardware wallet will keep your private keys securely on the device. All transaction authentication is done on the device and as such, it will never be exposed to the internet and by extension, hackers. The Ledger Nano is also a multicurrency wallet which means that you can store over 700 other different cryptocurrencies on it.
The Nano S is the entry level wallet on from the Ledger team but they do have a range of other wallets that you can consider. For example, you can also store PIVX in the Nano X and the Ledger Blue, which has some of the best security features of any wallet currently available.
Despite all these security features, there are some downsides to these wallets. Firstly, this added security comes at a cost and the Nano S costs $69. Perhaps the biggest downside as it relates to PIVX is that you cannot stake from the wallet which means that you can't earn that juicy staking return.
PIVX Mobile (Mobile Wallet)
The Android version of the mobile wallet has been available since July 2017, but more recently PIVX became one of the few cryptocurrencies to have a dedicated wallet featured in the Apple store with the listing of the iOS wallet in January 2019. It took PIVX a year to finally get approval to list the wallet in the Apple store, and this makes it one in just seven of the top 100 cryptocurrencies to have a dedicated wallet app for iOS listed in the Apple store.
The PIVX mobile wallet is a an HD wallet that supports easy backup and recovery via a 24-word seed phrase. This means you can always recover your PIVX as long as you have your seed phrase, even if you no longer have access to your mobile device.
Additional security is provided through the inclusion of PIN protection, and your privacy is supported by the lack of any type of email or ID verification necessary for using the wallet. The only downside currently is a lack of support for the anonymous Zerocoin protocol on the iOS version of the mobile wallet, but the developers are working on including it in future releases.
Coinomi (Mobile Wallet / Desktop Wallet)
The Coinomi wallet is one of the few third party wallet solutions for PIVX that we can recommend. Because it is a multi-currency HD wallet you can store many of your other cryptocurrencies in the Coinomi wallet, not just your PIVX.
As an HD wallet you can securely control your private keys as Coinomi uses an 18-word seed for generating the PIVX wallet, which means you’re always able to recover and restore your wallet in the event of your device being lost or destroyed.
Coinomi also supports ShapeShift and Changelly, allowing you to exchange supported cryptocurrencies right within the wallet, which is very handy. These integrations also have Fiat functionality which means that you can buy / sell coins in the wallet directly with your credit cards.
Coinomi is available for both Android and iOS, and there are desktop versions available for Windows, Linux and OSX. The downside is the same as a number of these other solutions in that they do not support staking on the wallet yet. Therefore, you will not be earning your rewards for hodling the coins
WalletGenerator.net (Paper Wallet)
If you aren’t planning on spending or staking your PIVX a paper wallet is a perfect choice. It’s the most secure way to store PIVX if you generate the wallet offline. This means that you are going to want to use the website files to generate your paper wallet while your computer is disconnected from the internet.
You will want to download all of the source files from the their Github repository and then open the index.html. Disconnect your internet and follow the steps required to generate your seed word and wallet. Once you have generated your paper wallet you can hit print and take your hard copies. Do not save it as a PDF or file as this could be easily accessed.
If you do decide to use a paper wallet you should take the time to make copies and store them in separate, secure locations. You never know when a piece of paper might get destroyed or simply thrown in the trash. Making a copy is easy, and you’ll be very glad you did if anything happens to your PIVX.
Conclusion
Hopefully this list of the five most secure PIVX wallets will help you decide where to store your coins. If you’re planning on staking PIVX you really have to go with the official PIVX desktop wallet as this is the only one that supports this feature.
If you are merely holding your PIVX for the long term and would prefer to not keep them in a "hot wallet" then you can make use of a hardware wallet or a paper wallet. This will allow you to store your PIVX offline in cold storage and disconnected from the internet.
There may be other wallets that are not included above that you are considering. If this is indeed the case then you need to make sure that the wallet has a reputation in the community and it is still being supported by the developers.
Whichever wallet you do decide to use, take care to follow all the steps in crypto security 101. If you are staking with the desktop wallet, avoid downloading any suspicious files and make sure that you have the latest anti-virus software. Backup your seed words and keep them in a safe place and, most importantly of all, do not tell anyone how much PIVX you have.
What use is a privacy coin if you don't keep it private?
Places to Buy PIVX:
Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.
