Best Siacoin Wallets: Top 4 places to Safely Store Your SIA
Sia was designed as a decentralized method of storing data. It utilizes blockchain technology to secure that data and by taking advantage of all the unused and underutilized storage capacity around the world.
Sia has been able to create a data storage solution that is both more reliable and lower cost than traditional centralized cloud storage. This has got a lot of people interested in the project and its native Siacoin (SC) cryptocurrency. Of course, all these Sia users need a place to store their Siacoin (SC).
In this post I will give you a list of some of the best Siacoin wallets that are currently on the market. I will also give you some top tips when it comes to choosing your SIA wallet and keeping your coins safe.
Top 4 Siacoin Wallets
Because Siacoin is a native token, not built on the ERC-20 standard like so many tokens today, it requires a dedicated wallet. Unfortunately, that is going to limit your choices in Siacoin wallets as there aren’t many that have been developed by third-party developers.
For example, Siacoin is not supported by many of the multi-currency wallets such as Exodus or Coinomi. There is also limited support for it in the form of mobile devices and hardware wallets.
Having said that, there are still a few options that have been developed by the Siacoin team and a third-party developers. These should cover most of your Siacoin storage and spending requirements.
1. Sia-UI (Desktop Wallet)
The Sia-UI desktop wallet is the official wallet for storing Siacoin and was developed by Nebulous, the same team of developers that created the Sia Storage Platform. It is the only wallet recommended by the Sia team, and they caution users that the use of third-party wallets could lead to the loss of your Siacoin. Here’s what the Siacoin team has to say about using wallets other than the official Sia-UI wallet:
“There are plenty of scams in the cryptocurrency space. Make sure the only software wallet you use to store your Siacoin is the official app downloaded from that link above or our GitLab page. We can't guarantee that any other software wallet will safely store your Siacoin.”
The Sia-UI wallet is a desktop wallet available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux and is considered both secure and functional.
It should be noted that the Sia-UI wallet is a full node wallet, and needs to download the entire blockchain to function. In some cases, this can take several days to complete. If you’re downloading the wallet please watch the synchronization to know when the blockchain has finished downloading.
Top Tip ✔️: If you want to verify that the Sia-UI you are downloading, you can manually verify the signatures in the command line. See instructions on getting started
Since the Sia-UI wallet is a full node it also allows you to rent or sell storage space on the Sia platform, making it extremely useful for those who do plan on either storing files, or renting out storage space on their own computer. Plus you’re helping to secure the Sia network.
So far there are 1,023,682 downloads of the Sia-UI wallet, giving some indication of how popular this platform and coin are becoming.
2. Ledger Nano S (Hardware Wallet)
When it comes to secure storage of SIA, nothing can quite beat the time tested offline hardware wallet approach. One of the most popular hardware devices currently on the market is that of the Ledger Nano S. This is a multicurrency hardware wallet which means that it supports a plethora of other coins and tokens.
The main benefit of a hardware wallet is that it keeps your private keys on the device and it cannot be accessed from anyone online. When you want to send a transaction you will use a USB connection and complete the signing of the transaction on the device. This also protects your keys from any malware that could be lurking on your PC.
When it comes to Ledger Nano support of SIA, it requires quite a bit of command line work to set it up and install the required applications. Hence, this should only really be attempted by someone who is comfortable with command line code.
Note ✍️: Unlike other Ledger apps, Sia requires you to run a "full node" which means that you have to download the whole Sia blockchain.
If you are going to go down the hardware wallet route then the Ledger Nano S costs $69 and can be bought on the Ledger website. It is also worth pointing out that Ledger is also taking pre-orders fort their latest generation Ledger Nano X. This will be an updated version with a host of other features.
3. Sia Android Wallet (Mobile Wallet)
The Sia Android wallet is developed by a third-party and is not an official Sia app, nor is it recommended by the Sia team. It is the only Android app for Siacoin, and in fact, is the only mobile app for Siacoin.
This Android app is also a full node for the Sia network and needs to download the entire blockchain before it is functional. There have been complaints about how long this takes (sometimes several days), but that hasn’t got anything to do with the app itself, it is a limitation of the Sia software.
The wallet allows you to send and receive Sia and since it is a full client you can also use it to store files on the Sia platform. Since it is a mobile application it doesn’t have the functionality allowing you to rent your storage space, which makes sense given the extremely limited storage on mobile devices.
The wallet is completely open source and the source code can be examined here.
The app doesn’t have a lot of installs (1,000+) and has a 3.9 rating on the Play Store, but many of the low reviews have been due to the slow synching with the blockchain that is out of the wallet developers’ control. Note too that there is a $0.99/mo subscription fee to unlock the full features of the wallet.
4. Sia Cold Storage (Cold Storage)
Sia Cold Storage is an app that allows you to create a Sia seed and a collection of addresses for a Sia wallet. The app is meant to be run offline in a process known as “air gapping” which gives you a way to store your Siacoin without risking any virus or malware, or the threat of hackers intercepting or tracing your network traffic.
You can get Sia Cold Storage from Github and it is meant to be run on an offline computer. For best results, it should be used on a computer that’s never been online or an air-gapped LiveCD for the best security.
You can safely share any of the addresses generated to receive payments or to send your own funds from another wallet, an exchange or from a mining pool. This will allow you to have funds collected in the wallet address completely securely.
When you’re ready to access the funds to exchange or spend you can use Sia-UI to restore the seed at any time.
Which SIA Wallet to Choose?
In the end, the type of Siacoin wallet that you do end up choosing comes down to your own personal preferences and experience. There is no doubt that the official SIA-UI desktop wallet has the most community support. This is also a great wallet as you are contributing to the Siacoin network.
On the other hand, if you would prefer to store your SIA keys offline then you could opt for the Ledger Nano S hardware wallet. This solution may not be for everyone though as it will require a number of technical steps to set it up. If this is too challenging for you then you can always opt for the Sia Cold Storage solution.
The mobile wallet may be an interesting option for those who are on the go. However, mobile wallets and lite wallets aren’t really a good choice for Siacoin since they don’t allow you to participate in the Sia Storage Platform.
Irrespective of the type of Siacoin wallet that you decide to use, make sure that you practice Wallet Security 101. Keep your PC clean of any viruses and don't download suspicious applications / files. Keep your seed safe and don't tell people about all the SIA that you are "Hodling"!
Conclusion
Considering that the Sia Storage Platform and Siacoin were released in 2015 you’d think there would be more options for storing your Siacoin.
Given that the developers have only released a desktop wallet and have avoided creating a lite version that doesn’t require running a full node (which keeps third-party wallets from adding Siacoin) it seems the developers want to minimize the number of wallets you are able to use to store Siacoin.
This is not too much of an issue for the Siacoin community though. There have been over 1 million downloads of the Sia-UI wallet to date and users want to contribute to the Siacoin network by running their full nodes.
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Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.
