One of the nice things about Ethereum Classic (ETC) is that because it is basically the same as Ethereum (ETH), the creation of wallets for ETC has been done quickly and safely due to the porting of Open Source software originally developed for Ethereum wallets.

There are already quite a number of options for wallets to hold and use ETC so it really depends on how and what you want to use it for. In this article we are going to discuss your many options as a new user of ETC and

Light Wallet

For most users, a light wallet is the most simple and easy to use. I highly recommend Classic Ether Wallet. This is one of the easiest ways to create a wallet to hold your ETC safely, quickly, and securely. It has been ported by Elaine Ou who is a trusted ETC developer. If it looks familiar it is because Classic Ether Wallet has been ported from My Ether Wallet.

For those of you that liked using the Chrome Extension of My Ether Wallet (like I do) you are in luck! A chrome extension for ETC has just been added to the Google store. This version has been ported by trusted ETC developer Cody Burns. This is my personal favorite as I use Google Chrome for my browser and it enables me to easily check my balance and send ETC without having to load my private key.

Full Nodes and using Smart Contracts

Many users for ETC are most interested in smart contracts. For either programming their own or using Dapps developed by others. These users will be required to download a full node which is basically the entire history of the Ethereum Classic blockchain in order for them to use. This may take up to 30GB of space on your hard drive and take many hours or days to download.

The most common and easy to use is Mist. Which can be downloaded from Ethereum Classic’s Github page. You can use the latest version released by the Ethereum Foundation but I would recommend using the version ported by ETC developer “WhatIsGravity” since he added and deleted code to enhance your wallet and node’s security.

Other Wallets that can be used for Ethereum Classic are EtheCore’s Parity which is developed Gavin Wood’s team and is compatible with both ETC & ETH and also a fork of Etherwall developed by evieira55. These wallets are for more technical users that know what they are specifically looking for so if you are new to crypto-currencies or ETC, I would recommend the ones listed above.

Hardware Wallet for Maximum Security

Finally, for those users interested in maximum security and are planning to hold their ETC for many years to come. You have a great option available to you with the Ledger Nano S. It looks like a simple USB stick but with the Ledger Nano S, you get much more than just a USB. You get support for not just ETC, but ETH and Bitcoin as well.

It also has a really nice display so you can easily check your balance and confirm transactions at the click of a button. You can also use a Google Chrome Extension to more easily use your Ledger Nano S. And at € 58.00 it’s a pretty good deal compared to the Trezor wallet which only supports BTC.