You need a wallet in order to store and use Waves. There are several options for saving and using Waves.



Hosted Wallet

Hosted wallets are wallets where the access keys to your Waves are managed by a third party such as Bitvavo. Access to your account is protected by a password, and possibly other advanced security methods. Once you are logged in, you can easily and conveniently manage your Waves online. Bitvavo offers standard hosted wallets for all digital assets that are offered on the platform. Click here for more information about how Bitvavo saves your digital assets as securely as possible.



Software wallet

A software wallet is a program installed on your computer or any other desired device in order to use and manage your Waves. By using a software wallet, you have full control over your "private keys" (and therefore your Waves), so you are not dependent on third parties such as Bitvavo. The software wallet simplifies the process of accessing your Waves. The risk is that if malicious parties have access to your device, your private keys (and therefore your Waves) can be stolen.



Hardware wallet

A hardware wallet is a physical device on which you can store your Waves offline. It is one of the safest ways to store your Waves, because the private keys are stored on a seperate, offline, device. Access to this device is often protected by a password. In that respect, a hardware wallet can be compared to a safe in which your Waves are stored.



You can use a hosted wallet, as offered by Bitvavo, to easily store, send and receive Waves. However, you are, just like at a bank, dependent on a third party (Bitvavo) for storing your Waves.



One of the advantages of Waves is that you can send, receive and store your own digital assets without the relying on third parties. You do this by sending your Waves, from your Bitvavo wallet, to your own software or hardware wallet.

⤍