Years ago, when the question, “What’s in your wallet?” was posed, who would have thought the response might be “crypto.”

On the latest episode of AfroTech’s Black Tech Green Money (BTGM) podcast, host Will Lucas continues his path to uncovering all things cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

However, this time the main focus is figuring out the differences in certain cryptocurrency wallets and which one can give you more bang for your buck in regard to one’s preference of keeping things as easy as possible or ensuring that your information is secure.

What's a crypto wallet?

If you’ve ever had a physical wallet, it turns out that those in the crypto world generally do the same thing.

“First, let’s talk about the purpose of a crypto wallet,” Lucas explained. “So if you’ve been listening to this show for any length of time, since 2022 specifically, we’ve been talking a lot about crypto, NFTs, things like that.”

He continued: “Hopefully, by now, I’ve built up some kind of appetite in you to invest in yourself in Web3 — whether it be buying an NFT or exchanging your U.S. dollars for Ethereum or a Sherpa coin. Just like we described, we’re all pretty used to the wallet and the crypto wallet. These things store things that you might need to access like your currency or your cryptocurrency. It allows you to pay for things in Web3 — it allows you to validate who you are, etc.”

Lucas also says a crypto wallet can also serve a lot of various purposes.

“Your wallet is likely where you store your physical credit cards, your ID, maybe even a little cash,” Lucas continued to explain. “The point is we’re all familiar with this concept. You have a physical storage container, usually like leather where you store things that you need access to, but you want to keep them secure and somewhat organized. Typically these things have to do with storing currency, paying for things, or validating who you are in the case of having your ID in it. A crypto wallet is effectively the same thing, but it’s specifically designed to store crypto in the form of passwords.”

Which wallet is the best fit?

So, now you’re probably wondering which crypto wallet is the best fit.

“There are hardware wallets, cold wallets, and hot wallets, without jumping too far ahead — let’s walk this out,” Lucas continued. “Hardware wallets are called cold wallets and online wallets are called hot wallets.”

To effectively use a crypto wallet, it’s important to note what they do and what to expect when you have one.

“You really have to get a handle on what the wallet is and what are the implications of having one,” he shared.

Want more? Listen to the full BTGM episode below: