What is a Full Wallet? (2024)

El official wallet of Bitcoin started by Satoshi Nakamoto with its creation it was Bitcoin Core Wallet, full client or full client that implemented the Bitcoin protocol described in the white paper. This tool became indispensable and useful for those who owned bitcoins back then but also today.

Although today there are multiple wallet offerings that offer features similar to Bitcoin Core, in this chapter we will continue to delve into the different types of wallets. We will study the concept of Full wallet, what full wallet options exist, what characteristics they have and how we can make use of them.

What are Full Wallets?

Before anything you have to know the Full Wallets or Full Clients are the same. These types of purses are known as full nodes, which They fully download the blockchain of a cryptocurrency.

The wallets that are full clients make the device running them network nodes. However, it should be clarified that the fact that they become nodes does not imply that they will be miners. If not rather they will help the decentralization of the network and the verification of transactions and of the entire system.

Running a full wallet, depending on the cryptocurrency, may require a Considerable disk storage space. However, in Bitcoin (one of the cryptocurrencies with the largest blockchain) the blockchain already occupies about 300 GB approximately. Along with the speed at which it grows, it is best to have a hard drive of more than 500 GB (about € 20 at the current price). Whereas in Litecoinyour blockchain space is reduced to just 30GB. In this way, depending on which blockchain we are using, we must adjust the space requirements for the start-up.

With all this, the initial configuration of a full wallet will also vary depending on how large that blockchain is and the speed of the internet, since it has to be downloaded from the rest of the nodes. A blockchain like Bitcoin's can take up to 2 days to sync with a standard home connection speed.

To run a full client it is not necessary to have specialized hardware. A simple computer is enough for this and even minicomputers like the Raspberry can run one. This is thanks to the fact that these wallets only store the blockchain and do not need arduous work like a miner does.

Characteristics

• The full clients they download the entire blockchain of a cryptocurrency.
• They turn the computers that run them into network nodes. What contributes to the decentralization and integrity of the network; in addition to the validation of the operations carried out.
• Conclusion totally independent. They have no absolute dependence on any other third party server on the network.
• They require quite considerable storage space, like a bandwidth to run.
• During the initial setup, you need to have time, since it could take hours or even days to sync with the Web.
• All protocols are attended by the full client. Thus, the server is in charge of all communication and is continuously synchronized with the network.

Recommendations for use

1. Being connected to the internet all the time, it is recommended that a computer with a full client be well protected. Antivirus, anti-malware and firewalls are essential to secure your device, along with a strong key or password to encrypt your wallet data.
2. It is recommended to move the storage of most of your cryptocurrencies to one cold storage wallet o Enable two-factor authentication that makes it difficult to steal assets.
3. If you use Bitcoin Core, activation of the Tor system is recommended. It will allow you to manage your wallet with the security that no attacker or Internet service provider can associate their payments with your IP address.
4. At this time, configuring a full node requires at least about 300 GB of available storage space. You can see the size of the blockchain in real time here. The time it takes for the initial synchronization can take hours or even days to complete.
5. Always check the file hash to avoid installing a tampered purse. More information here.

Some examples of full wallets

The first wallet developed by Satoshi Nakamoto was Bitcoin Core Wallet. An official wallet for the Bitcoin full client network that runs from a computer. But to date, other wallets integrated with full client have been developed as complete nodes for each existing cryptocurrency. Now let's get to know some of them:

Bitcoin Network

Bitcoin Core

A desktop wallet that offers a complete Bitcoin network client and that builds its backbone. Provides high levels of security to its users while contributes to the decentralization, protection and integrity of the network. Being a complete node, Bitcoin Core allows to validate and retransmit operations on the network. So it does not require the trust of a third party to verify the payments.

This wallet offers its users a full control over your assetsTherefore, no third party can interfere or block funds. If not rather, that all responsibility for the assets rests with the user. In turn, Bitcoin Core offers a absolute transparency and complete since it is open source, so it can be audited and verified at any time by anyone who wants it.

Since its launch there have been multiple improvements; Thus, the new versions of Bitcoin Core provide greater security and better levels of privacy. Too allows Tor configuration to prevent your payments from being associated with your IP address. Bitcoin Core is also a hd-wallet, so it creates multiple addresses from the seed. Through this you can recover your private keys in case of damage or loss of the equipment. It is compatible with Windows, Linux and Mac operating systems. It requires an available storage space of more than 200 GB currently.

libbitcoin

This Bitcoin client It is a multipurpose computer library that uses the multiplatform C ++ language and is open source. It can be used to build other applications (mobile, desktop and server APIs).

It was designed on the principles of privacy, scalability, and integrity. Thus, it allows the Bitcoin network to remain as private as possible for its users. At the same time, it ensures that no individual or group can have enough power over the network to compromise their original objectives. Libbitcoin-client and Libbitcoin-node offer a much more efficient and scalable solution than Bitcoin Core. Since it can support thousands of operations per second, something that Bitcoin Core could not do.

gocoin

Integrated with full node, gocoin is a multi-currency wallet that supports Bitcoin and some altcoins such as Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Litecoin, Ethereum, and EOS. It is written in the Go language with an architecture focused on maximum performance and node performance.

It is also an HD wallet, because it generates a seed for its recovery and through which addresses are generated in a hierarchical way without limits. This wallet can be executed independently of the complete client. It is currently available for Windows and Linux.

Bitcoin parity

A fast, reliable and modular Bitcoin client designed for mining. Parity It allows the processing of transactions very quickly, it has a fairly advanced interface for miners that supports Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.

Monero Network

monerod

It is a daemon software that is included in the tree of Monero. Although in the Monero network a wallet can be executed independently of a complete node, the truth is that you can execute control over your transactions. Through Monero it contributes to the decentralization and protection of the network. In turn, you do not need to trust a third party server to verify your operations.

Cake wallet

With this wallet you can establish your own node in the Monero network. Cake wallet You can also send, receive and store your coins while maintaining control and control over your own private keys. Another function that this wallet allows is to restore the wallet from a block or a specific date.

Ethereum Network

Parity

A client of the network Ethereum very common to run a node. Use mode warp timing, in which you download an instant copy of the 30.000 blocks on the blockchain and the latest Ethereum database. Once synchronization is complete, this node serves the network enhancing its security and integrity.

With Parity It is also possible to download the blockchain from its genesis block, verifying all the created blocks and executing all the transactions. Although this process is slower than warp synchronization, it offers greater security.

This type of node allows the storage of all the blockchain data on the hard drive, while receiving new transactions and cooperating with their validation and verification.

Geth

Like the previous one, Geth Ethereum allows fast sync mode, where you download the entire database by requesting the headers first and then completing the block bodies. Once fast sync reaches the best block on the Ethereum network, it switches to full sync mode. It also applies the Syncmode Full function, which synchronizes the node from the genesis block and although it is a slower process, it offers greater security and reliability.

Bit2Me Wallet, a simple option to manage your cryptocurrencies

Certainly, full clients are very powerful wallets, allowing you to have the ability to manage your cryptocurrencies with total security and maintain a history of the entire blockchain. But the implementation of these wallets can be complicated and in some cases even impossible, if for example you live in a country with a poor Internet connection. In those cases, a web wallet is your best option and Bit2Me Wallet It has everything you need.

Without having to download the entire blockchain or perform complex backup or maintenance tasks, you will have guarantees that your wallet will always show the exact information of the blockchain and cryptocurrency of your choice. With support for 5 cryptocurrencies currently and working to include others, Bit2Me Wallet is a secure, multi-crypto and easy-to-use wallet for everything you can imagine.