April 2019
Beginner to intermediate
272 pages
7h 4m
English
Content preview from Ethereum For Dummies
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Chapter 6
Establishing an Ethereum Wallet
IN THIS CHAPTER
Learning what an Ethereum wallet is
Comparing Ethereum wallets
Choosing the best type of Ethereum wallet
Installing the MetaMask Ethereum wallet
When most people think of wallets, they think of folded leather cases for storing money, credit cards, identification, and even pictures. An Ethereum wallet is pretty much the same thing, except it stores the ways to access your valuable stuff on the Ethereum blockchain and can be either a physical or a virtual item.
In the blockchain world, you have to present private keys to access virtual currency and data. An Ethereum wallet holds the keys that allows you to access your content on the Ethereum blockchain. Simply put, an Ethereum wallet securely stores your private encryption keys.
Regardless what you’re planning to do with Ethereum, you need a way to find and access data in blocks. That’s where a wallet comes in. It stores your private keys, which allow you to buy and sell crypto-assets and to interact with smart contracts. Without a wallet, you wouldn’t be able do anything other ...