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Peach wallet Review: Is Peach The Safest Wallet For The Lightning Network?

Lightning Peach Wallet is an enterprise-focused crypto vault that’s specially designed to help you process micro-payments done on the lightning network. It is developed and maintained by the BitFury Lightning Network team and aims to help your business become crypto-ready. To this end, the wallet has incorporated several key features, including a fee-free payment processing service for all transactions carried on the lightning network and the integration of eCommerce plugins. The Lightning Peach wallet website also claims that the branded wallet is highly customizable, allowing you to scale up and feature more products and services for your business.

According to BitFury, Lightning Peach wallet was created to help any business increase user engagement and satisfaction, reach out to new audiences, and incentivize in-store spending. And achieve all this in a safe and cost-effective manner.

But does it live to these expectations? Is it safe for your business and your private keys? We answer these questions and more in this Lightning Peach Wallet review by looking at its key operational and security features, outlining the step-by-step guide on using the wallet, its pros, cons, and everything in between.

Key features

Cross-platform: Lightning Peach Wallet is a cross-platform wallet available in both desktop and mobile app versions. It is also available in both the standard and extended modes, whose only difference is the number of supported features.

Address book: Lightning peach wallet features an address book that integrates your phone’s contact list or allows you to save the wallet addresses for parties you interact with regularly. It simplifies back and forth crypto engagements by speeding up the time it takes to initiate a transaction while minimizing errors.

Pay with card: The wallet also integrates several payment processing options, including debit and credit card. Therefore, you can buy crypto from the lighting wallet or withdraw funds to a card or bank.

Integrates third party exchanges: Peach wallet also integrates such third party exchanges as Coinbase, Binance, and Bittrex, where users can buy, sell, and exchange cryptocurrencies and tokens.

Fee-free processing: Lightning peach wallet will not charge you a transaction-processing fee for all payments transacted on the Lightning network.

Full-node client: Peach Wallet is a full node client that requires you to download the Lightning Network. The node is inbuilt when you download the desktop client, but you will need to personalize one if you decide to use the mobile app. A recent upgrade to the Peach wallet has, however, made it possible for users to link their desktop wallet with the mobile app using a QR code.

Security features

Password: Lighting Peach wallet, like most other crypto vaults, is password secured to prevent and minimize cases of unauthorized access to your digital assets.

Recovery seed: Lightning Peach wallet will also provide you with a backup phrase that comes in handy when you need to recover lost private keys.

Open sourced: BitFury has also open-sourced the Lightning Peach Wallet design and availed it for viewing and auditing by both users and the entire crypto community. You can download this source code from the BitFury Peach website or GitHub.

Non-custodial: Peach Wallet is non-custodial and will, therefore, not store your private keys in the BitFury servers. Rather, it encrypts them and stores them within your mobile phone or computer.

Enterprise-grade encryption: BitFury has embraced end-to-end enterprise-grade encryption for all Peach Wallet communications. The wallet developer argues that not even their company servers can view the wallet’s communication with other wallets or third party software/systems.

Opt-in Improvements: One of Lightning Peach Wallet’s most controversial features is the opt-in service for data collection. The wallet developer claim that they will, by default, not collect any information from your wallet but adds that users can opt-in and allow BitFury to collect non-sensitive information anonymously to help improve wallet functions and user engagement. The crypto-security community has, however, expressed concerns with the fact that BitFury doesn’t explicitly state the type of data it collects for opt-in users or how the data is held and used.

How to set and activate the Peach wallet

Step 1: Start by downloading Lightning Peach Wallet on the BitFuryPeach.com website or GitHub

Step 2: Install the wallet and upon launching, click on the ‘Create a new wallet’ tab

Step 3: Read and agree to the wallet terms & conditions and privacy policy statements

Step 4: On the next window, click on the ‘Sign up’ tab

Step 5: Choose a unique username and create a password for the wallet

Step 6:  The wallet will now present you with a set of words that form the backup and recovery seed. Write them down, or choose to download them and save the copy offline.

Step 7: Verify that you have copied them right and click next

Step 8: Log in to your new wallet using the chosen username and password

Step 9: The wallet is now active and ready to use

How to add/ receive crypto into your Peach wallet

Step 1: Log in to the Peach wallet and click on the “receive” icon

Step 2: Copy the Wallet address or QR code displayed and forward to the person sending you Bitcoins

Step 3: Wait for the funds to reflect in your account

How to send Crypto from your Peach wallet

Step 1: Log in to the Peach wallet (extended) and click on the Lightning tab

Step 2: Choose the create payment option and specify if it is a one-time or recurrent payment

Step 3: Enter the transaction specifics like the name (optional), Recipient of the payment (enter their Lightning I.D, choose from the address book or their wallet address)

Step 4: Enter the amount of coins you want to send

Step 5: Confirm that the transaction details are correct and authorize the transfer

Peach wallet ease of use

Creating a Lightning Peach Wallet user account follows a fast and straightforward setup process. The wallet features a relatively clean user dashboard. The fact that it is also available in extended and standard modes for both mobile and desktop versions ensures that the lighting wallet caters for both experienced and beginner crypto traders/investors.  

Both the wallet and the BitFury website are also multi-lingual and available in several languages.

Peach wallet supported currencies

The lightning Peach wallet will only support Bitcoins. But you are free to send and receive such Bitcoin denominations as Bitcoin Satoshi.

Peach wallet cost and fees

Lightning network transactions are free. Regular Bitcoin network fees charged by miners will, however, apply when you send cryptos to other wallets or a crypto exchange.

Peach wallet customer support

There are three primary ways of contacting the Lightning Peach wallet support team. You can start by raising a support ticket on the BitFuryPeach.com website or engage them via the live chat features on both the website and wallet.

Alternatively, you can direct message this team directly on their official pages on such social media platforms as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or Telegram.

What are the pros and cons of using the Peach Wallet?

Pros:

  • Caters for both beginner and experienced Lightning Peach wallet users with their standard and Extended wallets
  • The wallet is feature-rich and hosts a wide range of operational features
  • The wallet is designed and maintained by BitFury, effectively minimizing your operational costs
  • The lightning Peach wallet features highly advanced security features
  • Sending Bitcoins within the Lightning network is free

Cons:

  • It will only support Bitcoin cryptocurrencies
  • Installing and running a full node business wallet eats up a lot of storage space

Verdict: Is Peach wallet safe?

Well, Lightning Peach Wallet has embraced several highly effective and advanced security measures. The developers are especially committed to transparency, as evidenced by the fact that they built the wallet on an open-sourced architecture. Other advanced security features integrated within the platform include enterprise-grade encryption, it is non-custodial, and the wallet’s anonymous data collection is optional. However, it would be great if BitFury were more forthcoming on how they collect and use this data. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Counter Wallet Review 2020: Is It Safe? Is It Easy To Use? Here Is What We Found Out

CounterWallet is the official crypto wallet for Counterparty – a peer-to-peer financial services provider launched in January 2014. It is highly innovative and seeks to revolutionize how we store and interact with crypto wallets and private keys by providing an alternative to standard backup or recovery options. It is built on the bitcoin blockchain and is one of the few crypto wallets, and protocols by extension, that provides users with the tools required to create Bitcoin network tokens.

In this Counterparty wallet review, we will be expounding on these features. We will also vet the safety measures put in place by Counter wallet and tell you everything else you need to know about the Bitcoin focused crypto-storage vault.

Counter Wallet key features:

Light node: Unlike most crypto wallets that require you to download apps or desktop clients to store private keys, Counterwallet is a light wallet. It is web-based and accessible via any browser. You are, however, free to create personalized servers for hosting your Counterwallet.

Built-in exchange: Counterwallet integrates a crypto exchange within its platform that allows for the purchase, sale, and exchange of bitcoins and tokens. Unlike most other wallets with proprietary exchanges, however, Counterwallet integrates ShapeShift – a third-party fiat-to-crypto exchange.

Buy crypto with fiat: Counterwallet users can leverage Shapeshift to buy cryptocurrencies and tokens using fiat currencies via card or bank transfers. And though it isn’t as liquid as most proprietary crypto exchanges like Binance, it is highly convenient.

Custom build tokens: Counterwallet is one of the few Bitcoin-focused crypto vaults that provide you with the necessary app builder tools to build tokens for the bitcoin network.

Counter Wallet security features:

Passphrase: The Counterwallet passphrase is the single most important security feature for your wallet. It does not store your private keys in any device. Rather it calculates them every time you log in to your wallet. Anyone who has the password can, therefore, access and interact with the private keys.

Open sourced: Counterparty has open-sourced the technology used to create the Counterwallet. Crypto security experts can view and audit this code for vulnerabilities, while wallet users can use it to create personalized servers for holding their private keys.

Hierarchically deterministic: Counterparty is hierarchically deterministic. It automatically generates a new wallet address for every crypto transaction. This masks your real wallet address and makes it hard for crypto trackers to monitor your crypto activity.

Multi-signature: You can create a multi-signature Counterwallet that requires signatures from several Bitcoin private keys to spend the wallet’s funds. This increased safety feature comes in handy when setting a multiuser and institutional wallets.

Client-side encryption: The wallet data and all communications with Counterparty foundation servers or other third party systems are highly encrypted. Client-side encryption implies that information is encrypted before it leaves your wallet.

Anonymous user registration: Counterwallet encourages anonymous user registration and bitcoin trading. It does not ask for your personal information when creating a user account.

Integrates Bitcoin Armory: Not satisfied with Counterwallet’s no backup policy or worry about forgetting the passphrase and losing your Bitcoins forever? Take advantage of their collaboration with Bitcoin Armory – a cold storage Bitcoin wallet – that stores your private keys in ultra-safe, air-gapped, and distributed cold storages.

How to activate/setup the Counter Wallet

Step 1: Open the Couterwallet.io website and choose between Official Counterparty or CoinDaddy Counterwallet servers.

Step 2: Since you are creating a new wallet, click on the “Create a new wallet” icon

Step 3: The wallet will now provide you with a PASSPHRASE required to access your wallet and calculate your digital asset balances

Step 4: The wallet will then provide you with a choice of creating a Quick Access Code. You don’t need to create one.

Step 5: The wallet is active and ready to use. Login using the Counterwallet’s keypad to fund the account and start interacting with some of its features

How to add a wallet address on Counterwallet

Your Counterwallet will have one Bitcoin wallet address automatically generated during account creation. Here is how to create a new wallet address for XCP altcoin and supported tokens:

Step 1: Log in to the wallet and click on the “My Balances” tab.

Step 2: Click on the “Create New Address” icon on the top left corner of the user dashboard.

Step 3: Select the type of wallet address you want to create from the drop-down menu.

Step 4: On the popup menu, enter the name of the new address on the “Description” section and click on “Create New Address” to finish

How to add/receive Crypto into Counter Wallet:

Step 1: Log in to your Counterwallet and click on the “My Balances” tab.

Step 2: From the list of wallet addresses, select the wallet to which you would like to deposit funds

Step 3: A popup window will provide you with an address and QR code for the wallet.

Step 4: Send either to the party/individual sending you bitcoins.

How to send crypto from Counter Wallet:

Step 1: Log in to your Counterwallet and click on the “My Balances” tab.

Step 2: From the list of wallet addresses hosted on the wallet, select the crypto/token you want to send

Step 3: Click on the “Address Actions” tab on the far right of the wallet address section.

Step 4: From the drop-down menu, select send and both the wallet address and the number of cryptos to transfer

Step 5: Check the accuracy of the transaction details before hitting send

How to Backup and Restore Counterwallet

Step 1: Log in to your Counterwallet and click on the “My Balances” tab.

Step 2: Click on the “Address Actions” tab on the far right of the ‘My Address’ bar

Step 3: Select the “Show Private Key” option to reveal your wallet’s private key. Copy it and keep it safe offline

Step 4: To restore your digital assets, open a new account and click on the “Import Funds” tab on the user dashboard and select “From Old Wallet” on the drop-down menu

Step 5: Paste the private key.

Counter Wallet ease of use:

Cunterwallet is quite easy to use as it features one of the most intuitive user interfaces. Creating a user account on the Counterwallet and the processes of sending, receiving, and backing your account is straightforward.

Counter Wallet supported currencies:

Counterwallet supports Bitcoin cryptocurrency, Counterparty’s native token XCP, and 500+ tokens. You are also free to create customized Bitcoin network tokens and add them to the wallet.

Counter Wallet cost and fees:

Counterwallet is free to use. However, you will be charged the transaction processing fees that go to the Bitcoin network miners every time you send crypto from the crypto wallet to another wallet or exchange.

Counter Wallet customer support:

There are three primary ways of contacting Counterwallet’s customer support team. You can use the Live chat feature on the wallet and counterpart website, interact with both wallet developers and experienced users on the Counterparty Forums, or direct message them on such social media platforms as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

What are the pros and cons of using Counter Wallet?

Pros:

  • It is highly intuitive and beginner-friendly
  • It is feature-rich and makes it possible for users to custom-build Bitcoin-based tokens.
  • Counterwallet is security-focused and integrates a wide range of advanced security features.
  • It integrates the Bitcoin Armor cold storage.

Cons:

  • It will only support Bitcoin-based cryptos and tokens.

Comparing Counter Wallet with other Bitcoin-only wallets

Counter Wallet vs. Mycelium wallet

Both Mycelium and Counterwallet are highly intuitive and beginner-friendly crypto wallets. They are Bitcoin focused, implying that they will only support cryptocurrencies and tokens built on the Bitcoin blockchain.

But while Mycelium will only support Bitcoin crypto, Counterwallet supports Bitcoin, XCP, and hundreds of tokens built on the Bitcoin network. Counterwallet also supports a wide range of features, including the custom token builder tools and the Bitcoin Armor cold storage integration.

Verdict: Is Counter Wallet safe?

Well, the open-sourced wallet embraces highly innovative privacy and security features. For instance, it doesn’t keep a copy of your private keys on either your device or the counterparty servers. Rather, it calculates the balances of your assets when entering the wallet passphrase. The process of generating crypto addresses is hierarchically deterministic and the Bitcoin armory cold storage.