Known issue: Avast detects cryptocurrency wallets as containing malware. This is a false detection and includes multiple wallets for various cryptocurrencies. If you are having issues, please contact us and we can send you a different link to download the Sparkle Coin wallet.

 

The First Rule of Cryptocurrency Wallet use is...

Backup your wallet! - The first thing you should do after downloading the Sparkle Coin Desktop Wallet is to go to the pull down menu and initiate a backup before doing anything else. You can back it up to a USB Flash Drive, DVD/CD, or even another hard drive (but not in the same computer in case the computer fails or is lost).

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The backup will allow you to restore your wallet and access your Sparkle Coins in the event the wallet is damaged or lost. 

Without a backup, if you lose access to your wallet, you will not be able to recover the Sparkle Coins. The coins will be lost forever. 

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Understanding How a Cryptocurrency Wallet Works

A cryptocurrency wallet is a secure digital wallet used to store, send, and receive digital currency like Sparkle Coin. Most coins have an official wallet or a few officially recommended third party wallets. In order to use any cryptocurrency you will need a cryptocurrency wallet. 

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How Does a Cryptocurrency Wallet Work?

Cryptocurrency itself is not actually “stored” in a wallet. Instead, a private key (secure digital code known only to you and your wallet) is stored that shows ownership of a public key (a public digital code connected to a certain amount of currency). Your wallet stores your private and public keys, allowing you to send and receive coins and act as a personal ledger of transactions.

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Which Cryptocurrency Wallet Should I Use?

For Sparkle Coin, we have provided a Sparkle Coin Wallet that you can download to use with your Sparkle Coins. However, there may be third-party wallets that you can also use. Please be sure any third-party wallet you use is compatible with Sparkle Coin.

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Are Cryptocurrency Wallets Secure?

Cryptocurrency wallets are all built to be secure, but the exact security differs from wallet to wallet. Generally, like your user names and passwords, the security of your wallet comes from you using best practices. We suggest not keeping more currency than you need at one time in a single wallet that you use frequently. 

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It’s HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to backup your wallet and private keys and to encrypt them. At least one backup should be on a thumb drive to ensure that you have a copy offline. If you lose your wallet or your keys then you lose the currency connected to it! As a rule of thumb don’t keep more currency in your digital wallet then you would in your real one!

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Types of Wallets

There are a number of different types of wallets you can use including online, offline, mobile, hardware, desktop, and paper. Each “type” refers to what type of medium the wallet is stored on and whether or not the data is stored online. Some wallets offer more than one method of accessing the wallet.

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Here is a quick breakdown of the different types of cryptocurrency wallets:

 

Online Wallet: An online wallet is literally a web-based wallet. You don’t download an app, but rather data is hosted on a real or virtual server.  Some online wallets are hybrid wallets allowing encryption of private data before being sent to the online server.

 

Offline Wallet: A separate and stored medium containing the necessary keys for your cryptocurrency. 

 

Mobile Wallet: A wallet that is run from a smartphone app.

 

Hardware Wallet: Dedicated hardware that is specifically built to hold cryptocurrency and keep it secure. This includes USB devices. These devices can go online to make transactions and get data and then can be taken offline for transportation and security.

 

Desktop Wallet: The most common type of wallet. Typically an app that connects directly to a coin’s client.

 

Paper Wallet: You can actually print out a QR code for both a public and private key. This allows you to both spend and receive digital currency using a paper wallet. With this option, you can completely avoid storing digital data about your currency by using a paper wallet.