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Mycelium Wallet Review 2023
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Sinead Burgess
As the cryptocurrency industry evolved with the success of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), there came the need for more refined and functional cryptocurrency products.
Having a decent and operational crypto digital wallet is a must when it comes to safely storing crypto. At the time of writing, there are many products related to crypto such as paper wallets, hardware wallets, software wallets, mobile wallets, or as they’re sometimes referred to – cold and hot wallets.
One such product is the Mycelium wallet and in today’s review, we’ll take a closer look at its features and analyze both its advantages and shortcomings to help you arrive at your decision.
About the Mycelium Digital Wallet
The Mycelium wallet project was created in 2008, a year before Bitcoin was released. This showed that the hardware engineers team behind the project believed in the cause of cryptocurrencies and established their company a whole year before the great reveal of Bitcoin.
The wallet is described as the first Bitcoin wallet, with the exception of the QT wallet, and became available on mobile devices like Android and iOS in 2013. The success of the wallet was almost instant and it even won the Blockchain.info Award for Best Mobile App Wallet in 2014.
In terms of features, the wallet is an open-source wallet that’s an industry standard for any decent crypto wallet these days. The wallet app operates on the Simplified Verification Payments system or SPV that allows the wallet to confirm any transactions without the need to download the entire blockchain history in order to sync the data.
The Mycelium wallet’s features evolved together with the changing trends in the crypto industry. The wallet provided users with the ability to integrate with third-party applications and devices like Ledger, Trezor, Cashila, Coinapult, and Glidera. The first two devices are cold storage devices, so if you integrate them with Mycelium, you’ll basically turn the software wallet into a cold wallet through app integration. The other three are applications that modify transactions, deposits, and withdrawals, making them fluid and much faster.
The wallet acts as an integrated Bitcoin trading platform with an emphasis on security, hardware, and software integration. As such, the wallet enables users to create different account types with different features. These include:
- HD account (Hierarchical Deterministic) with master-seed security;
- Bit ID account (open-source);
- Single Address account;
- “Watch-Only” account;
- Hardware account (for hardware wallet integration).
The Mycelium wallet is a kind of jack-of-all-trades when it comes down to storing crypto as its primary cryptocurrency is Bitcoin. This may be considered as a sort of a drawback for altcoin traders, but Bitcoin aficionados will definitely benefit from this state-of-the-art Bitcoin wallet.
Ease of Use
When it comes down to the user interface, the Mycelium wallet could use an upgrade. The basic functions like transferring or receiving crypto are simple and straightforward but other features can be a little confusing to beginners, such as how the tabs are designed for users to switch between different options with one window closing and another one opening. This may take some time to get used to considering there are multiple tabs on the interface.
On the home page, the default tab that’s opened is the Asset Balance tab. This tab displays the amount of BTC users have in their wallets along with the current Bitcoin exchange rate. On the side, the buttons to transfer and receive prompts are neatly placed so new users can manage these functions straight from the homepage.
An extra feature added to the interface is the ability to change the exchange that you’re using to purchase crypto. This can be selected by tapping on the drop-down menu on the homepage, where the Balance tab is located. The exchange rates are displayed for every cryptocurrency exchange selected and this makes things simpler as this process is automatic. Users need only to select their desired exchange and the rates will be displayed right away.
Other features include recording transaction history and three different panels for different activities: a market tab, accounts tab, and integration tab. The market tab is the main tab from where users can select whether to send, receive, or purchase Bitcoin from an exchange.
The accounts tab allows users to use an account that suits their needs the most. These accounts are single address accounts, watch-only accounts, and hardware integration accounts. The last one is a significant feature in that it basically converts the software wallet into a hardware wallet by integrating it with a hardware device. These features make the Mycelium wallet a great choice for storing and trading BTC.
Bitcoin and Other Supported Cryptocurrencies
The Mycelium Bitcoin wallet is a crypto wallet that holds only Bitcoin. Bitcoin users are the main target audience as the wallet provides every type of storage when it comes to this asset.
Users can use the native wallet exchange that the wallet offers called Local Trader or they can utilize the services of other exchanges that are compatible with the app. The fees may differ from exchange to exchange but other than that nothing is different, as you may store and receive Bitcoin only.
Supported Devices
The Mycelium wallet can be integrated with hardware devices and basically transform into an offline wallet that provides the ultimate security for storing your Bitcoin.
Mycelium wallet supports Ledger and Trezor devices. The most common choice would be the Ledger Nano S due to its affordable price and security features. The wallet offers users the ability to store more than 7 blockchain apps at the same time. Some more premium devices include the upgraded Ledger Nano X and the Trezor Model T that offer additional features and capabilities compared to cheaper devices.
How to Create a Mycelium Wallet
In order to create a Mycelium wallet, the first step would be to download the Mycelium app from your device’s app store. The wallet is free to download and supported on Android (Google Play Store) and iOS devices (Apple Store). Unfortunately, a desktop version of the platform isn’t supported by Mycelium as the emphasis is on mobile devices.
After you’ve downloaded the app, open it, and through the main menu select the “Backup” tab. Once you’ve selected the tab, 12 words will appear on the screen and these will be your backup password for the wallet. Screenshots are not available on the app so users should write these 12 words somewhere and store them safely.
The next step is to set up a PIN code. This can be done through the “Settings” tab. Scroll down through settings until you see “Choose PIN” This PIN code will be required for any type of transaction to and from the wallet.
This would complete the process of creating a wallet and afterwards, you can link your bank account through the “Accounts” tab if you wish to purchase Bitcoin through the LocalTrader exchange or through any supported exchanges.
Now that you have your account ready, you can start purchasing or sending crypto to other wallet addresses. An interesting feature of Mycelium is that when you want to send a payment you can scan a recipient’s QR code instead of manually writing their Bitcoin address.
Trading Fees and Limits
Fees on Mycelium are transparent as there are no hidden fees or secret expenses. Users can hold assets in the wallet without any charges but transaction fees apply when you transfer assets from one wallet address to another or when you purchase crypto from an exchange. These fees depend on the amount of crypto sent and the fees that the exchanges themselves are charging.
There are also blockchain fees for Bitcoin transactions known as miner fees and these vary depending on the network congestion and the trading volume of the transaction. Typically, the fees range from $0.25 to $8. Miner fees are paid out to the miners that operate on the Bitcoin network and verify and add these transactions to the blockchain.
There are no subscription fees for using the wallet but there are fees when depositing and withdrawing assets to and from the wallet.
Is Mycelium Safe to Use?
The Mycelium wallet is backed by enterprise-level security systems. Security features that are built-in with the wallet include HD (Hierarchical Deterministic) security, backup options, private keys always kept offline, and watch-only accounts. Mycelium supports two-factor (2FA) authentication and device-based security features like face ID scan and fingerprint scan.
We also shouldn’t forget the 12-word backup phrase along with the unique PIN code that’s required when conducting any type of transaction. In addition to these features, there are hardware integration accounts for linking hardware devices.
Customer Support
Mycelium customer support can be reached through their official email address at [email protected]. The support team will respond to any issues and questions within a 24-hour timeframe and currently, there have been no issues with late replies or forgotten complaints.
The downside to their support team is that they don’t offer any FAQ pages on their website for quick problem solving and their social media presence is quite scant.
A Few Words Before You Go...
To wrap things up, the Mycelium cryptocurrency wallet is a great option for storing Bitcoin. If you don’t mind spending a few extra USD, you can even make it better by implementing a hardware device for the ultimate safety of your crypto.
Some drawbacks to the wallet include the limited cryptocurrency support as BTC is the only supported coin, the lack of a desktop version, iOS optimization issues, and other tiny faults among the rest. Like everything in life, this wallet has drawbacks but none of them affects its functionality in any significant way.
If you’re in need of a stable, quick transaction capability Bitcoin wallet with integrated security features then Mycelium is the right wallet for you. As we mentioned before, the wallet is free to download on mobile devices and the app store is waiting on you to initiate the download and enjoy trading Bitcoin through the Mycelium Bitcoin wallet app.
frequently asked questions
An HD wallet is a crypto wallet that utilizes a single wallet address for every Bitcoin transaction. In other words, users don’t have to create additional backups when creating a new address.
Mycelium in its vanilla form is a hot or software wallet. It can evolve like a Pokemon and be converted into a cold hardware wallet by joining its forces with a third-party hardware wallet device.
Yes, Mycelium provides ample security measures but at the end of the day, it’s the users who are in charge of their private keys, PIN codes, and backup seed phrases. As much as the wallet can provide safety, users will have to put in an effort to keep their credentials safe.