How to Create an Ethereum Wallet to Safely Store Your Ethereum

Want to hold Ethereum safely and securely? Here's how.

There are a lot of different ways to safely store your Ethereum (ETH). Picking the right option for you means understanding the different kinds of wallets that are out there, as well as knowing which providers are best. From there, you can think about hard wallets if you feel that you need one.

So, let's discuss how you can create an Ethereum wallet for your ETH holdings.

A crypto wallet allows you to store crypto. That’s when you buy it or receive it from somebody else so that you can send it or sell it later on. That’s an important note because some platforms that let you buy and sell crypto really only allow you to buy and sell interest or stake in that crypto without letting you own, send, or receive it.

These days, most wallets will let you store cryptocurrencies that work on different blockchains and protocols, but some only let you store coins and tokens from one blockchain or protocol. MetaMask, one of the wallets that this article will look at, works only with Ethereum-based assets, including Ethereum, ERC-20 tokens, and ERC-721 tokens (or NFTs).

One of the ways that crypto wallets break down is into “hardware wallets” and “software wallets” where software wallets are apps, websites, or browser plugins and hard wallets are physical devices that display balances and, in some cases, store crypto offline. This article only addresses software wallets, because using a hard wallet first requires connecting a preexisting software wallet.

The steps for setting up an Ethereum wallet are generally pretty similar from platform to platform. The process may or may not involve setting up an account with an email address, and some actions require taking some extra steps to prove your identity – like uploading photographs of a government-issued photo ID.

These parameters are known as “Know Your Customer” (KYC) policies and help to protect you by making it harder for other people to steal your identity. They also make it harder for people to use cryptocurrency to pay for illegal goods or activities.

Many cryptocurrency wallets will also require you to link a conventional payment platform to purchase cryptocurrency and to cash out in your native currency when you sell. However, not all platforms have this requirement. If Ethereum is sent to your wallet and then spent on Web3 goods and services online, you don’t really need an outside banking institution.

Brave is a company all about privacy. The company has its own web browser, and that browser has its own crypto wallet. Initially, it only supported Ethereum but as of this writing, it also supports Solana, Filecoin, and a growing host of secondary networks built on those protocols and blockchains.

Because Brave is a downloaded app, setting up a Brave Wallet doesn’t require linking an email account or going through some of the other identity verification steps described above. All that you need to do is record your recovery phrase and enter a password.

You also don’t need to permanently associate your Brave Wallet with another banking institution – whenever you want to buy a cryptocurrency, you can enter your bank account or card information just like buying anything else online.

The MetaMask Ethereum wallet supports a number of other Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies. MetaMask works in two different ways: as a browser wallet and a software wallet.

If you want to use MetaMask as your authentication and payment service on Web3 sites, you can install it as a plugin on any browser – like Brave Wallet but with whatever your preferred browser is. Or, you can use the mobile app version as a software wallet if you only want to use it to hold crypto. You can also connect MetaMask to your Ledger or Trezor hardware wallet.

Download: MetaMask for Android | iOS (Free)

In either case, setting up a MetaMask wallet means setting a password and collecting your seed phrase. The password will be required on the browser plugin every time. Logging into the mobile app can use the password but can also be set to unlock with a biometric like a fingerprint on compatible mobile phones.

You don’t need to permanently link a payment platform, but buying cryptocurrencies through the wallet requires entering information for PayPal, a bank, a wire transfer, or a credit/card.

PayPal’s crypto service offers users a custodial wallet. That means that you don’t need to worry about seed phrases at all because PayPal essentially holds your cryptocurrency for you and lets you use it when you ask.

If you already have a PayPal account, you don't need to go through any additional steps to set up a wallet. Just open the Finances window and select the Crypto tab.

While you can’t use PayPal to access Web3 sites and apps or do things like buy NFTs, you can use PayPal to send cryptocurrency to other wallets. This isn’t satisfactory for most crypto users, but PayPal’s custodial wallet is worth at least considering – if only as possibly the most convenient way to convert fiat into crypto to send to your “real” crypto wallet.

From browser wallets to mobile wallets to software wallets and integrations with hard wallet company Trezor, Exodus covers all the bases. Brave is good if you also want a browser, MetaMask is good if you also want a digital identity, PayPal is good if you already use PayPal, but if you only want a wallet – but want that wallet everywhere – Exodus is a solid choice.

To get started, go to the Exodus download page and select how you would like to use Exodus. You can either include it as a desktop or mobile app or as a browser extension for Chrome or Brave. Screenshots used in this article walk through downloading and setting up an Exodus wallet on a Windows PC.

Downloading the app works like downloading any other app – select a file destination and click Save. The app then appears at the file destination and in your Downloads folder.

Exodus doesn’t require that you record a seed phrase, though it does give you your own keys. It also only requires you to establish or confirm your identity if you’re buying crypto on the platform. Of the wallets listed here, Exodus also supports the most diverse basket of cryptocurrencies - including Bitcoin.

Generally, the easier a wallet is to set up and log into, the harder it is to move the funds around. Software wallets that live as apps on your devices don’t have passwords or recovery phrases but don’t work as Web3 sign-ins. Browser wallets are versatile but require a new log-in every time you open a window. So, choose your wallet based on how you want to use your ETH.

Jon Jaehnig is a freelance writer/editor interested in exponential technologies. Jon has a BS in Scientific and Technical Communication with a minor in Journalism from Michigan Technological University.