Review on Electrum Wallet by Jerry Siegel
Electrum Wallet
Electrum is an open-source Bitcoin wallet founded on November 5, 2011. Since 2011, over 230 developers have contributed to the source code of the wallet, and since then, the project has expanded and acquired many useful features, as well as a solid reputation in the blockchain community.
Supported platforms: Windows, Linux, Mac OS
Supported currencies: Bitcoin (BTC)
MultiSig: Yes
2FA: Yes
Security (10/10):
The security of this wallet is very high. Multisig, 2FA, cold wallet support, and read-only mode are critical security factors: not all wallets have them. It is also possible to password-protect the login. Electrum is one of the most reliable Bitcoin wallets that is available today (aside from cold and paper wallets)
Ease of use (5/10):
As I mentioned in cons, this wallet will be difficult to use for inexperienced users. Now modern wallets make everything clean and simple, when even your ordinary intuition can tell you where to click. In Electrum, everything is far from that "clean UI" state.
Even the installation process requires a lot of blockchain knowledge (not to mention the complexity of the design). Upon installation, you are required to choose between Segwit (bech32) or Legacy BTC address. Bech32 is a relatively new address format, and not all exchanges support Segwit, but not all beginners know that. As a result, this can result in a loss of funds.
Difficulties may also arise with the official support of the wallet. For official support, you need to contact the official bitcoin thread.
My overall impression (8/10):
Electrum is a great, fast, secure and stable wallet. Electrum have a huge support from the Bitcoin community and is packed full of security features. This is a veteran wallet and has come a long way since 2011.
But if you are just starting your Bitcoin journey, I would not recommend this wallet. But for those who understand blockchain and basic terms, this wallet will be very useful, as it is suitable for depositing large amounts. Experienced users are strongly encouraged to use Electrum.
Pros
- The generated private keys are encrypted and never leave the computer. You can enable the cold wallet mode (Cold Storage) and if you need to check to wallet you can do it in “watch only” mode. This is also a good security feature.
- Multisig is also a very important component of reliability and enhanced security of this wallet. It is possible to split the permission to send your coins among several wallets, for example your friends.
- Two-factor Authenticator (2FA) from TrustedCoin: you can only have 2 out of 3 keys. The third key is stored on a remote server that signs transactions on your behalf. This requires Google Authenticator.
- Speed: the wallet is very fast and sends out BTC transactions right away, without any delays. Electrum doesn't download the entire ledger to sync with BTC blockchain. But at the same time, it always remains secure and there are no delays in sending transactions. In addition, the developers are working on the implementation of Lightning Network (LN). This is also a huge promising advantage.
- Proven reputation: Electrum has been around for many years (first released in 2011) and during this time has established itself as a fast and reliable BTC wallet. Electrum has a significant reputation and popularity among the Bitcoin community.
Cons
- Unidirectional (BTC only): this wallet is written only for one currency - Bitcoin. Of course, there are code copies for altcoins (for example LTC), but these versions are not official, and do not have support from the official Electrum developers.
- Not suitable for beginners: the design of both the application and the site still stuck in 2011. It's very difficult to understand and far from user-friendly. My guess is that the wallet creators didn't thought about the convenience and aesthetics at all. Most likely, the design was done by the developers themselves: they made the MVP, i.e. the minimal working design product - there is a button, there is text and nothing else is needed.
