Bitcoin wallet

The best wallet for your Bitcoin

Secure your Bitcoin coins with the most trusted hardware wallet. Cold storage wallets are encrypted devices that store your Bitcoin tokens offline, providing a layer of security against the evolving threats emerging from being connected to the internet.
Discover our wallet

How to use Bitcoin with Ledger

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is the first successful form of digital money based on peer-to-peer technology that facilitates decentralized transactions whereby. No central bank or centralized authority is involved in the transaction and production of the Bitcoin currency. The Bitcoin network records transactions on a distributed ledger (blockchain) comprising multiple nodes (computers) globally.
Bitcoin was created by an anonymous individual/group under the name, Satoshi Nakamoto. Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonymous cypherpunk, published the Bitcoin white paper on October 31, 2008. The source code is available publicly as an open-source project, anybody can look at it and be part of the developmental process.

Following are some of Bitcoin’s important characteristics:
- Scarce: Bitcoin is designed to have a finite supply of 21 million BTC ever created, thus making it an anti-inflationary financial asset.
- Fungible: Bitcoin is a fungible asset such that every coin is identical and equivalent to another.
- Divisible: Bitcoin’s divisibility follows from its fungibility. 1 BTC is thus divisible into satoshis (sats), up to eight decimal places (1 BTC = 100 million sats).

Regarding Bitcoin mining, miners today are mining Bitcoin using ASIC chips dedicated to mining Bitcoin. Bitcoin uses the SHA-256 hashing algorithm with an average transaction confirmation time of 10 minutes.

Bitcoin has inspired other alternative currencies such as Litecoin, Peercoin, Primecoin, and so on.

What is a Bitcoin wallet?

A Bitcoin wallet is a digital wallet that allows you to send and receive BTC.
By creating a Bitcoin wallet, a key pair is made up of a private key and a public key that corresponds to it.
While sending Bitcoin requires the usage of private keys. Receiving Bitcoin requires public keys that can be shared with anyone.

The device containing your Bitcoin wallet stores the cryptographic key pairs that are used, not the coins themselves. Your coins are stored on the Bitcoin blockchain.

There are several different forms of Bitcoin wallets to store and manage Bitcoin. Whether you’re looking to keep your assets safe and HODL or manage them on a daily basis, Ledger has the right product for you.

Ledger hardware wallet

Ledger hardware wallet stores your private keys and signs transactions offline, making them resistant to malicious attacks and threats.

Ledger Live App

Ledger Live App is a gateway to managing your assets, staking and earning passive income, checking your real-time balance, tracking transaction histories, and more.

How to get a Bitcoin wallet?

01

Get Ledger Nano

Select and purchase a Ledger cryptocurrency wallet of your choice. Beginner in the crypto world? Get started with Nano S Plus. Prefer a Bluetooth connection? Try with Nano X.

Get Ledger NanoCompare Ledger wallet

02

Download and install what could be the best apps to buy crypto: Ledger Live

Download and install Ledger Live in a couple of clicks. Ledger Live is a crypto wallet app for desktop & mobile that enables you to set up a Ledger device and manage your tokens.

Download Ledger Live

03

Add Bitcoin to your portfolio

Install Bitcoin on your Ledger Nano:

  1. Open Ledger Live and navigate to Manager.
  2. Connect and unlock your Ledger device.
  3. Search for Bitcoin in the app catalog and click Install.

04

Create a Bitcoin account in Ledger Live:

  1. Open Ledger Live and head to Accounts.
  2. Click Add account.
  3. From the drop-down menu select Bitcoin.

You’re all set!

Buy, manage, and swap Bitcoin at your fingertips

Ledger Live is your one-stop platform for smooth and complete asset management. With just a few clicks, you can buy, send/receive and swap Bitcoin.

 

*Buy, send/receive, swap, stake, and other crypto transaction services are provided by third-parties partners.

Buy Bitcoin

You can purchase Bitcoin through our partners with a credit card or bank transfer. Bitcoin will be automatically sent to your Ledger device.

  • Head over to Buy/Sell.
  • In the dropdown menu, select Bitcoin and click Continue.
  • Choose one of the three payment providers—Coinify, MoonPay or Wyre—and follow the instructions.

Buy Bitcoin

Swap Bitcoin

Swapping allows you to test out different cryptocurrencies, protect assets from volatility, and diversify your portfolio. Through Ledger Live, you can swap one token for another without using fiat currencies.

  • Head over to Swap.
  • On the Exchange page, select the accounts that you want to swap.
  • Enter the desired amount and click Exchange.
  • Connect and unlock your Ledger device.
  • Follow the instructions to confirm the swap.

Swap Bitcoin

1

The best way to keep your Bitcoin coins secure

Secure multiple assets, including Bitcoin using a Ledger hardware wallet. Your private keys, giving access to your assets, remain safe in a certified secure chip.

Ledger Nano S

NEW

LEDGER NANO S PLUS

Protect your Bitcoin assets with the first and only independently-certified Bitcoin wallet on the market.

Discover our Nano S Plus
Ledger Nano X

BEST SELLER

LEDGER NANO X

The Ledger Nano X is a Bluetooth enabled secure and CES award winning device that protect your Bitcoin assets.

Discover our Nano X

Choice of 5,000,000+ customers

Bertil A.

5/5

In order to secure cryptocurrencies, Ledger is the perfect tool.

Kevin L.

5/5

Simply a very elegant peace of hardware, with a gorgeous UI in the app.

James P.

5/5

ALL is good, all legal resources bought was as specified and compliant, party on.

Read more reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

The idea originally came from Satoshi Nakamoto, who produced the original Bitcoin white paper, describing the principles behind a currency that was entirely electronic and independent from any banks, governments or any other central authority. The first mined block, also known as the Genesis Block, contained a reference to the fractional reserve banking system which Bitcoin was designed to be an alternative to.

The Bitcoin network’s purpose is to enable users to send Bitcoins to one another . Mining keeps the Bitcoin process secure by chronologically adding new blocks (each block containing several transactions) to the chain. Bitcoin relies on “proof-of-work” as a consensus algorithm: The miners help verify every transaction by solving a cryptographic puzzle, and then add the verified block of transactions to the distributed ledger. Bitcoin’s built-in reward system compensates successful miners with a few Bitcoins. Bitcoin is the first blockchain ever created relying on proof-of-work. It has since spread to become widely used in many cryptocurrencies.

Transactions are connected to a user’s Bitcoin address, which is derived from the user’s private key. A transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain can be seen as a transfer of value between Bitcoin wallets. In reality it’s more similar to a transfer of ownership, a Bitcoin recipient being assigned the right to use the newly acquired Bitcoins using his own private key . Private keys are required to sign transaction and assign new ownership. The signature also prevents the transaction from being altered by anybody once it has been issued. All Bitcoin transactions are forever publicly kept in the network, which means the balance and the transactions of any Bitcoin addresses can be consulted by everyone.

A node on the Bitcoin network is simply a computer running the Bitcoin software. The Bitcoin network counts several thousands of active nodes around the world, with the highest concentration in the United States.

The total supply of bitcoins is limited to 21 millions, and between 4 and 6 millions are already considered unusable due to probable loss of the corresponding private keys.

On the Bitcoin network, a block is mined every ten minutes. The exact time frame depends on the efficiency of the global network of mining nodes. Bitcoin uses the Hashcash proof-of-work function, and the more nodes are working toward finding the solution to the cryptographic puzzle, the faster a solution will be found. To maintain the normal 10-minute block time the hashing difficulty algorithm is adjusted every two weeks.

The Bitcoin proof-of-work system is using a lot of energy, and the electric consumption increases with the usage of the network. Bitcoin detractors are using this argument to explain why Bitcoin won’t be able to scale and be used as a global currency. Although this is a valid argument, Bitcoin’s proponents argue that the electricity used is mostly coming from renewable energy and are betting on a second-layer solution like the lightning network to solve both the transaction speed and energy cost limitations.

Initially, the primary step is to create a crypto wallet if you haven’t done it yet. Once you have completed this step, the process of executing a Bitcoin transfer is quite similar to almost every crypto wallet.

  1. Enter the recipient address of the Bitcoin wallet you want to send BTC.
  2. Enter the amount or quantity of Bitcoin you wish to send.
  3. Choose the Network fees.
  4. Verify the transaction summary before sending it.

 

However, it is crucial to follow our advice before sending Bitcoin to another wallet:

  • For optimal security, make sure always to double-check the addresses that you copy and paste. When possible, using a QR code address might be the preferable method, just to be absolutely certain.
  • For larger transactions, it may be a good idea to send a small amount of Bitcoin as a test, to make sure the address is correct.
  • For a wallet that supports multiple cryptocurrencies, it’s also important to select the correct coin. Sending Bitcoin (BTC) to a Bitcoin Cash (BCH) address, for example, could result in a permanent loss of funds.
  • For sending Bitcoin quickly, higher-fee transactions are usually given higher priority by Bitcoin miners and will reach their destination in a shorter amount of time.

No, at the moment, the Ledger Bitcoin wallet does not support Lightning Network.

When you first buy coin, you’re issued with two keys: public and private.

  • A public key serves as an address that can be shared with other parties to perform transactions.
  • A private key represents a randomly generated number that signs transactions and protects your assets from malicious attacks. If it gets compromised or lost, you won’t be able to access your cold wallet to spend, withdraw, or transfer your coins.

To safeguard and keep track of your keys, you can use online or offline wallets. Online wallets, also known as hot wallets, store private keys on systems or devices that are connected to the internet. Hot wallets are easy and convenient to use, however, they come with several drawbacks. Besides being susceptible to attacks and a honeypot for hackers, with hot wallets, the custody of private keys is often entrusted to a third party such as a crypto exchange, which means you never have full control over your funds. The safer choice are specialized hardware wallets that store private keys offline. Stealing private keys from a hardware wallet would require physical access to the wallet and corresponding PIN or the recovery phrase. What’s more, with hardware wallet, you don’t need to rely on third party custodians.

Ledger Nano is the industry-leading hardware wallet. With more than five million customers, Ledger Nano wallets have several layers of security that protect private keys, and hence your assets:

  • Your private keys are stored on secure element chips.
  • A PIN code and a 24-word recovery phrase are required to access the wallet.
  • Ledger Nano cryptocurrency wallets have been built using highly durable materials for protection against physical damage.

With full isolation between private keys and your computer/mobile, Ledger Nano cold wallets keep your keys secure and give you complete control over your cryptos.

Related Resources

Stay in touch

Announcements can be found in our blog. Press contact:
[email protected]

Subscribe to our
newsletter

New coins supported, blog updates and exclusive offers directly in your inbox