Golem is a global, open sourced, decentralized supercomputer that anyone can access. It's made up of the combined power of user's machines, from personal laptops to entire datacenters. Anyone will be able to use Golem to compute (almost) any program you can think of, from rendering to research to running websites, in a completely decentralized & inexpensive way. 1,195 Followers, 293 Following, 11 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from abdou now online (@abdoualittlebit).
Now that you already know about the best Bitcoin mining hardware, we’re going to talk about Bitcoin mining software.
Bitcoin mining software is equally as important.
Mining is not the fastest way to get bitcoins.
Buying bitcoin is the fastest way.
The main job of the software is to deliver the mining hardware’s work to the rest of the Bitcoin network and to receive the completed work from other miners on the network.
Bitcoin mining software monitors this input and output of your miner while also displaying statistics such as the speed of your miner, hashrate, fan speed and the temperature.
You may also need Bitcoin tax software in order to calculate your taxes owed. Just as an example, we have a great guide on how that software works to pay taxes on Coinbase buys.
We highly recommend crypto tax software - seen above
Bitcoin Wallets One of the most important things you will need before using any kind of Bitcoin mining software is a wallet.
Why?
This is because all Bitcoin mining software will ask you for a Bitcoin address that will be used to send your mining rewards and payouts. Once you create or download a wallet you will be able to get a Bitcoin address from your wallet.
Check out our guide on how to add funds to your wallet.
There are many Bitcoin wallets, but these are the ones we recommend if you are just starting out:
Ledger Nano X – Secure Bitcoin hardware wallet for all platforms.iOS Wallets – The most popular Bitcoin wallets for iOS.Android Wallets – The most popular Bitcoin wallets on Android.Desktop Wallets – The most popular Bitcoin wallets for desktop.Now that we understand mining software and how it helps in the mining process, and you have your Bitcoin wallet and address, let’s look at different software on different operating systems.
Lastly:
Disclaimer: Mining Bitcoin is NOT the best way to get bitcoins. Buying Bitcoin is.
To buy bitcoin in your country, check our country guides:
…or visit our exchange finder if your country is not listed above.
Mining Software Overviews Find the Right Software for You Golem Gets Gold Mac Os Catalina So which software should you choose?
Let's go over all the most important info for each mining software.
By the end, you should be able to pick the best bitcoin mining software for you.
Best Bitcoin Mining Software For Windows Braiins OS is part of Satoshi Labs and is the creation of the original inventor of mining pools, Marek “Slush” Palatinus. You may also know Marek for his invention of the Trezor, the world’s first hardware wallet.
Unlike many other mining software and operating systems, Braiins is completely free. Satoshi Labs makes money off of Braiins OS by offering you incentives to join their Slush mining pool, although this is not required to use their software.
Supported Hardware Braains OS+ currently supports Antminer S9, S9i and S9j. Support for Antminer S17 and T17 are coming soon. Thankfully, Braiins OS+ makes the S9 family so much more efficient, that it can extend the life of your Antminer S9 ASICs. It achieves this life increase through better mining efficiency, which we will cover next.
Performance With Braiins OS, you can increase the hashrate of your S9 up to 17+ Terrahashes per second.
Braiins OS+ can also take an S9 on low power mode and deliver 20% better performance than even an S9i.
Golem Gets Gold Mac Os Download For aging hardware like the S9 family, this is a crazy performance boost, so we can’t wait to see what Braiin’s will be able to do once they launch support for next gen Antminers like the S17 and T17.
Cost While there is no up front cost to buying the software, you will need to pay Slushpool dev fees by directing 2% of your hashing power to their pool regardless of which pool you end up mining on. However, if you choose to mine with Slushpool for all 100% of your hashing power, that rate drops to 1%.
This is how Satoshi Labs makes money off of Braiins OS.
Features Braiins OS boasts many features, such as:
Unlocked SSH Automatic Updates to the OS firmware Device installation on all your devices at once Super Fast boot up speeds Pre-heating to get mining faster Complete fan control Golem Gets Gold Mac Os 7 Command Line For the more traditional, tech-savvy users, Braiins offers a simple but robust command line interface for their mining software in addition to the more common graphical user interface that most people are used to. Both have their advantages, but many are more comfortable issuing commands with a keyboard instead of mouse clicks.
Two-Factor Authentication According to Slushpool,
Every important change made to a user account requires email verification. We furthermore recommend enabling two-factor authentication using either TOTP mobile app or a hardware token (U2F). For even better protection, there is a possibility to lock your payout address so it can be only changed in future by a signed message from said address.
Slushpool takes the security of your earnings very seriously, which means a robust set of two-factor authentication options are at your disposal.
Technical Support Braiin’s OS comes with some of the best documentation of all the mining software. If that doesn’t answer you questions you can reach out to Braiins for help or join their telegram.
Implementation of Stratum V2 Braiins OS+ has also implemented its Stratum V2 communication protocol. This protocol offers truly advanced features for power miners such as bandwidth load reductions, hash rate variance control, and hash rate hijacking protection.
It also comes with a nifty Proxy so that you can still use Stratum on other pools even if it isn’t supported by them.
Should You Use Braiins OS? There is no one more experienced in mining software than Satoshi Labs, so you really can’t go wrong. These guys are constantly innovating, so even if you are running Linux, you won’t be disappointed in choosing Braiins.
That being said, if you don’t plan to start mining with Slushpool, be aware that you will essentially pay a 2% fee to Slushpool (in the form of redirecting 2% of your hashing power to them). By mining with Slushpool, that cuts in half and becomes very attractive.
For more info on mining pools and how to pick one, see our complete guide on mining pools.
Best Bitcoin Mining Software For MacOS Hive OS is a dashboard which allows miners to monitor and control all of their ASIC mining and GPUs from one centralized location. Doesn’t matter if they are made by Avalon or Nvidia - Hive OS has you covered.
Centralization is a scary word in crypto but in this case it’s great. Instead of having to monitor miners with different programs, it’s now possible to keep track of everything using Hive’s beautiful, one-stop dashboard.
Hive OS supports Bitcoin (BTC), Eth (ETH), Bcash (BCH), (XMR) and many other coins.
Whether you have three rigs or a thousand, Hive OS can easily integrate with all of them. Installation is easy as Hive OS automatically detects mining rigs and adds them to the dashboard.
HEADS UP! Mining or buying bitcoins? You can't do either without a Bitcoin wallet.
Our guide on the best bitcoin wallets will help you pick one.
Tracking Metrics with Hive OS As a full feature dashboard Hive OS allows miners to track a number of different metrics. That includes but is not limited to,
Hash rate Online status GPU errors Pool configuration Electricity usage Team activity What’s great about Hive is that all of this information can be accessed from anywhere in the world. That means that you can manage a mining operation from anywhere, you don’t have to be physically connected to the miners. You can even use Hive OS to update ASICs (all at one time, it’s not necessary to update them individually) or restart a GPU if it has frozen.
Quick Tip Mining is not the fastest way to get bitcoins.
Buying bitcoin is the fastest way.
Besides updating their rigs Hive OS allows miners to do the following,
Change which coins are being mined. Bitcoin or BCH, Litecoin, Ethereum or Ethereum Classic, you can switch on the go if one coin becomes more profitable than another. You can use our profitability calculator as well. Change miner configurations all at once, there’s no need to painstakingly change individual settings. Change mining pools. No matter what coins you’d like to mine Hive OS has you covered. They support more than 500 different currencies as well as 85 different mining rigs. To increase the efficiency of your miners Hive OS has firmware that can boost hash rates as well as cut down on energy usage by as much as 25%.
Pricing
Hive OS is surprisingly affordable at $2 per month per ASIC. For larger operations Hive offers discounts to any business with more than 500 miners. It’s also possible to receive Hive for free if you purchase the Hive firmware upgrade for your rigs.
There are a couple of other discounts available. If you deposit three months worth of funds into your account Hive will give you a 30% bonus on your purchase. You have to make the deposit all at once but otherwise there are few restriction on what it takes to qualify. There is also an additional 3% bonus if you make the deposit using a stablecoin like USDT or TUSD.
Easy Install Setup is super simple with HIVE OS. All you have to do is download the software and it will automatically detect your rig and add them to the management dashboard.
ETH Mining Pool For Ethereum miners Hive hosts its own mining pool which they claim is one of the most profitable anywhere. Hive mentions that due to their worldwide servers their pool is secure, efficient and also has a high payout. As of publication the expected daily earnings are $1.35 (0.00794 ETH) per 100 MH/s.
The minimum payout for the pool is 0.1 ETH and currently the pool charges no commission fee. There are three servers available. One in Russia, one in Europe and one in North America.
Quick Tip Using mining software is not the fastest way to get bitcoins.
Try an exchange below for the fastest way to get bitcoins.
Bits of Gold Crypto exchange based in Tel Aviv Buy with card, cash or bank transfer Supports Bitcoin & Ethereum Rain Exchange for Saudi Arabi, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrin, UAE Rain is based in Middle East High buying limits WazirX Crypto exchange based in India Deposit INR with IMPS & UPI Low fees and many coins eToro Start trading fast; high limits Easy way for newcomers to get bitcoins Your capital is at risk. Luno Best for Nigeria, South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia East to use interface Trusted exchange Coinbase High liquidity and buying limits Easy way for newcomers to get bitcoins 'Instant Buy' option available with debit card Bitbuy Exchange based in Canada Very high buy and sell limits Supports Interac & wire Coinberry Crypto exchange based in Canada Very high buy and sell limits Supports credit & debit card, Interac, wire Coinsquare Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange Very high buy and sell limits Supports bank account, Interac, wire Independent Reserve (AU/NZ) Low fees with instant AUD deposits EFT, POLi, Osko & SWIFT Top cryptos, tax reports, local support & OTC desk eToro Supports Bitcoin, Ethereum & 15 other coins Start trading fast; high limits Your capital is at risk. This ad promotes virtual cryptocurrency investing within the EU (by eToro Europe Ltd. and eToro UK Ltd.) & USA (by eToro USA LLC); which is highly volatile, unregulated in most EU countries, no EU protections & not supervised by the EU regulatory framework. Investments are subject to market risk, including the loss of principal.
The Hive OS Mobile App One of the great things about Hive OS is that they have a mobile app that allows you to execute all of the same functions and monitor all of the same metrics as the dashboard. With some recent updates the app also appears to function well, based on user reviews.
In the Google Play store the app has 4.4 review score and although there is not yet an Apple iPhone app, Hive has indicated that they plan to release one soon.
Coin Statistics One of the cool things about Hive OS is that even if you’ve not yet signed up for the service you can get an idea of who is using it. On the Hive statistics page there is a bunch of relevant data that miners may be interested in. For instance as of publication:
54% of all Hive OS mining is for Ethereum and 9% is Bitcoin The Radeon RX 570 4GB is the most popular AMD miner and the P106-100 6GB is the most popular NVIDIA miner. For Bitcoin the Antminer S9 Hive One is the most popular model The Hive OS Advantage If you’re in the business of cryptocurrency mining Hive OS can offer a real advantage in terms of efficiency, setup speed and ease of use. The centralized dashboard is well thought out and beautiful to look at. What used to be difficult is now easy with essentially plug and play mining for Ethereum, Bitcoin and hundreds of other coins.
Whether you’ve already got the equipment or you’re considering a new investment, Hive OS is definitely worth checking out as an all-in-one mining dashboard.
Hive OS is a dashboard which allows miners to monitor and control all of their ASIC mining and GPU mining activity from one centralized location.
What is the Best Mining OS? Now that we’ve talked about the best mining software, let’s talk about the best computer operating system to have when using a mining software.
This is really a matter of taste as a lot of the big mining software developers support multiple platforms (MacOS, Windows, Linux, etc.).
However, if you had to choose one OS over all the others, Linux is probably going to be the best bet. Nearly all mining software supports some version of Linux so you have flexibility to try multiple mining software suites.
On top of that, Linux is by far the most open OS, which means you can make changes to it if you feel confident enough to do that.
For those that want a more traditional OS experience, windows is probably the way to go.
Best Bitcoin Mining App Software for Android You may be wondering why I left out mobile OS’s like Android.
Well…that’s because it really makes no sense to use mining apps on mobile devices to mine cryptocurrency.
There is just not enough power on your mobile device to mine bitcoin profitably.
You’ll just bog down your device and waste our battery.
If you are serious about mining, you need to:
Get an actual rig built for mining Use one of the software suites outlined above Manage your operation using a desktop OS like MacOS, Windows, or Linux Viruses in Mining Software Be aware that a lot of cryptomining software may try to steal your bitcoins. Be sure to read reviews on any software you download.
Also:
Make sure you are downloading from the actual site and not a copy-cat site.
Using Tor with Mining Software It’s also worth noting that you can use Tor to route your traffic through to remain especially anonymous while mining.
Cash Out your Coins Once you have this setup and are mining, you may need to cash out some of your coins in order to pay off your expenses such as electricity.
For this you can use Buy Bitcoin Worldwide to find a Bitcoin exchange in your country, whether that be the USA or elsewhere! Just make sure the exchange rate is good.
Mining Software Frequently Asked Questions Below are some of our most asked questions by readers.
If you're wondering about a topic on this page, odds are we have the answer here.
Why Do You Need a Bitcoin Mining Operating System? Bitcoin mining rigs and systems have come a long way since the beginning. The first Bitcoin miners made do with the tools they had at their disposal and set up various software to control the mining hardware in their rigs.
While these make-shift solutions were better than nothing, they didn’t exactly work efficiently. Not only did that slow down the mining process, but it also made it difficult for newcomers to join in on the fun.
Necessity is the mother of all invention, so along came solutions like Awesome Miner, ethOS, and SimpleMining that streamlined the mining process. Let’s briefly review some of these early solutions.
What is CGMiner? CGMiner is an open source ASIC/FPGA mining software written in C designed for several platforms - Windows, OS X and Linux. CGMiner is one of the oldest bitcoin mining software and it has the ability to run on any computer and is compatible with multiple mining hardware.
What us BFGMiner? BFGMiner is designed for FPGA and ASIC mining. BFGMiner offers advanced users the opportunity to mine multiple cryptocurrencies by simultaneously hashing on mining algorithms like Scrypt and SHA256d. BFGMiner has remote interface capabilities.
What is Multiminer? Multiminer is a free mining software optimized for Windows computers, but it also comes with directions to simply install it on Mac and Linux. There’s no need for coding or technical skills. The software is available for anyone to download and use.
What is Awesome Miner? Awesome miner is a total software suite to manage your mining operation. It features support for as little as one and as many as 200,000 miners. Users can also use the ‘profit switching’ feature to switch which coins your miners are mining in real time, based on revenue and power consumption. Users of Awesome Miner can expect 10% higher performance for their Antminer S9s and a whopping 40% for Antminer S17.
These days, mining operating systems are the standard.
But many users of the existing systems still experience issues with:
Managing multiple mining devices. Maintaining a steady mining performance. Fixing spontaneous errors. Managing the mining system remotely. Maximizing the efficiency of their hardware. Difficulty adjustments What are FPGA miners? FPGA stands for ‘Field Programmable Gate Array’. According to BH Miner, the company that produces FPGA mining hardware, FPGA chips supposedly deliver higher hash power at lower rates of energy consumption compared to ASICs. However, given than these are multi-algorithm mining hardware, you should be very skeptical that these claims actually bear out.
What is a GPU Miner? GPU involves using a Graphics Processing Unit (normally used to play video games on PC) to mine cryptocurrencies. GPU mining was very popular in Bitcoin mining a few years ago, but that is no longer profitable due to highly advanced ASIC miners. Now, GPU mining is mainly done on Ethereum and Monero.
What is a CPU Miner? GPU involves using a Central Processing Unit (normally used to run desktop PCs) to mine cryptocurrencies. Almost no one uses their CPU to mine any coins today, but it can be a god way to learn how mining works without spending much money.
What is EasyMiner? EasyMiner is another free open-source mining software available to anyone who wants to use it and mine using their GPU or CPU.
Can I Mine Bitcoin on my PC? You can, but you will lose lots of money doing this. The cost of the electricity will cost more than the tiny amount of Bitcoin you are able to mine with a modern GPU.
Even if you have the very best GPU on the market, it will never compete with the ASICs that are specially developed to mine Bitcoins.
You are really just better off buying Bitcoin than mining it at home. If you don’t believe us, just use our cryptomining profitability calculator to see for yourself!
Where Can I Mine Bitcoin for Free? Unless you live in a country with free electricity like Iran or Venezuela, you really can’t mine cryptocurrency for free.
In fact, even if you did live in those places, you’d still need to buy some kind of mining hardware in order to mine Bitcoins.
So really, there is no place on Earth where you can mine cryptocurrency for free!
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KeepKey is one of the more famous multi-coin hardware wallets that offers a great user experience and supports some of the giants in the crypto sphere like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dogecoin etc. If you are a user that values great security for their digital funds, this wallet might be what you’ve been waiting for. As you will see in this review, the most unique feature of KeepKey is that it has a hardware interface that you can use to generate a random number that you use as a key every time you use the wallet. It is also Hierarchical Deterministic as it uses a twelve-word seed, from which you generate private and public keys. After getting knowledgable about what features the wallet has, we will also cover how to use KeepKey.
01. KeepKey Features & FeesKeepKey is a USB HID-class hardware wallet, that can be used without the need for any drivers, under Windows, MacOS, Linux and Android. It has an OLED display that will show information like the current transaction or the random number used as an unlocking key. The way you confirm any action is not via software, but rather with the hardware button that the device has. KeepKey is virtually immune to any type of hacker, virus, malware or keylogger, as everything can be done via the device itself and also, it has no operating system on its own. Without an OS, there is no environment for malicious software to spread or attach itself. KeepKey also works with the Bitcoin wallet by taking over the control of private and public keys. If you are someone who really likes these features, there should be no hesitation when deciding if you should use it or not.
Pros & Cons High Level of Security Hardware wallets are impossible to remotely hack or compromise A Built-In Exchange The wallet has a built-in exchange for further ease of use and functionality Multi-Coin Support The ability to manage more than one type of cryptocurrency Randomized PIN Protection Every time you use the device, it will randomize a PIN number in order to unlock the wallet. This is a great additional layer of security You Will Need to Buy It As it is a standalone device with a great build quality and an OLED screen, you will need to pay somewhat of a high price No Locking Feature If you forget the device plugged in a computer, someone else could sit down and access it as it doesn’t automatically lock without you taking it out of the port Are you interested in the KeepKey Wallet?
or
Read More on Multi-Coin Support and OS Compatibility
Multi-Coin Support and Operating System Compatibility The KeepKey hardware wallet supports some of the biggest coins out there like Dash, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and even the titan of all cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin. If you are looking for a very secure wallet, while at the same time being an avid trader or a miner of many different currencies, this one will be a great choice.
Show all
Augur [REP] Basic Attention Token [BAT] Bancor [BNT] Binance Coin [BNB] Civic [CVC] CyberMiles [CMT] Crypto.com [MCO] Dai [DAI] Decentraland [MANA] District0x [DNT] Edgeless [EDG] FirstBlood [1ST] Funfair [FUN] Show all The KeepKey wallet is pretty flexible and can be used with almost any OS like Windows, MacOS, and Linux. It also comes with a Chrome plugin which you can use to activate the wallet, once you to plug it in the USB port. The client has a pretty simple and friendly user interface with straightforward commands.
Built-In Exchange One of the features that KeepKey provides to its users is a built-in exchange. Cryptocurrency exchanges are platforms where people can trade their digital funds or straight out buy crypto coins either with other coins or with fiat money. What the wallet allows is to trade your currencies on the exchange, without even needing to leave its user interface.
In general, the built-in exchange is a very useful and intuitive addition which is an integration of services by ShapeShift. It gives you the ability to exchange between different currencies seamlessly and quickly.
Is KeepKey Safe? Security KeepKey is a very secure wallet as I have mentioned earlier. Its Hierarchical Deterministic qualities allow it to use a twelve-word master seed key, which you can back up for additional safety. From that master seed, your private and public keys are generated. Afterward, future keys are generated. Meaning, that when you recover it, all funds that were spread throughout the generated addresses, will be recovered. Of course, except the PIN that you have to enter each time you unlock the wallet, you can have an additional passphrase, making it even harder for someone to access your funds in the case that the device gets stolen. On the other hand, if they get their hands on your seed, it is all over. That’s why it’s very important to keep your seed backup safe. Below I have listed a few security features that might pique your interest.
Golem Gets Gold Mac Os X Additional Passphrase
This option allows you to select an additional layer of security with a word that is attached to the recovery sentence. KeepKey does not recommend using this feature unless you understand the consequences.
PIN Protected Operations
All operations with private and public keys are locked with an authentication PIN code, which must be inputted every time.
Privacy and Anonymity A key feature and difference that separates KeepKey from other wallets Is the PIN protection. It is a very powerful tool for the safety of your digital funds. I recommend that when setting up the PIN, to not use something generic like 1-2-3-4 or a sequence of the same or repeatable numbers as the chance of them being discovered are high even without hacking.
In general, all the security features including the hierarchical deterministic nature of the wallet can be considered privacy perks as well. How much more private can you get, when there is virtually no way to be hacked? Even if the KeepKey hardware wallet is stolen from you, if you took the necessary precautions and activated all its defenses, even then the chances of someone getting inside the wallet and seeing your identity and funds is so slim it’s near impossible. All you need to really, and I mean really, remember is your pin and passphrase along with keeping the seed backup somewhere safe.
PIN
It is an additional measure to keep your holdings safe. This will prevent someone to get inside your wallet in the case of physical theft.
Hierarchical Deterministic (HD)
This feature creates random pairs of keys that are generated from a master seed. Every transaction can be done with a different public key, keeping your information private and secure.
Transaction Fees Of course, transaction fees are inevitable, and everyone would like to know exactly how much comes out of their pocket when they trade. Unfortunately, with KeepKey there is no way to manage these fees as the client automatically calculates them to ensure timely confirmation. KeepKey does not receive a portion of this fee.
Conclusion In the end, KeepKey belongs in the top secure and trusted wallets currently on the market. Ask any user that is really conscious about security and privacy to recommend you a wallet and the chances are very high for KeepKey to be one of those recommendations. It just always works like it is supposed to with the help of a simple, yet sufficient user interface. Even the fact that you have to buy the device in the first place can be overlooked when you take into account how safe KeepKey is, especially if you are a serious trader or miner.
Multiplatform Multicoin Built-in Well, honestly even the best wallets have flaws. Although it brings so much to the table, some users might consider it unfit for them, as it is a wallet that strictly works with computers. A big part of the crypto community actually value flexibility and ease of access more than their security and might deviate to Web or Mobile wallets. Other users might find all of these security features annoying or a hindrance. As I mentioned earlier, KeepKey is not for everyone, but it will suit the needs of a security-oriented person.
02. KeepKey Wallet Guide: How to Setup and UseAfter reading the KeepKey wallet review, you should have a good idea whether it would fit your needs. If it does, the next thing you should do is buy such a device. Learning how to use KeepKey is straightforward. In order to work properly, this hardware wallet has to be used on computers that either have the Chrome app installed or have the Electrum, Mycelium or Bitcoin core wallets. In those cases, KeepKey will take over the management of the private and public keys and use the interface.
How to Install Since KeepKey is a hardware wallet, meaning it’s just a USB device, it does not require any additional software or drivers for it to work. It just needs the Chrome extension or software wallets that work with it, if you already have them. The fastest and easiest way, in my opinion, is to use the Chrome app that was created as an interface for the wallet.
Choose Operating System Download and install the KeepKey widget from the Chrome web store. Connect KeepKey to a USB port. Then open Chrome and locate the newly installed client app. Make sure to keep the recovery phrase somewhere safe, because without it you will not have access to the wallet. Same goes for the master seed backup file.
Open the Chrome web store and download the KeepKey app. Next, connect the device to a USB port. Locate the newly installed app in Chrome and run it. Don’t forget to keep your recovery sentence and master seed backup somewhere safe as without them, you will not be able to access or recover your wallet.
Download and install the KeepKey app from the Chrome web store. Use the dedicated USB cable to connect the device to the computer. Locate and run the KeepKey app in Chrome. Keeping the seed backup and passphrase somewhere safe is of utmost importance as they are your safety net.
Interface Overview The device itself is small and easy to carry around. The fit and finish of the assembly is of great quality and it really does give you the impression that it’s a tough and secure place to put your money. When you unbox it for the first time, make sure that the tamper-resistant tape has not been messed with. Once you make sure that no one has opened the box before you, you can open it. Inside you will find the device itself, a 12-word seed card, a dedicated USB cable and some warranty leaflets.
The screen has an anti-scratch plastic film over it and the OLED screen is quite pleasing to look at and work with. Make sure to check out the information papers that come with the device to get to know it better and learn which button does what. After you have downloaded the Chrome Browser app and plugged in your new device, you can continue on with setting it up and working with it.
Create an Address After you have the wallet up and running you should create a new address. You can do that with a click on the Add Account button in the bottom right corner of the window. You can select the account that you wish to add and select a name for it. After that click the Add Account button again and the new entry will be listed.
Send and Receive Assets Every time the device is unplugged and plugged in, it will require a PIN to be entered for security so keep that in mind. When you would like to send or receive funds to your wallet, you need to always verify how they are entered. In the case of receiving funds, you will need to click the Receive button and see your address in the field. Then you can copy it and give it to the other party or use it in your other wallets to send some crypto coins in your KeepKey. The device does not need to be connected to a computer in order to receive any funds.
Backup and Restore Backup Install and deposit your crypto After you plug in the device and input the PIN correctly, it will show a randomly generated sequence of 12 words on the screen. These words are your recovery sentence or phrase. Make sure to write them down on the 12-word recovery card. Please make sure to take your time and double check every word and letter if it is written down correctly.
Create a strong password and save it Next, you can use the interface to set your unique PIN that will be asked for every transaction with the wallet. It is very important to choose a unique combination that is not consisting of repeating or close to common sense numbers. The longer your PIN is, the stronger the protection is. If you forget that PIN, don’t worry. You can completely wipe the device and use your master seed recovery to recover your funds and account.
Restore Install and restore wallet from the seed In order to restore the wallet from a seed, you can select or Recover KeepKey option. Before you recover it, I recommend setting up a new label and PIN for the device. Using the cipher and the device itself, enter the first word of your recovery sentence. The word will auto fill upon entering the fourth letter of each word.
Restore my KeepKey incase it is lost or stolen The recovery passphrase that you set up in the beginning acts like the backup for the wallet. If your KeepKey wallet gets stolen or you lose it, you can use the recovery sentence with a new device to recover your wallet. If the new device is not KeepKey, it has to support BIP44 hierarchy standards in order to make a successful recovery.
Specific Functions One of the most notable functions of the KeepKey wallet is the ability to manage multiple accounts while still being able to track their individual and total balance. If you would like to keep your transactions private, you will need more than one account, which can be set up from the wallet UI. The other notable function is the ability to change the recovery seed. Make sure you still have your recovery card before you do this.
Possible Issues and How to Avoid Them As I mentioned earlier, you can have multiple accounts and there is no limit to how much you can make. However, this will make the device load slower. What I can recommend is to have a maximum of about 10 accounts, but please bear in mind that once created, an account cannot be deleted or hidden.
You should always be aware and watch out for phishing attempts You should always be aware and watch out for phishing attempts and always buy your KeepKey device from an official authorized source. Either from the official domain or a certified reseller. Never use a domain that is given to you from anyone else, unless you have confirmed it with the Official Reseller List.
03. FAQIs KeepKey open-source? Do I have to plug the KeepKey into a computer in order to use it? Yes, otherwise the wallet will not have electricity to power up.
How does the KeepKey wallet connect to my computer? It connects to your computer via a USB cable connected with the machine’s USB port.
Can I update the KeepKey firmware on the device? The updates are automatic, and they do not compromise security. Before any update is implemented, the private keys are removed from the wallets flash memory and restored only after the update is installed correctly and signed as authentic by KeepKey, LLC.
If I forget my PIN, do I still have access to my funds? Not really, as without a PIN you will not be able to access your device. Fortunately, you will still be able to recover it with your recovery phrase.
What is the difference between the KeepKey and a USB drive or memory card? Well, standard USB devices and memory cards, when inserted, can be immediately fully accessed and the computer can read the full information. KeepKey communicates with the computer using protocols that limit the access to data.
04. About KeepKeyThe founder of the KeepKey company behind the device is Erik Voorhees. He is maybe one of the top-recognized Bitcoin advocates and a very smart entrepreneur. He truly understood that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, in general, are maybe the most important inventions in the last century. As guest of many television shows like Bloomberg, Fox Business, CNBC, BBC Radio and numerous conferences regarding the industry and Bitcoin in general, he stated many times that there is no such thing as a “free market”, when the means of payment, meaning money, is centralized and controlled by singular entities.
With the help of Ken Hodler, they created the KeepKey company and device. Ken has been into cryptocurrencies since 2011 and has worked mainly on security products in his career while being a strong advocate of agile development and management methods.
KeepKey on Social Media If you would like to stay in touch with the latest news and updates around KeepKey, the best place to start with is their official website. Other ways can be following their social media accounts along with Reddit and Github, which I have listed below.