Many crypto enthusiasts out there struggle with storing different cryptocurrencies. There are many individual wallets for specific cryptocurrencies, but that does not suffice for people who deal with multiple coins.
Enter multicurrency wallets.
As is evident from the name, multicurrency wallets are wallets where you can store multiple cryptocurrencies at a time in a single place.
This is possible due to a concept called HD wallets where several wallets can be made using a single seed or mnemonic phrase.
One such multicurrency wallet that has been serving crypto enthusiasts for a while is Jaxx wallet.
CoinSutra has also used this wallet and talked about it in a post (Top 5 Best Bitcoin Wallets That You Should Use). Therefore, today, we will talk about its pros & cons.
In this review, we will briefly touch upon the following aspects of the wallet:
- What Is Jaxx?
- Features
- Supported Currencies
- Supported Platforms
- Pros Of Jaxx Wallet
- Cons Of Jaxx Wallet
- Final Thoughts
Page Contents
What Is Jaxx?
Developed by Decentral Inc. and operational since 2014, the Jaxx wallet software is Canada’s leading blockchain company.
It is a multicurrency HD wallet like I mentioned earlier, and its development team is also quite active. With Jaxx, one can store more than 60 coins and tokens all at one place. Plus, it is a self-hosted wallet where you control your seed & PIN.
The man behind Jaxx wallet is one of the crypto-rich who got involved into cryptocurrencies very early. He is also the co-founder of Ethereum.
He anticipated a Netscape-like change happening due to the cryptos and hence conceived the idea of Jaxx wallet.
Jaxx’s Features
- Multiple Currencies
Jaxx currently supports more than 65 currencies which include cryptocurrencies & ERC20 tokens.
Imagine managing a separate wallet for every type of coin you have! Sounds frustrating, doesn’t it?
Therefore, Jaxx multicurrency wallet is a boon for people who often deal in multiple currencies, irrespective of whether they are trading or HODLing.
Some of the popular currencies that Jaxx currently supports are:
- BTC – Bitcoin
- BCH – Bitcoin Cash
- BNT – Bancor
- CVC – Civic
- DGD – DigixDAO
- DSH – Dash
- EDG – Edgeless
- EOS – Dawn
- ETC – Ethereum Classic
- ETH – Ethereum
- GNO – Gnosis
- GNT – Golem
- LTC – Litecoin
- PLY – Polymath
- QTUM – Quantum
- SNM – SONM
- STX – Stox
- SWM – Swarm
- VIB – Viberate
- ZEC – Zcash
- BAT – Basic Attention Token
- Intuitive UI
Jaxx’s UI is very intuitive. You can figure out that a lot of work has gone into designing it just by one look at its UI. The UI proves to be extremely helpful for those using crypto wallets for the first time and are not as technical.
- In-built Exchange
Jaxx is one of the first multi-currency wallets that started integrating services like shapeshift into it, which helps users convert one coin to another in the app itself. This gives a lot of options to an investor and gives them the freedom to take decisive actions in the app itself.
- Custom Fees
Jaxx provides three custom fee options – from slow to high fees for faster transactions. However, it is not recommended to use slow fee as it might take days for that transaction to get mined. Instead, you should use average or the fast fee option for easy confirmation of your transactions.
- QR Scanner
QR scanners have become standard in mobile and desktop wallets. That is because they are much safer than copy-pasting your address keeping in mind human errors.
- Import/Export Keys & Seed
Being able to import private keys is a must-have in a software wallet. Needless to say, Jaxx has it. Using Jaxx, one can import keys for popular coins and import/sweep their paper wallets effectively.
Also, their export functionality is quite good where you can export your private keys or see your seed again when needed.
Supported Platforms
Jaxx wallet started as a mobile wallet, but now it functions across several platforms which gives options as well as a lot of flexibility to users of Jaxx. These platforms are :
Pros Of Jaxx Wallet
Keeping these features and accessibility in mind, Jaxx wallet has following pros as well as cons:
- Universal wallet with multiple currencies.
- Good wallet for beginners and intermediate users alike.
- Inbuilt exchange for fast conversions
- High accessibility. Supported across many platforms and devices.
Cons Of Jaxx Wallet
- Jaxx wallet seed extraction vulnerability
- Their CTO’s way of responding
- Unknown yet whether the vulnerability is fixed or not
In my opinion, though this was the first mistake from their end, they could have handled better. It implies to an extent that their team is not as committed. And as an unbiased reviewer, I must highlight this side of the wallet too.
Final Thoughts – Is It Safe To Use Jaxx Wallet
Of course, by giving some cons of Jaxx wallet, I didn’t mean to discourage you from using Jaxx wallet. Moreover, I think their security officer has changed, and they have become much more serious towards securing users funds.
Another thing to understand while using any wallet, especially mobile or desktop wallets, is that security is not only the responsibility of the company, it is yours too. You need to exercise your common sense and stick to security measures while using cryptocurrencies & internet.
Jaxx has also launched Jaxx Liberty, their new wallet, which has better UI & security, but it is in the beta phase.
Lastly, I will leave you with some more security suggestions by the Jaxx team:
- Beware. Understand your exposures and behave appropriately to your risk tolerance.
- Update. We will continually work to improve Jaxx. You should always use the most up-to-date version of Jaxx wallet.
- Secure your devices. Phones, desktops, browsers: secure the device that you access Jaxx through with passcodes. Remember, if your device has been compromised (such as a malware infection) a malicious user can potentially steal your funds. Use passcodes!
- Hot vs Cold. Understand the difference between hot wallets and cold storage.
- Understand: there is no “absolute” security. Computer software/hardware systems are very complex and new ways of hacking coming out every day. For instance, a new vulnerability was in the news yesterday.
That’s all from my side in this article. I hope it helps you in making the right decision. Don’t forget to share your decision with us in the comments below 🙂
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Further readings on CoinSutra:
- Security Risks of Mobile, Web & Desktop Bitcoin Wallets [Must Know]
- When To Use A Bitcoin/Altcoin Mobile Wallet?
- Here Is How You Can Transfer Ethereum To A Ledger Nano S
- Coinmama Review: Analyzing If It Is Safe And Reliable
- Crypto Wallets You Should Know About