If you are looking for a way to open a Monero account, it probably
means you have delved a lot into the cryptocurrency world. Monero is an altcoin
that has been inexistence since 2014. Unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum where sending
and receiving addresses are visible to everyone, Monero makes use of a cryptic
technology that ensures that your addresses are never visible on the
blockchain, thereby enabling total privacy. This technology also allows the
transactions carried out on Monero's blockchain to be hidden.
In order to begin your Monero journey, one of the most important
steps (if not the most important step) to take is opening a Monero wallet. A
Monero wallet provides you with the ability to store your cryptocurrency just
like you use your physical wallet to store your hard-earned cash. The thing
here is just as with physical wallets, there are different options for Monero
wallets too.
You can store your Monero coin on a web wallet, which is easy to
access on the go. Or you store it in large quantities on your computer; you can
create a wallet on your machine. This type of wallet is way more secure and can
be likened to keeping money in a safe.
USING YOU WALLET FOR THE SENDING AND RECEIVING OF MONERO
Once you open your Monero wallet, you'll be able to use it to send
and receive Monero. You'll be provided with a wallet address, which is usually
a mixture of letters and numbers consisting of ninety five characters. You'll
also be provided with a mnemonic seed, which is a string of letters that can be
used to restore your Monero wallet on any device. It is of topmost priority
that you keep your mnemonic seed safe. Never share it with anyone.
Anyone that has access to your mnemonic seed also has access to
your account and they can use it to divert all the funds in your Monero wallet.
So it's best that you keep the seed to yourself. Since it's a long string of
random words, you might not be able to remember everything at once. So write
them down in some pieces of paper, hide the papers carefully so in case you
lose one or can't remember all the letters in your seed, you can always go back
to your piece of paper. Note that if you can't access your wallet and you lose
your mnemonic seed, you may lose all of your funds; that’s how important the
mnemonic seed is.
TYPES OF MONERO WALLET
There are majorly two types of Monero wallet. You can either
create a web-based wallet on Mymonero.com or download the official wallet
software. Most people begin their Monero journey with the web-based wallet. This
is because the web wallet is a lot easier to understand and use. It allows you
to easily check your Monero balance, get an address, send, and receive money.
Once you get used to the web wallet, you can decide to work with
the official software. Using the official software simply implies that you'll
have to download the Monero-Wallet-CLI software. This software is a lot more
secure than the web-based wallet. The only thing is that it's more complicated
than the web-based wallet. The basic differences between both wallets is ease
and security. While the web wallet is not as secure as the official software,
it's a lot easier to use.
HOW TO CREATE A WALLET ON MYMONERO.COM
Creating a wallet on this website is incredibly easy. All you need
to do is go to mymonero.com, click on the big blue icon placed on the website's
homepage, fill in the essential details and your account will be instantly
created. With the creation of your account, you'll be provided with your wallet
and your mnemonic seed, otherwise known as your private login key. The key will
be displayed on your screen and you'll be advised to write it down so as to be
able to retrieve it later whenever you need it.
Your private key must not be shared with anyone as it's what
you'll use to log into your wallet. Now, once you've confirmed your account
key, the main account screen will come on. It is on this screen that you'll get
your wallet address and it will be located at the middle of the screen. So
every time you want to make a transaction (whether sending or receiving) this
address is what you'll use.
Sending and receiving funds is also very easy. To send funds from
your MyMonero wallet balance, all you have to do is click on the dark blue send
button in your dashboard, input the amount of Monero coin you'd like to send
and the receiver's wallet address in their respective boxes and click on send
once you're done. To receive, you'll have to copy your wallet address, which
can be done by clicking on the icon on the far right of your dashboard. Once it
has been copied, send it to the person who wants to send you Monero.
INSTALLING THE OFFICIAL MONERO WALLET
This option is one that applies to people with large amount of
funds. If you are having huge amounts of Monero, it's best that you download
the official Monero wallet software. How do you go about this you might ask?
Well, we have explained, in detail, the way which you can go about this.
The first thing you'll need to do is go to
getmonero.org/downloads. On the download page, select your operating system and
download the software version that meets your operating system specs.
The file will be downloaded as a compressed file. Once the
download is complete, decompress it in a folder. When you decompress it, you'll
get quite a few Monero-related programs. Most times, you'll basically need to
make use of just two programs of all the programs in the compressed file. These
two programs are
Monero-Wallet-CLI and MoneroD.
The next step now is to run the MoneroD program. The MoneroD
program will connect to the Monero network via your computer and download the
whole blockchain. Even with a good network, the download of the entire
blockchain can take over fifteen hours. You'll also need to have at least
fifteen to twenty gigabytes of free space on your hard drive.
Once the download is complete, you'll get a green notification
that says SYNCHRONIZED OK. This simply means that your computer has now been
synced with the blockchain and your wallet is now ready to be used. The next
thing now is to run the second program, the Monero-Wallet-CLI. This program
will be used to create a wallet. Running the program, you'll be prompted to
give your wallet a name and password. Once you've done this, you'll get your
wallet address as well as your private key (mnemonic seed).
SUMMARY
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