Segwit (Segregated Witness) is an upgrade to the Bitcoin protocol, which separates the digital signature (witness) from the transaction. It was developed by a developer named Pieter Wiulle in 2015. Let us understand Segregated Witness in an easier way.
As we know, the Bitcoin transactions are written on a bundle of blocks called blockchain, where the blocks are limited to a capacity up to 1 Mb, which enables Bitcoin to accommodate around 2700 transactions per block. This creates a problem during price rallies when there is a long queue of users. Here’s where Segwit comes into play. Segwit blocks are larger blocks, up to 4 Mb, as compared to non-segwit blocks, also known as legacy blocks, which consist of inputs, outputs, and signatures in 1 Mb. Segwit consists of a base transaction and an extended block (which consists of the witness or the digital signature). The witness data is left blank; hence it doesn’t take up additional space. It solves two critical problems:
Segwit solves other problems, apart from these two, like:
Ledger Nano S is considered as one of the best hardware wallets, which supports Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Ledger Nano enables you to sign transactions offline, allowing greater security for the funds, as your private keys are offline, and has no access to the internet. Both- Ledger Nano S and Ledger Nano X supports segwit and legacy transactions. Nano X is a newer model that is mobile compatible as well and is an HD segwit wallet.
Click here to access Ledger wallet
Trezor is another hardware wallet, that is being favored by the users in the crypto space. Trezor has two models- Trezor One and Trezor T, both of them support segwit and legacy transactions. Trezor supports many cryptocurrencies, which is continuously upgrading its technology for better user experience. It also has a custom fee feature, which enables the user to trade with ease and convenience.
Click here to access Trezor wallet
Exodus is one of the best desktop wallets, that has been liked by the users in the crypto space due to its intuitive and user-friendly design. Exodus supports more than 100 crypto assets, which is available for Mac, Linux, and Windows operating systems. Exodus supports both Segwit and legacy transactions. Exodus has a very active community, which keeps on innovating its technology to give the ultimate user experience. This is one of the best Ethereum segwit wallets.
Click here to access Exodus
Electrum is a lightweight, open-source Bitcoin wallet, that has been trusted amongst the cryptizens. The wallet offers various things like controlling fees, signing transactions and managing funds. It is both a mobile wallet and a desktop wallet, which enables the users to customize the Bitcoin transaction fees in both the versions of the wallet (Bitcoin segwit wallet). Electrum is available for Linux, Mac, Windows OS, and Android devices, hence considered one of the best segwit wallets Android.
Click here to access Electrum wallet
If you are an expert, who has used a paper wallet, then this segwit enabled paper wallet might be your favorite one. Paper wallets consist of a pair of public/private keys printed on it. If you are comfortable with a paper wallet, you can make your own paper wallet by going to segwitaddress.org (a segwit wallet address destination for the paper wallet). This might enable you to store and send cryptocurrencies without the use of the internet.
Click here to access Segwitaddress
Segwit wallets let you use less data as it separates the digital signature or witness from the base transaction.
Yes, Segwit wallets are backward compatible, and even works with Legacy transactions that are not segwit-enabled.
Segwit2x is a proposed compromise for the debate that happened in 2017, which suggested that Segwit will be activated as a first step, after which the block size will be increased to 2 Mb.
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