What is Wirex Wallet?
Different wallets have been created or launched for different purposes. Basically, all crypto wallets can receive and send out crypto assets. However, these wallets usually have selling points that are used to invite potential users to their platforms. Wirex is, however, not an exemption to this rule.
Wirex Wallet was launched in the early days of crypto adoption, 2014 and owned by Pavel Matveev and his co-founders. Wirex is basically a Crypto wallet that is equipped with all the basic features of a basic wallet. These basic features include receiving crypto assets, storing the assets and sending them out.
Additionally, Wirex is not only a crypto wallet. It is blessed with loads of other enticing features that have drawn its large number of users over the years. One of its numerous features is the Wirex Card. Wirex cards function like most bank cards. When users make expenses using the card, the crypto in their Wirex account is deducted. To invite users to utilize the Wirex Card, they run a promo of 8% crypto back to users.
Also, Wirex Wallet allows its users to do cross-chain swaps. One reason why this is possible is because the wallet provides support for multiple Blockchains. You can use the Wirex wallet as your one wallet for major crypto transactions and swaps.
Users of Wirex Wallet can also earn passively on the app. You earn by putting your funds or assets into the. Wirex X accounts or DUOs.
The Wirex Wallet is equipped with many other features apart from the ones introduced above, which will be discussed in the later part of this piece. These features, including its user-friendly interface, have been one of the reasons why it is growing in user base and popularity.
Getting Started with Wirex Wallet
Setting up a Wirex Wallet is not really a big deal. The app is available for all devices, including Apple and Android. You can simply download and install by visiting your device’s app store and searching for “Wirex app,” and it will show up. Also, Wirex is available for the web version. You can also access the wallet from any browser on your desktop and your phone. To set up Wirex Wallet on both your mobile and web devices, kindly follow the steps below;
Setting Up on Mobile Application
1. Download the App: This is the first step to use this wallet. As stated above, go to your device’s app store and download/install the application. Once downloaded, tap on the app to open so you can start your setup process.
2. Create New Wallet: When the app opens up and you have an existing account, tap on the “I already have a wallet” button and enter your registered email address to login back to your existing account. Otherwise, tap on the “Create New Wallet” button to create a new account.
3. Enter Your Email Address: To start the signup process, enter your valid email address and proceed.
4. Enter OTP: If you entered a valid email as discussed above, a one-time pin (OTP) will be sent to the email address. Open your email inbox, and you will find it there.
5. Verify Your Identity: As a security measure, you will need to verify you are the one carrying out the signup action on your mobile device with your fingerprint.
At the completion of the last step above, your Wirex Wallet will be available to use immediately.
Setting Up on the Web Version
The process of setting up Wirex Wallet on mobile is quite different from the web version. To set up on the web version, kindly follow the steps below;
1. Visit Wirex Website: Please ensure you are visiting the official Wirex website. This is very crucial because there are lots of fake Wirex websites that scammers create to defraud unsuspecting internet users of their hard-earned crypto assets.
2. Join Wirex: If the website successfully opens on your browser, you can either log in if you have an existing account with Wirex or sign up otherwise. If you have an existing account, click on the “sign in” button at the top right corner of the website’s homepage. If you are, however, creating a new account, click on the “Join Wirex” button at the extreme top right corner of the website and proceed.
3. Enter Your Details: To proceed with the account creation process, you must enter your details. The details include your country of residence or origin, your email address and a secured password. Enter your correct details and check the terms and conditions button, then click on the “Continue” button.
4. Verify Your Email Address: If you enter your valid email address, a verification link will be sent to it. Open your email inbox and click on the “Confirm Email” button to verify.
5. Enter Your Home Address: When you successfully verified your email address by clicking the verification link, the next page that will show up will require you to enter your home address. The home address should correspond with the address you have on your documents. This is crucial because your KYC might not pull through if the data are different.
6. Enter Your Name and DOB: After you have entered your house address, you will need to enter your name, date of birth(DOB), and your nationality as it appears on your government-issued document.
7. Enter Your Mobile Number: You must verify your mobile number before completing your signup process. Enter your phone number and proceed. An OTP will be sent to your phone number afterward. Enter the OTP appropriately to proceed.
8. Verify Your Account: Next, after successfully verifying your mobile number, verify your documents. This is the last step involved in order to use the web version of the Wirex account. Click on the “Verify my account” button and start the verification process.
Important: Wirex Wallet does not use private keys or passphrases to secure its user’s accounts. Instead, users need only their registered email address and fingerprint to sign in. You must use a very secured email address to open your Wirex account and back it up securely to start using.
Cryptocurrencies Supported by Wirex Wallet
If you are seeking a crypto wallet to use for your daily crypto transactions, then Wirex Wallet is a good choice to consider. The wallet provides support for more than forty(40) different cryptos across multiple blockchains and protocols. Some of the supported cryptos are contained in the table below;
Number | Cryptocurrencies | Send/Receive | Exchange/Swap |
1 | Wirex Token (WXT) | ✓ | ✓ |
2 | Stellar Lumens (XLM) | ✓ | ✓ |
3 | Nano (XNO) | ✓ | ✓ |
4 | Waves (WAVES) | ✓ | ✓ |
5 | Solana (SOL) | ✓ | ✓ |
6 | Tez (XTZ) | ✓ | ✓ |
7 | EOS (EOS) | ✓ | ✓ |
8 | Polkadot (DOT) | ✓ | ✓ |
9 | Chiliz (CHZ) | ✓ | ✓ |
10 | Polygon (MATIC) | ✓ | ✓ |
11 | Axie (AXS) | ✓ | ✓ |
12 | Avalanche (AVAX) | ✓ | ✓ |
13 | Bitcoin Cash (BCH) | ✓ | ✓ |
14 | Golem (GLM) | ✓ | ✓ |
15 | IOSToken (IOST) | ✓ | ✓ |
16 | Status Network Token (SNT) | ✓ | ✓ |
17 | Graph Token (GRT) | ✓ | ✓ |
18 | Quant (QNT) | ✓ | ✓ |
19 | The Sandbox (SAND) | ✓ | ✓ |
20 | Decentraland (MANA) | ✓ | ✓ |
21 | Bitcoin (BTC) | ✓ | ✓ |
22 | Litecoin (LTC) | ✓ | ✓ |
23 | Ether (ETH) | ✓ | ✓ |
24 | Ripple (XRP) | ✓ | ✓ |
25 | Ada (ADA) | ✓ | ✓ |
26 | Dogecoin (DOGE) | ✓ | ✓ |
27 | Aave (AAVE) | ✓ | ✓ |
28 | Maker (MKR) | ✓ | ✓ |
29 | Chainlink (LINK) | ✓ | ✓ |
30 | Universal Market Access (UMA) | ✓ | ✓ |
31 | OmiseGo (OMG) | ✓ | ✓ |
32 | Basic Attention Token (BAT) | ✓ | ✓ |
33 | OX (ZRX) | ✓ | ✓ |
34 | Synthetic (SNX) | ✓ | ✓ |
35 | FTX Token (FTT) | ✓ | ✓ |
36 | Yearn.finance (YFI) | ✓ | ✓ |
37 | Uniswap (UNI) | ✓ | ✓ |
38 | Loopring (LRC) | ✓ | ✓ |
39 | Kyper Network Crystals (KNC) | ✓ | ✓ |
40 | Curve (CRV) | ✓ | ✓ |
41 | Compound (COMP) | ✓ | ✓ |
42 | SushiSwap (SUSHI) | ✓ | ✓ |
43 | 1inch (1INCH) | ✓ | ✓ |
44 | Reputation Token (REP) | ✓ | ✓ |
45 | Bancor Network Token (BNT) | ✓ | ✓ |
46 | Balancer (BAL) | ✓ | ✓ |
47 | Dai (DAI) | ✓ | ✓ |
48 | USD Coin (USDC) | ✓ | ✓ |
49 | Tether (USDT) | ✓ | ✓ |
50 | XSGD (XSGD) | ✓ | ✓ |
51 | Pax Dollar (USDP) | ✓ | ✓ |
52 | TrueUSD (TUSD) | ✓ | ✓ |
53 | Stasis Euro (EURS) | ✓ | ✓ |
54 | Atom (ATOM) | ✓ | ✓ |
55 | Enjin Coin (ENJ) | ✓ | ✓ |
56 | Orchid (OXT) | ✓ | ✓ |
57 | Kusama (KSM) | ✓ | ✓ |
58 | Shiba Inu (SHIB) | ✓ | ✓ |
Wirex Wallet Keys and Security
Private Keys are very crucial aspects of most crypto wallets. It is an alphanumeric security protocol used to secure crypto wallets. Only the owners or users of the wallet have access to the private keys, and they cannot be shared with other people as public keys.
However, Wirex Wallet does not make use of private keys to protect or grant access to users. Instead, it makes use of the user’s fingerprint and a paper QR Code to grant access to the user’s account.
Other Wirex Wallet Features
In addition to being just a crypto wallet, Wirex Wallet is endowed with some of the industry standard features, which sets it outstanding from some of its competitors in the industry. Some of the features include;
Wirex Card
If you are a Wirex user and do not wish to use your bank cards for online and offline transactions, then Wirex provides another option for you. Wirex offers its multiple users a Visa-powered debit card. With the Wirex card, you can do your transactions in all the locations in the world where Visa cards are accepted.
When you do transactions with your Wirex card, the crypto balance in your account is deducted immediately.
There are several benefits attached to the use of your Wirex Card. Some of the benefits include;
1. Cryptoback: This is one of the major benefits that users of Wirex Wallet enjoy. If you make a purchase with your Wirex card at any ATM or supermarket worldwide, 8% of your expenditure will be returned immediately to your Wirex account. This is a very innovative promo, and the results have been evident in the increasing number of Wirex users.
2. Zero Fees: Using the Wirex card does not attract any form or fee. No annual fees, withdrawal or exchange fee. The card is extremely free to use.
3. Wide Acceptance: The Wirex card is a Visa-powered card, and it’s widely accepted in over 40 million outlets worldwide.
In-App Crypto Purchase
Buying crypto from a legit and secured platform has been one of the major challenges crypto enthusiasts have been facing since the beginning of crypto adoption.
A lot of people have been scammed of their money while trying to buy crypto from shady P2P exchanges. Wirex’s crypto purchase feature has brought a solution to buyers who intend to buy crypto securely.
However, Wirex users must be fully verified with their government documents to be able to make crypto purchases.
To use the crypto in-app purchase feature on your Wirex app, kindly follow the steps below;
- Open your app
- Tap on the “actions” button
- Next, tap on the “Buy” button
- Enter the amount you want to buy in your local currency
- Tap on the “Buy” button at the bottom of the page to complete
Instant Crypto Exchange
In addition to all the features that Wirex Wallet offers to its numerous users, it is an instant crypto exchange. This exchange helps users to conveniently swap their coins for another one or fiat. As a user, you can swap coins from one particular Blockchain into another. This is because Wirex is a multi-chain crypto wallet.
Also, this feature is not only available to users who swap crypto for crypto. It also allows users to sell their crypto assets for fiat currencies in their local bank accounts.
It is also interesting to state that swapping on the Wirex platform attracts no fees. It’s zero fees to swap your crypto for another crypto or sell your crypto for fiat.
The Wirex app uses multiple liquidity providers to provide users with competitive industry standard rates for trading their crypto. Also, if any trade will attract any fee, it will be shown before the completion of the transaction. To swap your coins using the Wirex app, kindly follow the steps below;
1. Open your Wirex application
2. Tap on the “Actions” button at the bottom of the page
3. Tap on “swap”
4. Select any of your preferred exchange services-Cross-chain or same Blockchain
5. Select the coins you want to swap between and the volume, then proceed to complete the transaction.
Wirex Earn
Wirex seems to be a home for all crypto wallets. The wallet also gives its users the opportunity to earn passively by staking their coins. Wirex Wallet runs two (2) types of programs for this purpose. The two earn programs are Wirex-X and DUO accounts.
The Wirex X accounts are an earning program launched by Wirex. The model looks similar to a staking program but with some dissimilarities with it. Investing in the Wirex X earning program involves users opening a separate dedicated X account on the Wirex platform and depositing their crypto assets there to start earning.
The Wirex X programs pay as high as 20% return on investment (ROI) on some crypto assets. For instance, if you’re investing Bitcoin in the program as of September 26, 2023, the annual ROI stands at 16%, while Ethereum is 20% for the same period.
Secondly, DUO is also an earning program launched by the Wirex team, but the model is very different from Wirex X. Staking on the Wirex DUO program involves staking a pair of coins. For instance, you will need to either stake Bitcoin and Ethereum, Bitcoin and Litecoin or any supported pair.
Wirex DUO programs offer up to 400% APY on some pairs. However, the ROI depends solely on the timeframe set for the staking. The time usually ranges from one to twelve months.
Wirex Wallet Usability and Support
Wirex Wallet was built with simplicity in mind. Creating or setting up an account does not require much stress. You can basically create an account within 5 minutes.
In addition to its simple signup steps, the wallet has a very friendly user interface. Both the website and the app are well-labeled, which makes navigating around them easy for both new and old crypto users. Swapping and exchanging crypto assets on the platform is very easy on both the app and web versions of the wallet.
Also, for users who might need help with any of Wirex’s services or need some information, there’s a support page on their website where you can lodge your complaints, and they will be attended to in no time.
Wirex Wallet Reputation and Popularity
Since the inception of Wirex Wallet in 2014, it has maintained a very good reputation. And this is evident in the number of its user base. The wallet boasts over 6 million users worldwide.
Also, Wirex Wallet has not been involved in any controversial reports or any case of hacking since its inception. Additionally, the owners and the team behind Wirex have also maintained a similarly good reputation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Wirex Wallet stands as a versatile and feature-rich cryptocurrency wallet that has successfully balanced the trifecta of security, simplicity, and user-friendliness.
First and foremost, Wirex offers a robust set of security features, substituting traditional private keys with user fingerprints and QR codes for account access. While unconventional, this approach adds an extra layer of security. Moreover, the wallet has not suffered any significant security breaches since its establishment in 2014, bolstering its credibility.
In terms of simplicity and usability, Wirex shines brightly. The setup process is straightforward, taking only a few minutes whether you’re on a mobile device or the web. The user-friendly interface enhances the overall experience, making it accessible even for newcomers to the crypto space.
Wirex Wallet Pros and Cons
Even if Wirex Wallet is a good choice of wallet when it comes to simplicity and security, there are also some areas lacking. Below are some of its Pros and Cons;
Pros | Cons |
Supports multiple crypto | Limited fiat currency |
Offers varieties of features | Slow customer service replies |
It is easy to use | Not available in all countries |
It is secure to use | |
Relatively low fees |