With the Coinkite debacle regarding the shutdown of their web wallet services, many Bitcoin users are starting to look for alternatives. However, they continue to do so in the form of centralized wallet services, rather than taking full control over their coins at all times. Some people will only learn the hard way, by the look of things.
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Web Wallets Are Not A Great Tool
A recent post on Reddit mentions how former Coinkite users are looking for web wallet alternatives. Even though most people are well aware this is the same as giving up the financial control bestowed upon us by the Bitcoin protocol itself, it remains one of the most preferred solutions.
A web wallet with an onion address would, in theory, provide more privacy and anonymity to Bitcoin users. However, one user argued how onion addresses are not in the true spirit of anonymity. Then again, there is no such thing as anonymity in the Bitcoin world to begin with, nor should there be. More privacy wouldn’t hurt, though.
In the end, using a Bitcoin web wallet is the same as using a bank account and giving the institution full control over user funds. The illusion might be there of users controlling their own funds, as they are the ones who “own” the money in the first place. But reality will quickly tell them that, if something would occur with the service, funds could end up being lost forever.
With the wide variety of Bitcoin wallet solutions available, it seems rather strange anyone would want to use a web wallet. Granted, it is rather convenient at times, but only for a slong as the service can remain online. Additionally, not all Bitcoin web wallet providers are publicly sharing details as to who runs the service, making it all but impossible to recover lost funds if the service would disappear.
Bitcoin users have to be more careful as to where and how they store their coins, that much is certain. Web wallets are an interesting service, but should never be trusted with more money than people can afford to lose. The same can be said for exchange wallets, as the user is never in full control of their funds in that situation either.
Source: Reddit
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