Checking your crypto wallet balance should be a simple and straightforward process.
As an enthusiastic cryptopreneur, am sure you’re probably familiar with crypto wallets and why you need them for digital asset security.
You may not fully understand why knowing your wallet crypto balance is essential for your digital assets.
Cryptocurrency wallets are designed to securely enable you to store, send and receive coin and digital assets.
Therefore, software wallet is programmed to manage the private keys required to access a crypto address for completing transactions.
Additionally, these wallets can keep your digital funds safe, while also helping you manage transactions efficiently.
Considering to always check crypto wallet balance most of the time is crucial for managing your digital assets.
In this guide, we will explore why it’s necessary to know the balance in your digital wallets, and how to actually check the wallet balance.
Let’s dive in…
How to check crypto wallet balance
Firstly, you need to understand how to operate the crypto wallet you use, otherwise, you’ll not be able to do the balance check.
However, it’s important to know that the easiest way to check your crypto wallet balance is by using the public key.
Follow these simple steps to check your crypto wallet balance:
- Visit the crypto chain explorer website (e.g. Etherscan or BscScan)
- Enter the public key manually or scan the QR-code in the search bar
- Click on the ‘Search’ button to access your wallet’s information
- Explore the wallet details displayed, including transaction history
- Check and verify that your crypto wallet balance is correct.
The chain explorer will scan the whole transaction history on your crypto wallet address to determine the unspent amount remaining.
Understanding crypto wallet balance
A cryptocurrency wallet balance is represention the total amount of digital currency that is remaining in your possession as at the time.
It is the sum of all the unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) associated with your wallet’s addresses.
These UTXOs are essentially the what you receive after every Bitcoin transaction.
Every cryptocurrency transaction creates new UTXOs, and your wallet balance will be the sum of all these UTXOs.
Checking your crypto wallet balance regularly is crucial to ensure that you have sufficient funds for transactions.
This is also a way to check your digital assets and how they’re performing in your wallet.
Types of cryptocurrency wallets
Buying a digital asset means you need somewhere to store it, and that is where knowing the type of crypto wallet to use comes into play.
In the cryptocurrency ecosystem, we have 3 types of wallets, and they are;
- Cold wallets
- Hot wallets
- Online wallet
- Paper wallets.
Let’s understand the different types of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency wallets you can choose from to store your BTC investment.
Cold wallets
A cold wallet is the type of cryptocurrency wallet that doesn’t need internet connection to store your assets.
Basically, cold wallets are hardware devices built specifically for storing digital currency or assets in offline.
It means that the probability of it being hacked or compromised is drastically lowered, as your private keys are generated in offline.
Cold wallets like the Ledger wallet devices company can be accessed using compatible app like the Trust Wallet to check your crypto balance.
This makes them far more secure than hot wallets, and an ideal choice for storing crypto-coins for a long time.
Hot wallets
Unlike the cold wallets, hot wallets require internet connection to store your digital assets and balance checking.
This type of wallet generate private keys which is necessary for you to access the assets in online mode.
This in particular makes it potentially vulnerable to external attacks and hacking attempts.
Although hot wallets are beginner friendly, the fact that they always need internet means they carry a potential security risk.
This wallet type is strategically useful for just holding a crypto asset for quick access, but not good for larger sums of funds.
Beginners trying their hand at cryptocurrency may opt for these wallets, but it’s not good for keeping digital assets for the long-term.
Paper wallet
A paper wallet is also a secure type of cold storage for storing your crypto investment as a cryptopreneur.
A paper wallet is sort of crypto wallet that doesn’t need internet connection, because the necessary user access data is stored on a piece of paper.
There are open-source websites that generate paper wallet keys without internet for free.
All you need to carry out a transaction or check cryptocurrency wallet balance is using your either your private or public keys generated.
How do I check BTC wallet balance?
To check your Bitcoin wallet balance, you will need your BTC wallet address.
Then use a blockchain explorer tool to search for your address, so it will show you all the transaction history with the current balance.
How can I check ETH wallet balance?
It’s easy to check Ethereum wallet balance and transaction history on an Ethereum blockchain explorer like; Etherscan or Ethplorer.
All you’ll do is search your public Ethereum address, which is the 42 character string beginning with ‘0x’.
Can I check crypto wallet balance on Binance with a Blockchain explorer?
Yes, you can use blockchain explorers to check crypto wallet address for your balance.
How do I find my Binance wallet address?
To find Binance wallet address, you can go to the ‘Wallet’ section, select ‘Fiat and Spot’, then choose the cryptocurrency you want to deposit, select the specific network, and copy the address or scan the QR code.
Final thoughts
Generally, checking digital currency balance in cold storage wallets can be confusing and difficult for most beginners.
It’s because the wallet device or paper has to be physically present, so you can use the keys to check your cryptocurrency balance.
Meanwhile, checking your crypto balance on a hot wallet may be faster, but the security is very weak compared to an offline wallet.
In that case, the best strategy for storing crypto assets like Bitcoin should be to use offline wallets, especially you intend to keep it for a long-term purposes.
