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Coinomi Wallet Review – A Mobile Wallet for Multiple Cryptocurrencies

August 28, 2017

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Coinomi is a cryptocurrency wallet with exchange functionality available on Android and coming soon to iOS. Not only is Coinomi secure, but it is open source, focuses on privacy, and allows nearly instant exchange between a number of different cryptocoins. Since installation is easy and setting up the wallet only takes minutes, it offers crypto enthusiasts a great way to store and exchange cryptocurrency.

With Coinomi, users can hold and exchange Bitcoin, altcoins, and tokens, without having to deal with annoying KYC regulations, as there is no registration process. With support for 278 altcoins and plans for further development, Coinomi is one of the most powerful multi-coin wallets on the market. Although other multi-coin wallets exist, Coinomi provides the greatest convenience, security, and features, all for the great price of free.

Coinomi Is NOT Open Source

Most people who are interested in cryptocurrency give preference to open source software, as they should. Coinomi was part of the open source software movement, allowing anyone to review their code. With peer review, any hidden code, malicious modules, or exploits would be easily identified. This ensures that users aren’t subject to any hidden malware that secretly benefits Coinomi or third parties.

However, it seems that about a year ago Coinomi moved their project to be closed source. This is not to say that their code isn’t good or malicious, but it does mean that you don’t get the same amount of protection or transparency as you do with open source.

Coinomi Offers Unparalleled Privacy

The biggest reason the Coinomi user base continues to expand is due to the enhanced privacy they offer with their service. Since most individuals who own cryptocurrency are searching for privacy first and foremost, it should be known that Coinomi does not collect any personal information AND it hides the IP address of its users in order to prevent prying eyes from gathering data on spending habits or transactions. Simply put, Coinomi does not provide information about its users to governments or third parties, an important consideration for nearly anyone involved in the cryptocurrency sphere.

Simply put, Coinomi does not provide information about its users to governments or third parties, an important consideration for nearly anyone involved in the cryptocurrency sphere.

The number one fear for anyone with a cryptocurrency wallet is whether or not others can easily access it. With Coinomi, individuals who have unauthorized access to a phone, still couldn’t access the funds contained in it, as they need a password to perform exchanges or withdrawals. In addition, users are provided with a password recovery phrase that they can use to reopen their wallet on another.

In addition, users are provided with a password recovery phrase that they can use to reopen their wallet on another device if they happen to lose their phone. In any case, there are no weak points of entry, if an attacker doesn’t have the password or the password recovery phrase.

Private Keys are stored on your mobile phone

Another common question has to do with private keys, more specifically, where are private keys stored? According to the FAQs on the Coinomi website, private keys stay on a user’s device, as this is a phone-based application, and not on Coinomi’s servers, so hacking Coinomi directly is a futile effort that wouldn’t amount to much.

Coinomi is what’s known as an HD wallet. This means that when you initially set it up you’ll get a recovery seed that will act as your backup. Make sure to write it down in a safe, private place.

What Happens If I Lose My Phone – Are My Coins Gone?

Phones have a tendency to end up destroyed, lost, or stolen. If a phone is stolen, a thief won’t be able to move funds from a Coinomi wallet or exchange currencies, unless they have the password. In any situation, Coinomi users can simply add their wallet to another phone by using the recovery seed.

Coinomi Allows For Nearly Instant Exchange

Coinomi is partnered directly with ShapeShift so exchanging cryptos quickly and on the fly is simple. Truthfully, anyone who doesn’t want to deal with traditional exchanges and the security hazards associated with them should consider using ShapeShift. With ShapeShift, exchanging coins really is as simple as tap, tap, done (you can read our Shapeshift review here). In addition, Coinomi does not charge any additional fees, making it one of the easiest and quickest way to exchange cryptos.

What Coins And Tokens Can Be Exchanged Through The Coinomi App?

As stated before, 278 cryptocurrencies are currently exchanged on Coinomi. In addition to bitcoin (SEGWIT, USAF, and BIP148 are supported), altcoins, and ether tokens can also be exchanged. In short, nearly any coin or token can be added to Coinomi so keep an eye out for new additions on a regular basis.

Coinomi Is User-Friendly

As crypto becomes more mainstream, user friendliness is a must of any app looking to excel in the industry. Coinomi has a beautiful interface that nearly anyone will be able to understand. There are only a few options, like exchange coins and add another coin to the wallet. Just click, click, and enter. At that point, users with any level of crypto experience should be able to exchange in and out of coins without any effort. In short, command line mastery is not required in order to use Coinomi.

Downloading The Coinomi App

Coinomi is available to Android phone users. Apple users should stay tuned, as the iOS version will be out soon.

Installing Coinomi is easy:

Click on Create New Wallet.

Users will now be presented with a recovery pass phrase. Copy down this pass phrase on a piece of paper, or better yet, multiple pieces of paper and store them all in secure locations. Do not share this recovery phrase with anyone, as this is the master key to enter the Coinomi wallet from any Android device. With this pass phrase, anyone will be able to access their wallet, even if they lose their phone.

After saving the password recovery phase, users will be prompted to confirm it.
Then, users will be prompted for a password. As with any password, be certain to use a wide range of numbers, letters, and symbols, the longer the better. While many experts recommend a password of at least 8 characters, even longer passwords are far more secure.
Next, users will be asked to select the cryptocurrencies they would like displayed in their wallet.

After that, users must agree to a legal disclaimer
That’s it!

At this point, users can freely trade coins and have full access to their wallet. The whole process literally takes 3 minutes.

What Others Are Saying About Coinomi?

According to posts on Reddit, Coinomi representatives are very responsive, claiming that they have “hundreds of thousands of happy users” and that they “have been around since 2014 and none of their phone-based wallets have been hacked or otherwise compromised.” According to users, this appears to be the case, as there aren’t many saying anything negative about their service.

Currently, Coinomi does not accept fiat currencies, debit, or credit cards. In other words, they don’t act like Coinbase, allowing users to enter the cryptocurrency space with fiat. However, all supported cryptocurrencies can be sent and received, simplifying the often complicated process of holding and trading cryptocurrency.

Important Security Concerns To Keep In Mind

As with nearly any application, the main points of failure all dwell around human error. Since the Coinomi app is built for security, any security concerns will rest directly on users:

Never give out the password or the recovery seed to anyone.
Always update to the newest version of Android when using Coinomi in order to offer the highest level of security.
Store the recovery pass phrase in a secure location in order to be able to access the wallet no matter what happens.

Conclusion – a great mobile wallet choice

The user friendliness of the Coinomi wallet, combined with unparalleled security is one piece of the puzzle when it comes to public adoption of bitcoin and altcoins. Since new users often aren’t comfortable trading on typical exchanges with numbers jumping around on both the ask and sell side, trading through Shapeshift simplifies the process tremendously. Anyone, even advanced users, would likely see the benefit of using the Coinomi wallet.

The only concern about Coinomi is the fact that it is no longer open source. However, there are many excellent wallets our there that aren’t open source as well (e.g. Exodus and Jaxx).