Many people who hold Bitcoin think of their wallet as a safe storage container for their funds, but that is not the case:
- As a Bitcoin owner you don't "store" Bitcoin on your hardware wallet -- you use it tostore your private keys
- Bitcoinsare actually the entries in the public database we refer to as theblockchain, so you can think ofyour funds as monetary amounts assigned to certain Bitcoin addresses
As explained in the Public & Private keys article, aprivate keyacts like a "password" that allows you to exchange ownership of Bitcoin funds on the blockchain, and a public keyidentifies the location of the Bitcoin you hold.
By using a Trezor hardware wallet, you do not have to worry about managing your public or private keys, and you can easily manage your crypto assets by usingTrezor Suite. Our application takes your complicated transaction data from the blockchain and presents it to you in an easy to read, intuitive format.
All you need to do in order to check your balance is connect your Trezor device, start Trezor Suite, and everything you need can be found under'My Accounts'
Using Bitcoin addresses
We recommend using your Trezor hardware wallet with ourTrezor Suitedesktop application to create and manage your Bitcoin addresses. Third-party walletscan also be used in conjunction with your Trezor device; they do not hold your private keys, but display balances and help you manage your transactions
Your private key is used to create a public key, which is theaddressof your wallet -- this is whereyour coinsare sent and received.
If you want toReceiveBitcoin, you must identify your receiving address.
- InTrezor Suite,this is done by choosing the account you want to receive to and clicking on the'Receive'tab
- There, you will find a list of all addresses you have previously generated, and a preview of the latest unused address will be shown
- Click on‘Show full address’and you will see the latest, unused receiving address
- Check andconfirm that each character of the address shown on your device matches what is shown on your screen, and then copy it and provide it to whomever is sending the transaction
If you want toSendBitcoin, you just need a receiving address provided by whomever is receiving the funds.
- Using Trezor Suite, simply navigate to the'Send'tab in your accounts, and enter the address you were supplied
- Double check that the charactersmatch the original address exactly
- Once an address is entered, simply say how much you wish to send and a fee you are willing to pay. A higher fee will encourage miners to give your transaction higher priority and it should complete faster.
