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The Exodus wallet is an all-in-one application that lets users secure, exchange and manage their blockchain assets. A multi-asset wallet for the desktop that has ShapeShift built right into it, Exodus is the very first of its kind.
How Did Exodus Begin?
Exodus was started in 2015 by JP Richardson and Daniel Castagnoli, both of whom were passionate about blockchain development. Richardson is now the chief technical officer.
He has written code that is used by most crypto and Bitcoin software on the web and impressively has published more than 200 different open-source libraries.
Today, Castagnoli is the chief creative officer, creating the warm and trusted user experience on Exodus. In the past, he has designed various experiences for big names like Nike, Apple, Disney, BMW, and Louis Vuitton.
What Problem Does Exodus Solve?
Richardson and Castagnoli see a problem with blockchain assets since they are still relatively young and new, as well as fragmented. When people buy a cryptocurrency, they miss out on other opportunities.
The team also sees a problem with the lack of information most people have, since to diversify with crypto you need to learn more about wallets, seeds, keys, mining fees, blockchain technology, and cold storage, among other things.
The result, in the mind of the Exodus team, is that you lose control of your identity, money, and privacy. It can also be incredibly overwhelming as users struggle to learn everything.
They created Exodus to bring power back to the user, so you control your assets. With Exodus, there is no institutional oversight, brokers or banks in charge.
Is the Exodus Wallet Easy to Use?
The team behind Exodus has worked hard to create a user-friendly platform that is beautiful to look at and intuitive to use. The wallet combines solid engineering with a beautiful design unlike the boring interfaces found on most other options.
Even with its beauty, the exchange is incredibly easy to use; it was designed to appeal to even those who have never previously used an exchange.
The wallet avoids using things like technical jargon that newcomers will not understand, instead focusing on terms that are familiar and offering additional explanations when necessary. According to Exodus, the design team took the utmost care down to the last pixel to create a beautiful and hassle-free user experience.
What Platforms Does Exodus Offer?
There are versions of the Exodus desktop wallet available for Windows and Mac as well as Linux. You can download the version you need by clicking on the “Download” link on the Exodus home page.
At the moment, there is no Exodus application for mobile devices. The future roadmap does include additional platforms, including versions for Apple iOS and Android, but these are not yet available.
The current status of Exodus as a desktop-only application is purposeful on the part of the team. They knew that the majority of users managing and exchanging large quantities of assets prefer desktop platforms just because of the quantities involved and added features available.
Being a desktop platform also allows for additional security measures such as two-factor authentication and secure key signing. At the moment, instead of working to launch mobile applications, Exodus is focusing on adding features to the desktop platform.
It has listened to users who agree that this is the ideal way to proceed. It does, however, say that a mobile application is inevitable.
What Information Does the Wallet Show?
The Exodus wallet is probably the most important feature of the platform for the average user and the main focus of most reviews. The Exodus wallet is visually appealing and well organized, showing you your coin balances for all cryptocurrencies.
You can also view and monitor transactions or use the wallet to send and receive funds. For added functionality, the wallet offers filters for transactions such as “exchanged,” “sent” and “received.
The portfolio page of your wallet will show you a higher-level overview of the holdings you have in your account. You will see the total value in the center of the screen, surrounded by a circle that acts as a pie chart that distributes your total value into percentages based on the asset type.
Below this circle, you will find each asset listed, also in a visually appealing manner, including the name, percentage of your total account value and the equivalent amount of that currency in dollars.
If you want to send or receive cryptocurrency, you should go to your Exodus wallet page. Sending is as simple as selecting your asset and quantity, entering the recipient’s address and hitting “Send.”
If you want to receive funds, click on the asset to receive. From there, your address for that cryptocurrency will appear automatically so you can give it to the person sending you money.
What Does Exodus’s ShapeShift Integration Do?
A key feature of the Exodus wallet is that it already includes integration with ShapeShift, the respected cryptocurrency exchange. Because of this integration, you have the ability to use your Exodus wallet to directly swap coins without having to use a separate exchange.
This eliminates the hassle associated with creating an account on a cryptocurrency exchange, depositing coins into it and waiting for your new funds to arrive.
When you take advantage of the ShapeShift integration on the “Exchange” page, you will see clear labels as to which currency you are exchanging and which you will receive. You select the appropriate currencies from a drop-down menu and can then enter the amount you wish to exchange.
Once you enter the amount to exchange in a cryptocurrency, the field for the quantity to receive automatic updates in the currency to receive. Below both the crypto values (exchange and receive), you will see an estimate of the equivalent value in USD.
This particular feature can be incredibly helpful to those who are just beginning with cryptocurrency and do not yet have a feel for their values.
In the lower middle of the page, you see a quick summary of your exchange that says “You are exchanging” followed by the quantity and currency then “You will receive” with the relevant quantity and currency.
Below this is the “Exchange” button to begin the transaction, and below that is the spread for the transaction.
Users appreciate the fact that the information is repeated on the page in two different locations, so you are confident that you have correctly set up your exchange.
How Does Exodus Offer Personalization?
When using the Exodus wallet, users have their choice of multiple customization features. You can select a customized theme or stick to one of the preset options such as traditional grays or more vibrant colors.
What Cryptocurrencies Does Exodus Support?
As a platform with the goal of letting users manage their wealth in a single application, Exodus provides support for a long list of cryptocurrencies. The main currencies supported include Bitcoin, Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Dash, Litecoin, Vertcoin, and Decred.
The platform also supports a list of Ethereum-powered asset tokens including Wings, WeTrust, Status, Storj, SingularDTV, SALT, OmiseGo, Numeraire, Metal, Matchpool, iExec RLC, Golem, Gnosis, FunFair, FirstBlood, Edgeless, EOS, District0x, Civic, Bancor, the Basic Attention Token (BAT), Augur, Aragon and 0x.
What Fees Does Exodus Charge?
Exodus does charge fees for transactions, but these are small. The only fees you get charged during a transaction are the small fees that the network charges to ensure quick and reliable delivery.
These small fees are a part of all digital asset networks to prevent people from spamming them with transactions and slowing down the experience.
Generally speaking, higher fees tend to come from more popular and, therefore, more crowded networks. The perfect example is Bitcoin, which is the most popular of all networks and has the highest fees of any crypto on Exodus.
To stay up to do date with fees, Exodus tracks them constantly with the dynamic pricing model. All of the fees go right to the networks.
The fees Bitcoin charges for a transaction depend on current network traffic, as well as the size of the transaction in bytes, not the amount of crypto sent. The size depends on outputs and inputs. By contrast, Ethereum calculates fees based on the transaction type.
Since Exodus does not charge fees from its transactions, it makes money instead via the exchanges themselves. It will take a small part of the spread from the major asset exchange. In most cases, this is between 1 and 3 percent, a figure that is on par with the fees charged by other exchanges.
What Information Does Exodus Provide for Exchanging and Managing Crypto?
Exodus includes live charts that let you track your portfolio’s value in real-time, even as the market conditions change. At any given moment, you can also view the status of each cryptocurrency supported by Exodus on the “Status” page.
There, you will find color-coded circles for Send, Receive and Exchange, plus any details such as “Fully operational.” At the time of writing, every digital asset was fully operational, which is exactly what users want to see since it indicates reliability in the platform. If you want, you can also view the past status updates at the bottom of the same page.
How Does Exodus Provide Security?
To help users protect their accounts, Exodus encrypts both transaction data and private keys so only you can see them. There is no extra setup necessary to take advantage of the privacy you get with Exodus.
A downside of Exodus is that the platform is not open source, which leads to low levels of transparency. Additionally, there is a great deal of criticism for Exodus’s lack of support for two-factor authentication.
You should also note that Exodus advises against storing large quantities in your Exodus wallet because your assets will only be as safe as your computer. Instead, it suggests opting for a multi-signature wallet if you have large quantities of blockchain assets.
It is important to note that all of your blockchain assets are encrypted by Exodus then stored right on your computer, ensuring they are under your complete control. For safety, there is a backup system as well in case of computer failure, but no keys are ever stored on the Exodus servers.
In the event of situations where you must restore your account or lose your computer, Exodus has a few set security options in place. A simple method is requesting a one-click email restore system.
This will utilize an email that you received when you first set up your account. Find the original email that has a backup link. Click on the link in question, then enter your password.
Additionally, if you cannot get to your email or have forgotten your password, you can restore access to your account with the 12-word passphrase you received upon creating your account. Without this passphrase, however, you will not be able to get into your account, so be careful not to lose it.
What Is Exodus’s Customer Support Like?
Exodus provides plenty of informational materials and guidance for users, including an extensive question and answer section on its support page and videos teaching you how to use the platform. There is a 24/7 help desk that includes the resources users need to quickly resolve any issues, along with an online help desk.
Users of the Exodus wallet have plenty of praise for the customer support team, and reviews are overwhelmingly positive. Most users will find answers to their questions in the 100+ articles explaining the platform, troubleshooting and more. Many of the articles are complemented by videos.
Reviewers typically say that when they contacted the support team over email, the tickets were answered promptly and issues were resolved in a similarly quick manner.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a cryptocurrency wallet with a sleek and user-friendly interface, you should definitely consider the Exodus wallet. The charting tools are useful and the platform lets you easily visualize your account.
The system was set up for beginners, making it intuitive to use, and lets you access a nice range of cryptocurrency assets. The built-in ShapeShift integration is also a useful tool.
The only downsides of Exodus wallet are that it is still relatively new and some people may want support for additional cryptocurrencies. Most portfolio builders and traders, however, will be more than satisfied with the platform.