What Is MyMonero? How to Create a New Monero Wallet With MyMonero
If you’re looking to get started with Monero, you have a few different wallet options. The official Monero wallet is often touted as the best and it’s hard to disagree, but there is an excellent lightweight alternative available to XMR users.
MyMonero is a lightweight, open-source Monero wallet that you can download or use through a web app. It’s easy to use, has a decent set of features, and is worth a shout out to anyone who uses Monero.
What is MyMonero?
MyMonero is a convenient, open-source monero wallet (for storing the Monero cryptocurrency) that you can download on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, or use via a web wallet — that covers all the bases. You can find the individual download links on the MyMonero Github page linked below.
Downloads: MyMonero for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS (all free)
What features does MyMonero have?
The development of MyMonero started in 2014 and since then it has steadily added new features.
One of MyMonero’s best features is its lightweight design. You download MyMonero, create or import a wallet and you’re good to go. You don’t need to download a full version of the Monero blockchain to act as a network node, as MyMonero acts as a “lightweight” node. In doing so, MyMonero acts like an intermediary between you and the blockchain (which wallet doesn’t?!), but its simple interface makes it easy to use.
MyMonero comes with a handy built-in Rolodex where you can keep frequently used addresses, payment IDs, etc. It also supports the OpenAlias project, which aims to help simplify the crypto sending process for Monero.
Another useful MyMonero feature is the built-in XMR to BTC exchange called ChangeNow. You won’t get the absolute best rate with this fixed-price exchange tool, but you will definitely get the exact price that is stated in the exchange box. The exchange tool sends your output bitcoin to a separate address, so make sure you have a ready-to-use destination bitcoin address.
Is MyMonero safe?
MyMonero is a secure wallet, but it could improve in one or two areas.
First of all, the common misconception is that MyMonero stores your private wallet key on its servers. That’s not the case. If this were the case, your XMR could be stolen. This does not suggest that the MyMonero team would ever do that as it would immediately ruin their reputation. The confusion stems from the view key, which is absolutely uploaded to the MyMonero server — otherwise, the app wouldn’t be able to view and interact with the Monero blockchain on your behalf. So your private keys and your issued keys never leave your computer and stay on the client side at all times.
Now, where MyMonero could improve security is by introducing proper two-factor authentication. The wallet has an auto-lock feature that requires a PIN, which is fine but not ideal.
The mymoṇero.com scam
Did you notice anything in the URL above? Anything different in the caption? The observant will have spotted the dot under the “ṇ,” something that can snare users through something known as URL spoofing.
Before 2009, URLs could only use the Latin letters a through z with no accents, glyphs, or other symbols. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a non-profit organization that maintains vital databases essential to the functioning of the Internet, changed this system. As a result, Internet users can now register URLs with a variety of alternative scripts, including Greek, Cyrillic, and Chinese, as well as accented Latin characters and more.
The change allowed scammers to use letters mimicking the URL you would expect, and for a while scammers used the “mymoṇero” URL with a diacritic to scam Monero users looking for the real MyMonero wallet searched. Thankfully, the mymoṇero fake URL is long dead, but it shows you need to be vigilant when downloading from cryptocurrency wallets.
How to create a new Monero wallet with MyMonero
Now that you know a little bit about MyMonero, you can create a new XMR wallet. If you haven’t already, go back to the top of the article and use the download link to download the latest version of MyMonero. After downloading and installing, you can proceed.
- Open MyMonero and select the blue plus icon in the top right corner.
- Choose Create a new wallet.
- Add a wallet name and choose a wallet color if you like. The default is gray.
- Select on the next screen I have it! to confirm that you have read the notes.
- Now you need to write down the mnemonic phrase that appears. Copy this sentence to a safe place it is vital. If you lose your wallet or want to transfer it to another app, here’s what you need to restore or restore it. Besides, you should Never share your mnemonic phrase with anyone as they can use it to restore your wallet in another app and steal your XMR.
- Next, you need to check your mnemonics by typing the first seven words in the correct order.
- Once you’re done, your shiny new Monero wallet is ready to go!
How to import a Monero wallet to MyMonero
You can also import XMR wallets from other Monero wallets to MyMonero.
- Open MyMonero and select the blue plus icon in the top right corner.
- Choose Use existing wallet.
- Now you need to copy the mnemonic phrase from your existing wallet and paste it into MyMonero. Select alternative address and private keys to use this information to import your wallet.
- Add a name and choose a color.
Is MyMonero the best Monero wallet?
I’m a big fan of MyMonero. It’s lightweight, incredibly easy to use, and doesn’t require you to download the full Monero blockchain for the best user experience.
Still, the absolute best wallet is the official Monero wallet that comes with a command line or graphical user interface. However, as above, for the best user experience, you should download a full version of the XMR blockchain in the official wallet, which at over 100 GB requires time and storage space that some users simply don’t have.
If that sounds like you, MyMonero has a great reputation for a secure Monero wallet.