A bitcoin wallet is a service either online or offline that stores the private key for the bitcoins in your possession. Should your wallet ever become inaccessible, the private key would be out-of-reach, which makes your bitcoins unspendable. That's one of the significant differences between a bitcoin wallet and your traditional bank account.

These wallets can exist on physical devices, as software on a personal computer, on a cryptocurrency exchange or on a paper (a printout of both your public and private keys; the coins will still exist on the blockchain).

Now, to open a bitcoin account, you have to sign up for an account with a bitcoin wallet provider. Some online exchanges, including Guava Exchange, automatically create wallets for new user accounts on the platform. All you have to do is load the wallet with bitcoin. However, there are other flexible and free non-exchange options too.

Bitcoin wallet providers available to Nigerians

Some of the companies that provide wallet services to Nigerians include:

1. Guava

The Guava wallet has a simple design that allows you to keep tabs on all transactions in and out of your wallet. By clicking on the wallet, you can easily see the historical view of transactions on the right panel of the page. With the Guava wallet, you don't have to worry about losing your private keys or setting up security procedures to safeguard your coin. You also have access to the easiest and fastest way to buy bitcoin in Nigeria through the Guava Exchange.

2. Blockchain.info

This company is one of the oldest Bitcoin wallet providers. Headquartered in Luxembourg but everyone around the world can sign up for their free bitcoin wallet.

Note that you cannot buy or sell bitcoin on Blockchain.info. It only affords you the ability to send and receive bitcoins.

3. Ledger

The Ledger Nano S is a USB hardware wallet. It's portable and provides the ability to store your bitcoins offline. It's useful if you have a large portion of bitcoin that you intend to save for a long time. The product currently retails for above 25, 000 Naira.

To read a simple step-by-step guide to setting up a bitcoin account/wallet in Nigeria, please read this post: https://blog.guava.africa/open-bitcoin-account-in-nigeria/