Overview
So you've already bought some ADA and it is currently stored in an exchange. In order to be able to delegate your ADA and start earning rewards, it needs to be transferred to a Daedalus or Yoroi wallet. Both wallets are officially supported by Cardano so what's the difference?
TL;DR: The quickest and easiest way is to use the Yoroi Wallet. Use Daedalus if you are more of a blockchain enthusiast as newer features will be available there first.
Daedalus - A full-node wallet meaning it downloads and maintains a full copy of the blockchain. This is GB's of data that is stored locally on your computer. It acts as it's own entity on the Cardano blockchain and does not rely on any other systems for sending / receiving money (aka trustless). New features will most likely be support in Daedalus before Yoroi.
Supported on: Windows, MacOS, Linux - NOT mobile
System requirements: 4GB of RAM, 10GB hard drive space, good internet speed
Yoroi - A light-weight wallet meaning it does not have a copy of the blockchain and relies on other trusted entities to perform transactions. For this reason it is much faster and less resource intensive to use. On a desktop it is a simple browser extension so the installation process is also much easier. Yoroi is also available on mobile (Daedalus is not) and integrates with hardware wallets such as Ledger Nano and Trezor.
Supported on: The following desktop browser extensions: Chrome, Firefox, Edge as well as iOS and android mobile devices
Yoroi Mobile Guide: https://www.castlecardano.com/post/delegating-on-ios-or-android-with-yoroi-mobile-for-beginners
Yoroi Ledger Nano Guide: https://www.castlecardano.com/post/delegating-with-ledger-nano-in-yoroi-for-beginners
You will have to install the wallet software and then create a wallet so you have a place you can send your ADA too. Skip ahead to the Yoroi section if that's the wallet you choose. Otherwise, follow the Daedalus section below. If at anytime you are unsure of any terminology used check out the glossary at the end of this article.
Create a Daedalus Wallet
First make sure your computer meets the minimum system requirements noted above.
Download the Daedalus wallet for your operating system from the official site:
Accept the default installation steps (unless you wish to change them) and then launch the program. Choose your language and accept the legal terms. The entire block chain will start syncing to your computer which could take a while depending on your internet speed. Once 100% synced you are ready to begin!
On the main screen select the "Create" button.
Give your wallet a name and a strong password of at least 10 characters. SAVE YOUR PASSWORD in either a password manager or write it down somewhere you won't lose it. You will need this password if you ever want to retrieve or send your ADA. This is like your typical bank account password.
The next page warns you that you should write down the recovery words that will be shown on the next page or you will not be able to recover your wallet if something happens. This isn't a message to take lightly as we will describe on the next page. Check the box, wait 10 seconds and click "Continue".
STOP! Write down the 24 words in the same order somewhere safe. Writing it on an index card and putting it in a safe is a great idea. If you also put them in a password manager for redundancy that is good too (be sure you know how to use a password manager correctly if you do this). The reason why these words matter is important to understand. Your ADA actually isn't on your computer but is historically recorded on the blockchain. So if you lose your computer, it breaks or your wallet gets deleted your ADA isn't gone - it still exists on the Cardano blockchain. As long as you have these 24 words you can recover your wallet on any computer anywhere and still access your ADA. Once you've written down the words click the button to continue.
If you didn't write the recovery words down maybe this screen will make you realize how important it is. You now have to write all 24 words back to verify you saved them. You will be moved to the next screen automatically once you enter all 24 words correctly.
Check both boxes confirming you understand how important it is to safely store your recovery phases and click "Confirm"
Congratulations! You have successfully created your own, personal Daedalus wallet for holding ADA! Your wallet will take some time to sync up with the blockchain and the progress is tracked towards the top of the screen. You do not need to wait for the entire blockchain to sync to go to the next step.
To send money to your new wallet, select the "Receive" tab.
Click the "Copy address" icon next to a displayed address. This will copy the address to your clipboard so you can paste it somewhere else. You will see many addresses. Each address is unique and associated with your wallet. If anyone sends ADA to any of those addresses, that ADA will be managed under the same wallet.
Go to the exchange or wallet that is holding your ADA and choose to "Send" your ADA to an address. Paste the copied address and confirm the transaction. Your ADA should show up in your Daedalus wallet in a few minutes (depending on the speed of the exchange)!
To begin delegating your ADA follow the Daedalus section of this this guide here
Create a Desktop Yoroi Wallet
This tutorial will cover Yoroi on a desktop since delegating is not yet available on mobile. This guide will follow installation using Google Chrome. The process will be similar for other browser extensions.
Download the Yoroi extension for your browser:
Google Chrome: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/yoroi/ffnbelfdoeiohenkjibnmadjiehjhajb?hl=en-US
Microsoft Edge: https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/yoroi/akoiaibnepcedcplijmiamnaigbepmcb
As mentioned this guide will be using Google Chrome. Once clicking the download link you should see this page where you can install the extension by clicking "Add to Chrome".
You will get a popup like this. Click "Add extension" to install the extension.
In Chrome, click the extensions icon in the top right of your browser and then select Yoroi. For other browsers there should be a similar icon or a way to access extensions in the settings menu.
You will be presented with a screen to select your language and then accept the terms of agreement. Next you will be prompted to choose the level of complexity for the interface. If you are not familiar with how the Cardano blockchain works then select Simple. The Advanced mode will make the interface very confusing if you do not understand the concepts of how the blockchain works.
You will next be asked to enable Cardano Payment URLS. This feature allows you to send a URL to someone to easily collect payments. You can skip this setting as it is not needed for delegation. You can always enable it in the settings later if you want.
If you chose to skip the previous step, confirm your decision.
The Yoroi extension is now configured! A hardware wallet is physical USB like device that holds the secret information to access your wallet whereas a normal wallet is stored on your computer. Hardware wallets are considered the safest way to store your crypto but that is not covered in this article and involves more effort. If you already have ADA in a Ledger Nano hardware wallet you can follow instructions on how to delegate here. If not, normal wallets are still very safe if you follow the directions correctly. Click "Create wallet" to continue creating a normal wallet.
Select the Cardano platform (next to the symbol for ADA).
A Paper Wallet (also known as cold wallet) is an option to not store your wallet on your computer but rather store it on a piece of paper - offline. You will have to perform a similar type of step for a normal wallet (also known as a hot wallet) but it will be stored on your computer and you will also have the ability to send or delegate your ADA. Select "Create wallet" to continue.
Give your wallet a name and a strong password of at least 10 characters. SAVE YOUR PASSWORD in either a password manager or write it down somewhere you won't lose it. You will need this password if you ever want to retrieve or send your ADA. This is like your typical bank account password.
The next page warns you that you should write down the recovery words that will be shown on the next page or you will not be able to recover your wallet if something happens. This isn't a message to take lightly as we will describe on the next page. Check the box, wait 10 seconds and click "Continue".
STOP! Write down the 15 words in the same order somewhere safe. Writing it on an index card and putting it in a safe is a great idea. If you also put them in a password manager for redundancy that is good too (be sure you know how to use a password manager correctly if you do this). The reason why these words matter is important to understand. Your ADA actually isn't on your computer but is historically recorded on the blockchain. So if you lose your computer, it breaks or your wallet gets deleted your ADA isn't gone - it still exists on the Cardano blockchain. As long as you have these 15 words you can recover your wallet on any computer anywhere and still access your ADA. Once you've written down the words click the button to continue.
If you didn't write the recovery words down maybe this screen will make you realize how important it is. You now have to select all 15 words in order to verify you saved them. You will be moved to the next screen automatically once you enter all 15 words correctly.
Check both boxes confirming you understand how important it is to safely store your recovery phases and click "Confirm"
Congratulations! You have successfully created your own, personal Yoroi wallet for holding ADA! You're almost there! The final step is to send ADA to your new wallet to begin delegating. Click the "Receive" tab to continue.
Make sure the Base -> External section is selected and click the copy icon next to the displayed address. This will copy the address to your clipboard so you can paste it somewhere else. You can generate as many addresses as you want. Each address you create is unique and associated with your wallet. If anyone sends ADA to any of those addresses, that ADA will be managed under the same wallet.
Go to the exchange or wallet that is holding your ADA and choose to "Send" your ADA to an address. Paste the copied address and confirm the transaction. Your ADA should show up in your Yoroi wallet in a few minutes (depending on the speed of the exchange)!
To begin delegating your ADA follow the Yoroi section of this this guide here
Glossary
ADA - The abbreviation for the cryptocurrency that lives on the Cardano blockchain. This can be bought or sold on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Daedalus - An officially supported wallet software used to store ADA (like a bank that has accounts). Unlike Yoroi, it is a full-node wallet meaning installing it requires an entire copy of the blockchain (made up of GB's of transactional records).
Yoroi - An officially supported wallet software used to store ADA (like a bank that has accounts). Unlike Daedalus, it is a light-weight wallet that is supported on desktops, mobile, and hardware wallets. It also relies on trusted, external entities instead of keeping a copy of the entire blockchain like Daedalus.
Exchange - A website that allows you to buy, sell, or trade cryptocurrencies. This is similar to something like the New York Stock exchange in traditional finance. There are many exchanges all over the world that offer different services for different fees.
Wallet - You can think of a wallet like a bank account. It holds all of your ADA. Just like how you can have different bank accounts at different banks, you wallets can be created from different software applications such as Daedalus or Yoroi.
Hardware Wallet - Unlike a software wallet, a hardware wallet stores the private keys for your wallet on a physical device similar to USB drive. The private keys are used to restore your wallet so you can send or retrieve your ADA. It is considered the most secure way to store your wallet. Ledger Nano and Trezor are two popular hardware wallets
Stake Pool - A dedicated server that supports the decentralization and security of the blockchain. Owned and operated by individuals of the Cardano community, it earns rewards for its contributions and those rewards are then distributed amongst the pool owners and its delegates.
Delegate - A delegate is someone who has "delegated" their ADA to a staking pool. Delegating your ADA to a staking pool allows you to earn a portion of rewards that staking pools get for contributing to the operation of the Cardano blockchain.
Stake - The amount of ADA that has been delegated to a staking pool. The staking pool "stakes" this ADA on the Cardano blockchain which contributes to the operation of the blockchain and earns rewards for all of its delegates.