How to Keep Your Cryptocurrency Secure
Your number one priority when entering the world of cryptocurrency should not be making money. Your number one priority should be making sure any money you do invest and/or make, stays yours. The first question you should ask is not “when Lambo, when moon”, but how to make sure your belongings remain yours. The first thing you should concern yourself with should not be which crypto to buy, but how to buy and store it safely.
We have compiled a list of cryptocurrency security related articles and steps every crypto holder should be conscious of.
How to buy cryptocurrency securely?
Do not use dodgy websites and fall for shady ads. Instead, go with verified and trustworthy exchanges with a track record to match. Binance (Binance.us for US customers), Coinbase, Poloniex and KuCoin are some of them.
Two factor authentication and authentication devices
To further protect the funds you have on said exchanges, make sure to turn on 2FA (two factor authentication). We suggest you equip yourself with a personal authentication device such as Yubikey by Yubico, to serve as your two factor authentication both at supported exchanges, as well as to protect your Google account and others.
Read more about:
- Yubikey
- other forms of 2FA (two factor authentication)
How to store cryptocurrency securely?
Not your keys, not your crypto. A saying you might have heard before. It refers to the fact that whoever owns the private keys to the crypto is technically the owner and can do with it as he pleases. That goes for cryptocurrency exchanges as well, since once you transfer your crypto over, albeit holding the crypto in your name, they actually become owners as far as the blockchain is concerned (until they transfer it back upon your request), so only use trustworthy crypto exchanges, and if possible, only store with them whatever amount you need readily available to trade, since even trustworthy exchanges can potentially be compromised or hacked. Having that said, a lot of us still “store” considerable amounts on exchanges, since the convenience of doing so is undeniable. The higher the amount of crypto, the higher the risk obviously. Luckily, they’ve come a long way in the past years mitigating the potential risks and learning from others mistakes, so they should be relatively safe and considerably safer than in the past.
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Hardware wallets for storing your crypto safely
A hardware wallet is not only preferred, but an actual necessity as more and more people fall victim to scammers and hackers compromising their computers and software wallets.
Storing the private keys to your crypto on a compromised computer is even less secure than trusting a trustworthy crypto exchange to store them for you, hence we urge you to take the necessary steps to protect your crypto in a way that nobody can access it without your express permission.
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Protect your wallets recovery seed phrase
If your wallet breaks down, is erased or lost, a seed phrase, seed recovery phrase or backup seed phrase is a list of words which store all the information needed to recover the access to your cryptocurrency funds on-chain, by restoring your private keys within your wallet.
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Crypto Safety Summary:
Crypto buying / selling / trading safety measures:
- Only use trustworthy crypto exchanges.
- Use two factor authentication (2FA) for logging into the exchanges! If possible, buy a personal authentication device such as Yubikey, else use a Google Authenticator app (or similar) for your mobile phone.
- If possible, hold only the amount you need readily available for trading (on the exchange). Even trustworthy exchanges can be potentially compromised, though unlikely as they should be taking the required precautions and keep the majority of the assets in cold storage.
Crypto storing safety measures:
- Store majority of your crypto on a hardware wallet like Ledger Nano S or X! Avoid using software wallets for any significant amount of crypto, if at all. Exceptions are of course software wallets that allow storing your private keys on a hardware wallet, which in reality turns them into user interfaces for the actual hardware wallets, while no critical data is stored on your computer or phone.
- Keep your wallet recovery seed phrase off digital media on a safely stored piece of paper, or better yet, engrave it into a piece of inox steel to ensure its longevity (would be a shame to lose your crypto to a fire). For more information about it please follow the link above.
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