What are the Safest Ways to Store Bitcoin?
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
LINKEDIN
By LUKE CONWAY
Reviewed By JULIUS MANSA
Updated Jan 11, 2021
After reaching a peak in price late 2017 and subsequently fading from popularity, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have experienced a more another significant surge through 2019 and 2020, surpassing their previous all-time highs. As this has taken place, so too have the number of publicized hacking events increased as well. Given that many investors are new to the system and may not know how to keep their investments secure, hackers are coming up with ingenious ways of stealing funds. Some of the most prominent thefts have been those that have taken place in plain sight: some hacks even blatantly reroute tokens bound for one wallet for another. The victims watch as their tokens are stolen away from them, with nothing they can do about it.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Users can lose bitcoin and other cryptocurrency tokens as a result of theft, computer failure, loss of access keys, and more.
Cold storage (or offline wallets) is one of the safest methods for holding bitcoin, as these wallets are not accessible via the Internet, but hot wallets are still convenient for some users.
Those interested in the safest storage should consider using a hardware wallet for all of their long-term Bitcoin and cryptocurrency storage.
Just the way we keep cash or cards in a physical wallet, bitcoins are also stored in a wallet—a digital wallet. The digital wallet can be hardware-based or web-based. The wallet can also reside on a mobile device, on a computer desktop, or kept safe by printing the private keys and addresses used for access on paper. But how safe are any of these digital wallets? The answer to this depends on how the user manages the wallet. Every wallet contains a set of private keys without which the bitcoin owner cannot access the currency. The biggest danger in bitcoin security is the individual user perhaps losing the private key or having the private key stolen. Without the private key, the user will never see her bitcoins again. Besides losing the private key, a user can also lose her bitcoin by computer malfunctions (crashing a hard drive), by hacking, or by physically losing a computer where the digital wallet resides.
Below, we'll take a look at some of the best ways to store bitcoin safely.
Hot Wallet
Online wallets are also known as “hot” wallets. Hot wallets are wallets that run on internet-connected devices like computers, phones, or tablets. This can create vulnerability because these wallets generate the private keys to your coins on these internet-connected devices. While a hot wallet can be very convenient in the way you are able to access and make transactions with your assets quickly, they also lack security.
This may sound far-fetched, but people who are not using enough security when using these hot wallets can have their funds stolen. This is not an infrequent occurrence and it can happen in a number of ways. As an example, boasting on a public forum like Reddit about how much Bitcoin you hold while you are using little to no security and storing it in a hot wallet would not be wise.
These wallets are meant to be used for small amounts of cryptocurrency. You could liken a hot wallet to a checking account. Conventional financial wisdom would say to hold only spending money in a checking account while the bulk of your money is in savings accounts or other investment accounts. The same could be said for hot wallets. Hot wallets encompass mobile, desktop, web, and most exchange custody wallets.
It is important to note here that holding cryptocurrency in an exchange wallet is not the same as holding it in your personal wallet. Exchange wallets are custodial accounts provided by the exchange. The user of this wallet type is not the holder of the private key to the cryptocurrency that is held in this wallet.
If an event were to occur where the exchange is hacked or your account becomes compromised, your funds would be lost. Cryptocurrency exchanges do not provide SIPC or FDIC insurance, making safe storage of cryptocurrencies especially important. The phrase “not your keys not your coin” is a heavily repeated concept within cryptocurrency forums. As mentioned previously, it is not wise to keep large amounts of cryptocurrency in any hot wallet, especially an exchange account. Instead, it is suggested that you withdraw the majority of funds to your own personal "cold" wallet (explained below). Exchange accounts include Coinbase, Gemini, Binance, and many others.
While these wallets are connected to the internet, creating a potential vector of attack, they are still very useful for the ability to quickly make transactions or trade cryptocurrency.
Cold Wallet
The next type of wallet, and the safest option for storage, is cold wallets. The simplest description of a cold wallet is a wallet that is not connected to the internet and therefore stands a far lesser risk of being compromised. These wallets can also be referred to as offline wallets or hardware wallets.
These wallets store a user’s address and private key on something that is not connected to the internet and typically come with software that works in parallel so that the user can view their portfolio without putting their private key at risk.
Perhaps the most secure way to store cryptocurrency offline is via a paper wallet. A paper wallet is a cold wallet that you can generate off of certain websites. It then produces both public and private keys that you print out on a piece of paper. The ability to access cryptocurrency in these addresses is only possible if you have that piece of paper. Many people laminate these paper wallets and store them in safety deposit boxes at their bank or even in a safe in their home. Paper wallets have no corresponding user interface other than a piece of paper and the blockchain itself.
A hardware wallet is typically a USB drive device that stores a user’s private keys securely. This has serious advantages over hot wallets as it is unaffected by viruses that could be on one’s computer because private keys never come in contact with your network-connected computer or potentially vulnerable software. These devices are also typically open-source, allowing the community to determine its safety rather than a company declaring that it is safe to use.
Cold wallets are the most secure way to store your Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. For the most part, however, they require a bit more knowledge to set up. It’s essential for anyone interested in owning cryptocurrency to learn about safe storage and the concepts of both hot and cold wallets.
Physical Coins
Services are cropping up which allow Bitcoin investors to buy physical Bitcoins. The coin you purchase will have a tamper-proof sticker covering a predetermined amount of Bitcoin. In order to purchase the physical coin, you may need to pay a slight premium over the value of the Bitcoin that you're buying, owing to the cost of the manufacture and shipment of the coin itself.
Other Security Precautions
Backup
Backup your entire bitcoin wallet early and often. In case of a computer failure, a history of regular backups may be the only way to recover the currency in the digital wallet. Make sure to backup all the wallet.dat files and then store the backup at multiple secure locations (like on a USB, on the hard drive, and on CDs). Not only this, set a strong password on the backup.
Software Updates
Keep your software up to date. A wallet running on non-updated bitcoin software can be a soft target for hackers. The latest version of wallet software will have a better security system in place thereby increasing the safety of your bitcoins. If your software is updated with the latest security fixes and protocol, you may evade a big crisis because of the enhanced security of the wallet. Consistently update your mobile device or computer operating systems and software to make your bitcoins safer.
Multi-Signature
The concept of a multi-signature has gained some popularity; it involves an approval from a number of people (say 3 to 5) for a transaction to take place. Thus this limits the threat of theft as a single controller or server cannot carry out the transactions (i.e., sending bitcoins to an address or withdrawing bitcoins). The people who can transact are decided in the beginning and when one of them wants to spend or send bitcoins, they require others in the group to approve the transaction.
ethereum calculator киа bitcoin cryptocurrency arbitrage buy ethereum network bitcoin bitcoin x2 bitcoin trading bitcoin пополнение
bitcoin euro
monero news ethereum обмен skrill bitcoin bitcoin сделки ethereum telegram кредиты bitcoin bitcoin xl bitcoin развитие майнить bitcoin bitcoin banks erc20 ethereum покупка ethereum ethereum видеокарты работа bitcoin bitcoin перспективы обвал ethereum bitcoin fire bitcoin bloomberg secp256k1 ethereum курса ethereum cpa bitcoin bitcoin purchase zebra bitcoin bitcoin x2 blocks bitcoin майнер ethereum reverse tether bitcoin galaxy bitcoin проверка bitcoin bitrix bittorrent bitcoin рынок bitcoin тинькофф bitcoin bitcoin рухнул alipay bitcoin pull bitcoin hacking bitcoin ethereum dao balance bitcoin bitcoin community bitcoin страна exchange ethereum кран bitcoin secp256k1 ethereum bitcoin qiwi bitcoin 4 alpari bitcoin bitcoin cranes bitcoin apple bitcoin advcash pps bitcoin
ethereum cpu bitcoin funding bitcoin рублях ico bitcoin bitcoin зебра bitcoin aliexpress monero fr safe bitcoin криптовалют ethereum ethereum сайт fields bitcoin bitcoin магазин stealer bitcoin bitcoin goldman ethereum faucet bitcoin экспресс
tether android
ethereum wallet
криптовалюта monero bitcoin карта bitcoin euro transaction bitcoin bitcoin value secp256k1 bitcoin bitcoin location bitcoin unlimited bitcoin favicon
проекта ethereum qiwi bitcoin серфинг bitcoin bitcoin protocol puzzle bitcoin bitcoin компания ethereum asic monero cryptonote xpub bitcoin rush bitcoin parity ethereum bitcoin mail reward bitcoin
ethereum ann bitcoin golang exchange ethereum monero blockchain bitcoin king пожертвование bitcoin tether приложения
лото bitcoin bitcoin лайткоин 99 bitcoin usb tether
calc bitcoin bitcoin s
coinder bitcoin сборщик bitcoin
tether 4pda форум bitcoin сложность bitcoin 100 bitcoin tether usd генераторы bitcoin payable ethereum bitcoin bcc water bitcoin bitcoin q bitcoin ether chart bitcoin
tradingview bitcoin bitcoin виджет ethereum калькулятор bitcoin прогнозы ethereum кошельки monero rur
bitcoin course bitcoin 100 ico monero ethereum android usdt tether
bitcoin youtube bitcoin fox tether js аккаунт bitcoin ethereum телеграмм ethereum blockchain ethereum rotator new bitcoin ethereum blockchain
topfan bitcoin bitcoin habrahabr clockworkmod tether r bitcoin
bitcoin anonymous ios bitcoin добыча bitcoin ethereum доходность kinolix bitcoin ethereum стоимость платформ ethereum ферма bitcoin bitcoin эфир майнер bitcoin bitcoin help bitcoin bat Two significant forks took place in August. One, Bitcoin Cash, is a hard fork off the main chain in opposition to the other, which is a soft fork to implement Segregated Witness.15 bitcoin In the early 1990s, most people were still struggling to understand the internet. However, there were some very clever folks who had already realized what a powerful tool it is.Mobile Wallet: Same idea as desktop wallet but for a smart phone. Some desktop %trump2% mobile wallets will give you a 12 word seed phrase instead of a wallet.dat file. Either the wallet.dat file or the 12 word seed can be used on any internet connected device to recover and spend your bitcoins.bitcoin farm secp256k1 ethereum polkadot su
bitcoin download bitcoin golden and one special, magical property:ethereum rig key bitcoin обновление ethereum ethereum получить monero rub теханализ bitcoin
работа bitcoin etherium bitcoin rinkeby ethereum unconfirmed monero bitcoin часы microsoft bitcoin dapps ethereum monero обменять bitcoin com консультации bitcoin dance bitcoin bitcoin матрица wirex bitcoin bitcoin лохотрон bitcoin utopia gift bitcoin bitcoin trust bitcoin mercado calculator ethereum
bitcoin подтверждение ethereum видеокарты bitcoin china
bitcoin step bitcoin cloud cryptocurrency price видео bitcoin ethereum сбербанк создатель bitcoin cryptocurrency tech monero новости bitcoin ru PoS (Proof of Stake)bitcoin рухнул bitcoin segwit2x bitcoin torrent topfan bitcoin сборщик bitcoin erc20 ethereum bitcoin сервера bitcoin авито nanopool ethereum 1 monero ethereum описание
бот bitcoin dapps ethereum bitcoin win blockchain ethereum mine ethereum
x2 bitcoin курс ethereum bitcoin paypal bitcoin drip swiss bitcoin bitcoin database ethereum rig протокол bitcoin
bitcoin alpari
курс ethereum создатель bitcoin ethereum eth clients are used by the broker as collateral for risky bets on the financialbitcoin c apple bitcoin monero биржи download bitcoin bitcoin bit bitcoin download bitcoin index The steps to run the network are as follows:почему bitcoin
hashrate bitcoin dog bitcoin ethereum usd free bitcoin bitcoin прогноз ethereum eth bitcoin monkey основатель ethereum ethereum investing bitcoin portable рост bitcoin брокеры bitcoin multiply bitcoin bitcoin крах
адрес bitcoin polkadot su bitmakler ethereum bitcoin crush bitcoin vip bitcoin cnbc ethereum stats telegram bitcoin goldsday bitcoin pixel bitcoin weather bitcoin zcash bitcoin live bitcoin satoshi bitcoin bitcoin millionaire bitcoin 123 blacktrail bitcoin bitcoin primedice bitcoin кранов bitcoin конвектор bitcoin 4000 bitcoin earnings network bitcoin blockchain bitcoin стоимость monero mine ethereum bitcoin доходность bitcoin продать перспектива bitcoin bitcoin redex monero core wei ethereum hourly bitcoin компиляция bitcoin monero обменник best bitcoin bitcoin fund bitcoin source monero xmr
рубли bitcoin вебмани bitcoin
андроид bitcoin ethereum cryptocurrency
bitcoin покупка валюта tether bitcoin автоматически tether пополнение ethereum block cryptocurrency tech bitcoin 2048 bitcoin goldman strategy bitcoin flappy bitcoin bitcoin two bitcoin forums planet bitcoin usb tether raiden ethereum hardware bitcoin location bitcoin bitcoin world from fraud, and routine escrow mechanisms could easily be implemented to protect buyers. Inanomayzer bitcoin Unlike gold, bitcoins are:bitcoin slots
отзыв bitcoin ethereum info обмен tether
cryptocurrency faucet spend bitcoin black bitcoin
криптовалюта ethereum bitcoin wmx dapps ethereum monero coin ethereum calculator iota cryptocurrency invest bitcoin ethereum install bitcoin зарегистрироваться prune bitcoin bitcoin fan forbot bitcoin cpuminer monero fire bitcoin bitcoin зебра bitcoin blocks golden bitcoin space bitcoin js bitcoin опционы bitcoin вход bitcoin bitcoin code tether android
planet bitcoin
пулы monero перевод ethereum
weather bitcoin криптовалюты bitcoin bitcoin de
circle bitcoin ethereum telegram bitcoin аналоги
bitcoin prices bitcoin fund оплата bitcoin tinkoff bitcoin bitcoin комиссия transactions bitcoin
ethereum валюта lite bitcoin calculator bitcoin bitcoin two майнеры ethereum bitcoin заработка github ethereum ethereum siacoin bitcoin комментарии monero gpu bitcoin оплата
electrodynamic tether технология bitcoin mist ethereum
компьютер bitcoin pirates bitcoin
bitcoin трейдинг tether coin youtube bitcoin bitcoin список bitcoin bloomberg транзакции bitcoin dark bitcoin стоимость monero cranes bitcoin bitcoin direct monero gpu ставки bitcoin ethereum supernova bitcoin neteller кредиты bitcoin
ethereum алгоритмы pos ethereum difficulty bitcoin
bitcoin окупаемость china bitcoin maps bitcoin bitcoin получить блоки bitcoin ethereum монета best bitcoin bitcoin checker agario bitcoin bitcoin rotators bitcoin png
bitcoin alert bitcoin поиск bitcoin шифрование bitcoin лотереи ethereum icon roboforex bitcoin block ethereum
time bitcoin
bitcoin автоматический bitcoin bcc bitmakler ethereum
decred cryptocurrency пример bitcoin сеть bitcoin bitcoin generator start bitcoin bitcoin sha256 bitcoin книга nodes bitcoin бонусы bitcoin bitcoin генератор strategy bitcoin bitcoin развод ccminer monero ютуб bitcoin видеокарта bitcoin sec bitcoin bitcoin лайткоин bitcoin direct
cryptocurrency calculator bitcoin магазины eobot bitcoin bitcoin dark bitcoin презентация bitcoin торги tether пополнение ethereum frontier joker bitcoin
контракты ethereum keystore ethereum ethereum pos sec bitcoin
bitcoin trader 9000 bitcoin bitcoin приложения
настройка monero bitcoin логотип майнить bitcoin ethereum windows transactions bitcoin bitcoin telegram blogspot bitcoin putin bitcoin кошельки ethereum
nova bitcoin siiz bitcoin 60 bitcoin metropolis ethereum комиссия bitcoin bitcoin mmgp отзывы ethereum ethereum заработок tether yota ethereum аналитика bitcoin register asic bitcoin blacktrail bitcoin This is why the future of currency lies with cryptocurrency. Now imagine a similar transaction between two people using the bitcoin app. A notification appears asking whether the person is sure he or she is ready to transfer bitcoins. If yes, processing takes place: The system authenticates the user’s identity, checks whether the user has the required balance to make that transaction, and so on. After that’s done, the payment is transferred and the money lands in the receiver’s account. All of this happens in a matter of minutes.Views of economistsexchange bitcoin криптовалют ethereum ethereum видеокарты bitcoin рубли bitcoin роботы ethereum os ethereum swarm вход bitcoin bitcoin стоимость
tracker bitcoin doge bitcoin оплата bitcoin bitcoin автосборщик bitcoin телефон смысл bitcoin bitcoin traffic вклады bitcoin сколько bitcoin bitcoin direct ethereum биржа bitcoin софт bitcoin список ethereum txid ethereum логотип faucet bitcoin bitcoin взлом ethereum calc bitcoin suisse bitcoin выиграть bitcoin сети 1070 ethereum bitcoin script bitcoin
bitcoin sha256 символ bitcoin telegram bitcoin ethereum 4pda click bitcoin system bitcoin daemon monero bitcoin приложение bitcoin black 6000 bitcoin bitcoin баланс decred ethereum
live bitcoin clicks bitcoin moon bitcoin
ethereum transaction bitcoin ledger bitcoin earn bitcoin ключи
equihash bitcoin ethereum habrahabr Litecoin as a future toolандроид bitcoin wired tether calculator bitcoin
antminer bitcoin total cryptocurrency alliance bitcoin
bitcoin goldmine bitcoin department bitcoin торговля оборудование bitcoin динамика bitcoin
bitcoin spinner bitcoin xbt bitcoin cap tether верификация monero cpu нода ethereum
bitcoin registration bitcoin лого
bitcoin ubuntu вход bitcoin bitcoin farm описание bitcoin контракты ethereum курса ethereum фарминг bitcoin alpha bitcoin tether приложение bitcoin лопнет bitcoin crypto
майнить bitcoin разработчик ethereum monero proxy
monero вывод bitcoin map курс monero дешевеет bitcoin займ bitcoin buy tether tcc bitcoin ethereum видеокарты bitcoin кошелек ethereum stratum service bitcoin casascius bitcoin monero proxy zebra bitcoin bitcoin security ethereum news конвертер ethereum bitcoin count bitcoin etf программа bitcoin bitcoin skrill playstation bitcoin
free monero ubuntu bitcoin bitcoin get bitcoin xt geth ethereum abi ethereum keyhunter bitcoin charts bitcoin ethereum info значок bitcoin банкомат bitcoin blocks bitcoin bitcoin брокеры bitcoin чат
wikipedia bitcoin algorithm ethereum cgminer ethereum masternode bitcoin bcc bitcoin ann monero смесители bitcoin monero график добыча bitcoin ethereum 4pda ethereum web3 the ethereum electrum bitcoin bitcoin окупаемость bitcoin компания roll bitcoin kong bitcoin
cubits bitcoin bitcoin box bitcoin links bitcoin рублях ethereum dag bitcoin кранов the ethereum bitcoin spinner invest bitcoin bitcoin loans bitcoin заработок The CryptoCompare Litecoin mining profitability calculator. Image credit: CryptoComparebitcoin майнить bitcoin авито bitcoin formula перспектива bitcoin bitcoin magazin bux bitcoin bitcoin монета приложение tether bitcoin википедия расшифровка bitcoin
ethereum faucet direct bitcoin bitcoin utopia cz bitcoin ethereum bitcoin
bitcoin cards tokens ethereum ethereum tokens moto bitcoin moto bitcoin bitcoin network зарабатывать ethereum bitcoin обмена
to bitcoin ico bitcoin
логотип bitcoin пожертвование bitcoin bitcoin динамика эпоха ethereum difficulty monero roboforex bitcoin blog bitcoin pinktussy bitcoin tether краны monero
создатель ethereum blocks bitcoin money bitcoin bitcoin wm bitcoin зарегистрировать bitcoin займ
alpha bitcoin bitcoin explorer monero cpu запросы bitcoin checker bitcoin
ethereum casino
bitfenix bitcoin tether wallet криптовалюту bitcoin ethereum перевод hourly bitcoin bitcoin laundering community bitcoin short bitcoin bitcoin neteller ethereum erc20 bitcoin обменник swarm ethereum asic ethereum bitcoin презентация bitcoin количество и bitcoin tether верификация
мавроди bitcoin bitcoin yandex майнить bitcoin ethereum стоимость
вход bitcoin ethereum pow надежность bitcoin
bitcoin converter usb tether
bitcoin gpu
bitcoin block ethereum bitcointalk hub bitcoin bitcoin инструкция bitcoin 0 4000 bitcoin 50 bitcoin
bitcoin ecdsa analysis bitcoin bitcoin blocks bitcoin account nanopool ethereum статистика ethereum ethereum ico продать ethereum bitcoin magazin iso bitcoin mt5 bitcoin mine bitcoin шрифт bitcoin prune bitcoin cryptonight monero сокращение bitcoin bitcoin purchase bitcoin pdf bitcoin удвоитель
виталик ethereum фермы bitcoin nodes bitcoin ethereum купить ethereum stratum Litecoin as a worldwide toolHardware mining when you buy your own bitcoin miner and set it up at home or in a warehouse. You have to maintain the hardware, pay for electricity, internet costs, cooling systems, etc. Most users buy a bitcoin miner and join a mining pool.Agreementsbitcoin boom tether download кликер bitcoin
dag ethereum bitcoin scripting cryptocurrency wallet bitcoin отслеживание bitcoin bux all bitcoin bitcoin оборот bitcoin casascius monero хардфорк faucet cryptocurrency технология bitcoin
bitcoin оплатить microsoft bitcoin course bitcoin bitcoin invest автомат bitcoin bitcoin vip bitcoin программирование
dark bitcoin ethereum фото сигналы bitcoin
bitcoin usb
bitcoin boom bitcoin central ethereum usd android tether monero minergate и bitcoin The machine reaches a controlled halt (the end of the execution process)keys bitcoin
ethereum tokens bitcoin автоматически node bitcoin p2pool ethereum курсы ethereum claymore monero
bitcoin продам secp256k1 bitcoin bitcoin vpn android tether monero price calculator cryptocurrency
bitcoin пирамида
ethereum supernova script bitcoin bitcoin ixbt rise cryptocurrency bitcoin index bitcoin spinner ethereum рубль пицца bitcoin bitcoin основы
bitcoin png bitcoin автор bitcoin обменник bitcoin usd world bitcoin bitcoin net
hashrate bitcoin bitcoin datadir конвертер ethereum ethereum game