You need your security!
Storage and security are the most important things you need to consider when deciding what to do with your coins. Incorrect storage or practices can lead to your coins being stolen. That’s why this is one of the biggest mistakes that newbies make in the cryptocurrency space. Thankfully, securely storing your coins is very easy. We will be exploring a few good options in today’s post. Using these will keep you safe and your funds secure.
You will see many stories of exchanges being hacked and people losing their funds. There’s a common theme to almost all these stories. Cryptocurrency hacks are almost always due to human error or the way that cryptocurrency exchanges are ran or built. That’s why it’s important to take your tokens or coins off an unsecure exchange as soon as possible. Blockchain technology is built to be very secure when used correctly. Use the advantages built into the system to secure yourself.
Software Options
Cryptocurrencies are stored in several types of wallets. Wallets are a collection of numerical keys or addressed that your tokens are stored in. Many types of wallets are available, each with their own functions. In this section we will talk a little bit about software wallets and good options. I’m not going to go too in depth about how they physically work here. If you are interested in learning more about the security logistics, then check out the below link. This post from Hacker Noon talks about how the technology works to secure your cryptos.
Check out the Hacker Noon Post
You will find many different software wallet options if you look around online. Most cryptocurrencies have their own wallets that you can store the tokens on. Some wallets are built to store multiple types of tokens. You will find several software wallet examples linked below. What type of wallet you use depends on what cryptocurrency you store. For example, you would use myEtherWallet if you want to store Ethereum tokens or Ethereum based tokens. Electrum is a great wallet for storing Bitcoin, each wallet has their own functionality.
Finding good storage for your tokens is easy to do. Firstly, I would check the cryptocurrency’s website to see if they have a personal wallet. If they don’t have one, then you need to look around for alternatives. If you guys have any questions about storing your tokens I am always here to help you guys out! I have also linked a post from blockgeeks that talks about many of the available wallets you can use. This is a great resource for learning about some of the many types of wallets you can use.
Hardware and other options
Using software wallets requires you to be online or have a computer. However, software wallets are not your only choice. Another option you must use are cold storage wallets. These are devices or keys that you use without using a computer. A notable example would be the Nano Ledger S. This is a device that looks kind of like a flash drive. Several types of wallets for different cryptocurrencies are integrated into the ledger technology. The Nano Leder S is perfect for storing large amounts of cryptocurrency. The technology is secure and easy to carry around. Check out my referral link below if you are interested in this technology. The second link is a guide to helping you get started with using the Nano Ledger S.
Getting started with the Nano Ledger S
Cold storage is the most secure way to store your cryptocurrency. If you go this route, I would suggest putting it in a secure safe, so you never lose it. This blog post from Pumapay talks more about the innerworkings of cold storage and why you should use it. Go ahead and check it out if you are interested in learning more about the technicality of the subject.
The final type of storage that we will talk about here are paper wallets. These are offline generated keys that are used to store your cryptocurrency. These can be a little bit more difficult to create, but they are very secure. When using these you just want to make sure you don’t lose the key to the wallet. As a side note, Coinbase also has their own wallet you may use with their platform. The wonderful thing about this is that the balances are insured incase they are somehow lost. Unfortunately, they only support storage of Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Cash. If you have one of these then it’s a decent option. But if you don’t have one of them, then you just need to look around for other options that we covered today.
I hope you guys were able to learn something new from this post. If you have any questions about secure storage for your cryptocurrencies just let me know! This content was produced by me for use on (www.Fiducator.com/) and my Steemit profile. Any upvotes and resteems are deeply appreciated for the series.
[Click here to go to part V of the series] (@kennynneken/cryptocurrencies-for-dummies-part-v-transferring-and-exchanges)