How to secure Bitcoin and altcoins - Bitcoin Buyers Guide

Is it important to secure your Bitcoin and altcoins

One of the most important aspects in the cryptocurrency space is security. It is very important to secure your Bitcoin properly as the risks are real as it makes your own bank. Therefore what this means is that now you have a much bigger responsibility towards your money. If you lose your crypto it is your own fault and no one will be able to restore if it is a critical mistake.

There are many people who lost Bitcoin because of a lack of knowledge or dismissing its importance. Now they regret that they didn’t put up a few hours to educate on how to properly store crypto. There are a few rules that you should follow to keep your crypto secure. Especially when you have big money at stake, then security and privacy become even more important.

What do you need to learn first?

First, you need to learn a few things if you are new to this space and are still feeling confused. What is this? Where to buy Bitcoin securely and with the lowest risk. As there are few ways to go about this but most importantly the most secure way to get crypto is by earning it. By offering your services, building up a product that people will need and want to use and get paid in crypto. Therefore you can go out and offer services and your skills in return for crypto.

If you want to buy Bitcoin now you can do it in two ways – OTC (over the counter). Where you buy it directly from another person. Thus if you like this option you can go to the LocalBitcoins platform to find a seller. Keep in mind that there are risks when you deal directly with another person and don’t forget to do your research on the profile of the potential seller to you.

The other way is to go exchanges like CEX, Bitpanda or Naga where you can deposit FIAT in multiple ways and buy directly Bitcoin. But there is a catch as once you go to such exchanges and give you personal information as it is required you give out part from your privacy. Therefore if information leaks from the exchange that you have chosen your security can be compromised. If you want to understand why Bitcoin is important and why not to ignore it you can read here. Thus you will understand why it is important to secure it properly.

There are a few things that you need to follow!

One of the most important is that after you buy Bitcoin or any crypto on exchanges, you must never leave them there for a long period of time. Of course, this is unless you plan to trade with them, therefore having exposure to them for a short period of time. But, if you plan to hold them for the long term, you must not leave them on the exchange. This is why you need to know the wallets, do your research and choose accordingly and there are hot and cold wallets.

Hot wallet

A hot wallet is a wallet that has constant exposure to the internet. Wallets that are installed on devices connected to the web are hot wallets. Therefore for example, if you decide to install the Exodus wallet on your desktop device you will have a hot wallet. There are web wallets like the Blockchain wallet and there are more privacy-focused wallets like Samourai – a mobile wallet.

Cold wallet

A cold wallet is one that does not have a direct connection to the internet. Usually, it is a device that is USD or something else that you connect to the web only when you want to make a transaction. You can research Trezor and Ledger hardware wallets as they are good solutions. Therefore, when you are finished you disconnect and put it in a safe and secure place. Thus, if your computer is accessed by an unauthorized face or hacked your Bitcoins will be safe as the hacker won’t have access to the wallet that is not located on the device.

A paper wallet

A paper wallet is exactly what it sounds. After you are done with the transaction in the wallet, you write your private keys on a paper. Then you secure the paper in a safe place.

Additional privacy practices

You can always do more for your privacy and therefore secure your Bitcoin even better. First, let’s start with the most obvious one. Never walk with a wallet on your phone full with a large number of Bitcoins. You don’t know when you may be robbed or lose your phone by accident. Even though you will have your private keys secured somewhere else, you can mitigate such risk as having two phones. One for everyday use and one designated for crypto transactions. Of course, you can carry some crypto with yourself at all times, but only a tiny amount and not millions if possible. You never know what may happen.

Privacy is important, don’t underestimate it!
It is a basic human right!

Secondly, you can use privacy wallets and divide your crypto to different accounts. Never say that you have crypto and pride yourself with that. There is the risk that someone may have nefarious thoughts around you. By dividing your crypto to different accounts and transact from a third or fourth account you are in a better position from a privacy standpoint. As it will be harder for other people to determine how much your net worth is.

Keep your financial information private, some people change, friends change you never know. I hope that this article will guide to better privacy and to secure Bitcoin and altcoins better. Financial privacy is important and it is best if you build-up knowledge and habits earlier.