I’ve had a few people ask me about Bitcoins recently. Honestly, I was surprised this person hadn’t asked me about them before because they’re pretty tech savvy and in the know of most things new in tech. The cryptocurrency world was a whole different animal for them though.
Don’t be ashamed if you don’t know much about it either. It’s still relatively new, and it’s still in the beginning stages of adoption. I’ll start by saying that you shouldn’t “invest” any money into any cryptos that you can’t afford to the lose. The risk is high, but the rewards will also be high.
If you’re one of those people (like me) that likes to spread your assets and diversify as much as possible then you’re probably here to figure out how to store your Bitcoins safely.
Don’t do anything until you get yourself a hardware wallet
You might be tempted to just jump right in and buy some Bitcoin from whatever exchange or site that will take your credit card. Although that may be tempting, it wouldn’t be wise. You should do a little research about how Bitcoins work and and how you can store them safely.
It should go without saying that Bitcoins are a digital type of currency. They’re not the only digital currency though. These days we have hundreds of other cryptocurrencies in the market. If you’re keeping up with the news then you’d know that just recently Bitcoin forked into another cryptocurrency, Bitcoin Cash.
I’m not going to get into all the technical stuff behind Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, but just understand that they are now separate currencies each holding their own value.
What does all this mean? It means that cryptocurrencies are going to be unpredictable and volatile for the foreseeable future. Why? Well, for many reasons. But as this “hard fork” into two separate currencies has shown it might take a while before we figure out what the world will adopt as “THE” cryptocurrency for everyone. Until that happens you can expect a lot of speculation, jousting and volatility.
Forget about that though, you probably know all that and just want to know how to store it. The answer? A Hardware wallet.
What is a hardware wallet? Basically it’s a small piece of electronic that you use to store your digital coins. You want to use a hardware wallet because when you store your coins you want to keep them offline. When you keep them offline they are less likely to be hacked and stolen.
Having your crypto money stolen is not a new thing. Exchanges have had hacks over the past few years and they’ve lost millions along the way. The most famous of which is the Mt Gox debacle.
Don’t fall victim to the same thing. You need to store your coins in a “cold storage” meaning that it is always stored offline and on something that is free from viruses, malware, and other “stuff” that can take your money.
Don’t believe me? Watch what John Mcafee has to say about it.
You’ve probably heard of McAfee. If you’ve bought or used a computer in the past three decades then you know that McAfee is one of the biggest trusted names in security. Their founder? You got it, John McAfee.
Just check out what he has to say in this video about Bitcoin security (or any cryptocurrency really).
Trezor, The hardware Bitcoin Wallet (Altcoins too)
At the end of that video he recommends using the hardware wallet Trezor. Trezor isn’t the only good hardware wallet in the market, but it is the first one, and likely the most trusted one that is available because of how long it has been around.
If you plan on buying or using any Bitcoins or any other altcoins or cryptocurrencies then I urge you to use a hardware wallet. Whether you plan to invest, trade, or just store them for a while you need to take security seriously when it comes to cryptocurrency.
For now, I’d have to rate Trezor as your best option if you’re still new to the game. Quit thinking and just get one. The truth is that you should probably have more than one hardware wallet and you’ll eventually probably buy an upgraded version or a competitor, but I’d recommend you make things easier on yourself and just get started with the Trezor for now.
Once you start to learn more about everything you’ll be glad that someone had pushed you towards thinking about security first. It’s the wild west out there in the cryptocurrency world, but my opinion is that you should get in there and take a piece of the action. Just be sure to do it the safest way possible.