This continues my series aimed to help crypto newbies avoid costly mistakes. Know some people new to crypto? This should be helpful.
Losing Private Keys or Passwords
It is very easy to lose private keys and passwords.
He has a better chance searching every beach on the planet for his keys than you do for your Bitcoin keys
A few years ago, I tried to make a super duper secure document that had a list of my investments on it. I wanted to ensure my information was not public in case my computer was stolen, but I ended up forgetting my overly complex password (which I hadn’t written down) a couple weeks later and had to start over. Thankfully, nothing important was lost.
Learn to use a password manager like Lastpass or Keepass before buying enough cryptocurrency to make losing it painful: around the $50-$100 level for those in the US.
Users with small amounts of cryptocurrency can safely store it in Coinbase, which is insured.
Buy a Trezor or Nano S if you plan to put more than $1000 into a cryptocurrency. These small devices can be used to generate and hold private keys using a PIN for easy access, and you can store the 24 word seed in a safety deposit box for a few dollars a month in case the device is damaged or lost. Furthermore, three attempts at the PIN will completely wipe the device, making a brute force attack unlikely. Be sure to use a unique PIN for your device. Avoid your social security number, phone number, birth date, etc.
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