With the recent surge of crypto-currency prices, many people are jumping on the Bitcoin bandwagon without doing their due diligence.
Here are a few tips and considerations to consider before launching yourself into the frenzy. ..
Many people are choosing to store their bitcoins through exchanges i.e Coinbase, Coinjar, etc. Whereas it can be reassuring to know that a third party is taking care of your money, exchanges are often honey pot targets for hackers and your privacy can be compromised through them like the 2014 incident where the bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, had 850,000 bitcoins belonging to customers stolen.
If you're concerned about the security of your cryptocurrency holdings...
Try to only use exchanges as a form of intermediary transfer of your bitcoins into your bank accounts.
DO NOT store your bitcoin wallet on a windows desktop/laptop computer and opt for purchasing a hardware wallet like a Trezor or Nano ledger.
The bitcoin protocol is secure and has not been hacked since it's inception in 2009, however, bitcoin exchanges can and are hacked. If you own the private key to your bitcoin, (you've written down a 12-24 word phrase to generate a seed to your private key) you own your bitcoins. If you don't own the keys to your bitcoin, you don't own your bitcoins.
USI-Tech, Bitconnect, and other schemes went FUBAR and have left many, including myself, bitter about their investment. If an investment platform sounds too good to be true, it probably is and should be met with extreme caution. One of the primary purposes of Bitcoin is to eliminate the 3rd party. Allowing for exchanges and other institutions to hold your money puts you at their whim. Remember first and foremost that
If you do not have the keys to your bitcoin, then they are not your bitcoins.
