Let's start off by saying that exchanges are very insecure to store your crypto assets. Just Google "Exchange hacks," and you will find endless articles about exchanges getting hacked. So, unless you are trading that day, keep your coins off the exchange.
There are many great wallets out there that you can store your crypto assets on, just google the wallets of the coin you have and download or store the corresponding currency in that wallet, but make sure you have control of your private key.
A hardware wallet is one of the safest ways, but they don't support every coin yet.
But this article will not be about the best wallets to use. We are going to be talking about the best methods to store your private keys and your seeds.
So, without further ado, let's dig in.
How to secure your private keys and seed:
There are many ways you can store your private keys, but not all of them are the best way. I thought long and hard on what is the best way to store your private keys and I came up with an easy way to do it.
One of the easier ways is to buy 2 USB's preferably 64 GB and up (So you can store the offline wallet files if you have any) and you only need one text or excel document. When you make the file, make sure it is on a clean computer, and it has no viruses or malware. I would use Malwarebytes Adwcleaner and CCleaner to clean the computer, they are both free programs, and they do an excellent job.
Once you are confident your computer is clean, then copy and paste all your private keys into one Excel or Word document. Once that is done, encrypt your USB with Private-Public, which is a free and excellent encryption software. Once that is done, put the document on the encrypted drive and any wallet files you may have on it. Once that is done, do the same exact thing with the second USB. Once you have the two USB's ready, then you have a few options where to store them.
Options:
- Store one in your house and one at a friend for safe keeping.
- Store one in your home and put the second in a plastic bag and bury it in the ground somewhere, (and make note where you put it).
- Store one in your house and one in a bank vault.
You can just go wild and crazy with the ideas. For the fun of it, you can make 3 or 4 USB's and leave one in your parents' house, (remember not to give them access to it 😊) one in the ground, one in your bank vault, and one in your house. Go crazy but not too crazy.
My point is on an encrypted USB, it is disconnected from the internet, and you have control of your funds.
Another important point I want to bring up.
Put all your public keys on a sheet and store that on your computer, store it in the cloud, post it on all the social networking sites, store it in your parent's basement. Let the whole world see it. Someone might even be generous enough and send you some money.
The great benefit of doing that is if you ever want to add to your position, just send them to the public addresses and not look at them till years later. Years down the line you might retrieve your USB from your parents (and hope it was not all spent) and be in for a pleasant surprise how much money you have.
Links to the programs mentioned above:
- https://www.malwarebytes.com/adwcleaner/
- https://www.ccleaner.com/
- https://www.lacie.com/support/software/private/
What are some ingenious ideas you have to store crypto? Please let me know in the comments below.
To check out more articles you can visit my blog at https://www.cryptorocketblast.com
And please share this article with your friends. If you don't need the information yourself they might need it.
Over and out .