I'm very excited and scared all at the same time -
Santa bought me the Ledger Nano S and I have to figure out how to use it!
What is it? Its a hard wallet (hard as it is like a USB stick as oppose to soft wallet being software on your computer).
The Nano S is a place to keep your cryptocurrency (crypto for short) secure and away from the internet so bank robbers (hackers) can't rob your crypto stash!
This hot -cold- hard -paper wallet terminology is confusing. I'm still trying to understand it. There's so many ways to store crypto with various levels of convenience and security.
Its quite complicated with 'keys' that are 'private' & 'public', QR codes and 20 word phrases I have to remember and not store on my phone, but write on a piece of paper and hide it in my house. My head spins....
So we will all end up with paper with codes to our crypto written on them, locked in a safe in our attics.....pretty old school! haha
Maybe this will result in bank robberies declining and house burgleries increasing......think about it....if someone has a lot of crypto they could be a target for their house being robbed for their wallet.
WALLET TYPES & NEW WORDS
Paper wallet. Hard wallet. Soft wallet. Hot wallet. Cold wallet. What?! cant i just have a leather Prada purse?
Well no. As there's no cash that needs storing. No folding stuff. Your money is digital. No cash??!...weird! That's right. No cash. It's a whole new concept that makes your brain hurt.
Think of it like internet money - you use internet banking all the time, but the money isn't with a traditional bank. It sits on a blockchain.
With blockchain the English language is evolving further. To describe crypto wallets old words are being given new meanings which is really cool. I love this repurposing of words to describe new things. Its creative.
The Collins English dictionary when next updated will have many new words that relate to cryptocurrency.
When the majority of the population has moved to store currency on 'crypto' wallets, this is going to have a profound effect on many things. Like the movies about bank robberies - no more elaborate plans to tunnel under the bank to rob it of bags of cash (sorry Jason Statham - The Bank Job). No movies with people with pockets with a wads of dollar bills and no throwing money in the air and it raining down like snow. That stuff is going to be old school. (Along with self driving petrol cars, but let's stick to the topic).
The new bank robbers are hackers as we have read in the news.
LEARNING TO USE A LEDGER NANO S
So how do I learn to use this Ledger Nano S? YouTube tutorials! The university of the internet.
I haven't found a tutorial that is basic enough to post a link up. They all have too much jargon for a real newbie with no background knowledge. I got a little lost myself with the jargon!
Wallets are explained in the book I recommended in my first post "Blockchain -The Beginners Guide" by Artemis Caro.
NO BANK - I AM THE BANK (...eek)
The thing about crypto is there is no bank holding my funds securely. I am the bank. It's a total mind set change.
Currently having Government issued money in a bank is easier. If I lose my password I can reset it on the app on my phone. The bank text me a code and I'm done. I have an ATM card to buy my lunch, a coffee & can get cash out. Easy.
If I lose the code to my crypto wallet code ....there is no one to help me recover it because it is stored on the blockchain (that distributed ledger out there). I could lose all my money. That is scary.
As crypto evolves and becomes more mainstream there will be solutions for security and ease of use. Crypto is still in its infancy.
NO BANK - THE OPPORTUNITIES (yay!)
As no traditional bank is needed to store cypto, it opens so many new opportunities. Not everyone can open a bank account. No ID. No address. Live in the middle of nowhere in central Africa with no access to a bank. It may be a 3 day walk to a bank to get money a family member sent. Then there's the bank fees on the small amount sent. clip clip clip...the banks love fees.
If you work globally online (say writing content) and getting paid in other currencies you have to deal with exchange rates, payment times and those pesky bank fees, clip clip clip....which doesn't make the small jobs viable.
There are so many restrictions with banks. You can only bank during their hours. Even doing an internet payment it won't process after 10pm!!! But they'll take the money from my account and hold it overnight -what!?! the computers are awake 24/7!
The majority of the world has a phone. So the 'unbanked' can be banked. Commerce can grow. People can be in control of their own finances. No bank applications. No ID checking. No addressed needed. No questions. You dont need a new suit you can't afford to visit the bank manager who will judge you. Blockchain has no bias.
No amount of money sent is too small. No online job is too small. Because, the fees are tiny.
No permission is needed.
and imagine, no poverty (well, reduced).
Currently holding and using crypto has a lot of barriers. But the clever software geeks will change that. I'll have a crypto ATM card or credit card. I'll be paid in crypto. It will be easy to buy those new shoes!
**NEW WORDS
- PAPER WALLET - storing the code to your crypto on a printed piece of paper.(seems like technology going backwards!). Its not connected to the internet or stored on your device so has more security. But don't lose it or lose access to your money. Scary.
-SOFT WALLET - Is a app on your PC or device. Software = Soft.
- HOT WALLET - is a wallet on your mobile or PC. Could be an app you download (soft wallet). Could be storing crypto on the internet where you bought the crypto (called an 'exchange'....like a stock exchange. Similiar to buying shares in a company who does business you like) you are buying 'cryptocurrency' which fund the project that that crypto is working on - like smart contracts, or blockchains for connecting the health sector so all your records are in one place). Has degrees of security.
-COLD or HARD WALLET - a hard device to store crypto on. Looks like a USB stick. Its not connected to the internet so it is called 'cold'. It is more secure as hackers can't get to the crypto on the hard device. When you need to access your crypto you plug the device into your PC. Inconvenient.
COFFEE?
So how do I buy a coffee? carry around pieces of paper or a USB stick? Hmmm..... That's the next step for cyrpto to be more easily accessible for every day public to use. (& the value has to stablise.....que the guy who bought 2 pizzas with 10,000 bitcoin way back when it was dirt cheap. Now worth $20million.....Ouch!)
I'll keep using cash for now to buy my coffee. Its anonymous. The bank can't see my coffee habit.
EFTPOS and credit cards took away that anonymity. Crypto will give it back.
As i've prepared this blog I've been learning. If I got anything wrong let me know, so I keep growing my knowledge.
Keep watching and i'll sort this Leger Nano S out.
BE CURIOUR - SEARCH - LEARN - GROW
Kiwicrypto