Bitcoin Forum

I've got about $700 that I want to use to buy Bitcoin and hold it for the long run. I am having a hard time choosing where I want to store this coin, encrypted desktop wallet, blockchain.info, blockchain.info paper wallet, TREZOR, or something else. If I go with a TREZOR then I'll only have around $600 to spend on buying coin. What do you guys think is my best option for storing 3 Bitcoins for the long run?

don't spend money for trazor, i find it not worth it, better to buy cheap usb pen drives(buy 3 of those, one never know...) and store your encrypted wallet, there

i've mine stored there as well since years and everything is good, 0 problems

If I were you, I would download the bitaddress code from Github (https://github.com/pointbiz/bitaddress.org), disconnect from internet and create a new paper wallet for it. Depending on your paranoid level, you may boot from a Linux LiveCD to be sure malware doesn't affect you.

This is what I do. The Ubuntu (Linux) CD isn't that hard to use either.

Simply use a cold storage (https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Cold_storage) wallet to store Bitcoins long-term. It is the most secure way so far. Don't store it in a wallet from coinbase or blockchain.info.

Although it's mostly opinion:

• Encrypted desktop wallet - No
• blockchain.info - No
• blockchain.info paper wallet - Wasn't aware they did paper wallets, but since you have to be online for it, no.
• TREZOR - no comment

Personally, my favorite method is generating a paper wallet OFFLINE and store your coins there.
Sometimes I'll use bitaddress (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=43496.0) the RNG seems pretty reliable with the tracking cursor movement for extra entropy. As long as done all offline and you keep backups it should be very safe.

Follow reply 1, although do all this on an Ubuntu live CD.

Blockchain is fine and great for day to day usage but I wouldn't recommend it for long-term storage. I also don't think you need to spend money on buying an expensive hardware wallet like trezor. I think the best solution would be a lite desktop client like electrum or multibit. Write the wallet seed down so you can restore you wallet if you lose it and make several back ups of your wallet.dat on cd-rs and USBs. You could also write the private keys down if you want. There, you're protected numerous times in case anything goes wrong.

usb sticks do their work very well. they are quite cheap as well. that's real offline cold storage. hardware wallets are not always as good as they might look.

I suggest you a paper wallet to protect your bitcoins. You can find some tutorials here :)

Put them in a jar and place it on the mantle piece.

there are cheaper hardware wallets:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=899253.0

Buy a Ledgerwallet or just use a paper wallet :D

or do both and be even more safe  :)

I downloaded the bitaddress code, turned off wifi, opened the html file and generated a new wallet. However, in order to print the paper wallet, I have to turn my wifi back on. Isn't this a security risk?

I've read in guides to use a an old printer that doesn't connect to wifi. The benefits of having old machines around, lol. The one I use connects with just a USB plug. But I guess some people don't have access to that.

You technically could write down the public and private keys with pen and paper, and save those. Be sure to confirm that the private key turns into the public key before using it though.

If your printer works off of wifi, it probably also has a USB slot or a SD card input?
Try taking a screen shot of your generated address, put it on a USB stick or SD card and then stick it in your printer and print.

Why connect USB to a computer? Connect USB directly to a printer and print a Bitcoin address with Mycelium Entropy. https://mycelium.com/entropy

Paper wallets serve as a high protection from hackers. Owning a Bitcoin paper wallet means you are an absolute owner of Bitcoins, which can be “unlocked” by a private key. Thereby, no third parties are involved into the process of keeping your funds and you are fully independent from any service, website, app or even your PC, which can be hacked as well. 

Trezor is anytime worth for amounts over 1 BTC, however yeah right now, spending half a bitcoin, just to store may not look worth.

Paper wallet is the way to go to keep it secure without worries of losing or hackers taking it away, i learnt this the hard way losing 2.2 bitcoins last year.