Bitcoin Forum

Storing your BTC on an exchange is the common way most traders save their coins. But is it the best method? Cold storage to me look expensive, since it is costive to purchase hardware.

paper wallet > hardware wallet > exchange

Paper wallets can not be hacked since they aren't stored on a computer. This is the best option, especially if you aren't a technology wizard like a lot of people on here are. Paper wallets always get the coins from a hardfork too. Just make sure to keep them in a safe or another safe place.

Making your own paper wallets might be your most inexpensive method, but you have to know what you doing or it will be your worst nightmare. There are a lot of advice on this forum on creating your own secure paper wallets, so you have to do some research before you attempt this.

Buying a hardware wallet will be a bit more expensive, but it is a lot easier and it gives you easier access to your coins. The other methods < Desktop wallets and online wallets > are the least secure, but the easiest method to store bitcoins.

I got a mail from trezor yesterday, they seem to have dropped their shipping fees within the EU, so a hardware wallet does cost less than $100, wether it be a trezor or a ledger nano S.

That being said, my own view on the topic:

Safest:

• hardware wallet: both reasonably cheap and easy to use
• airgapped pc: expensive and a little bit harder to use (you always have to transfer unsigned/signed transactions between an online and offline machine)
• Paper wallet: very cheap and very secure if generated in the correct way, but hard to use (you have to sweep and discard the paper wallet each time you use it, then transfer the remaining value to a new paper wallet)

Medium:

• Desktop wallet: free, but you need a clean PC and you NEED to encrypt your wallet (using a strong passphrase). Virusscanners/firewall are a must have

Unsafe-ish:

• Android/Ios wallets: I call these ones unsafe because it's harder to verify the wallet's signatures, many people know less about their phone's OS than they know about their desktop's OS, and phones can easily get stolen/lost

Unsafe:

• Any wallet where you're not the (only) one in controll of your private keys. This includes exchanges and online wallets

not really, traders only keep the funds they want to trade with on exchanges. newbies who don't know what trading is are keeping more amounts on exchanges.

and most people don't trade with all they have. most of them have some funds in cold storage and only trade with smaller portion of those funds and that is kept on exchanges and only for as long as they are trading with them. if a trader stops trading for any reason like price being stable, they withdraw their bitcoin immediately back to cold storage.

as for cold storage cost, you should know that cold storage is not only hardware wallets but hardware wallets are only a sub category of cold storage. if you don't want to spend money they use paper wallet.

It depends upon what you want to do with them. If you want to hold them then keep them in your own wallett with key access. If you want to trade or lend,I lend on Bitfinex, then you need to hold in an exchange.

Agree that's a good list, hardware wallet seems to be the most secure, however you can achieve very good degree of security with certain desktop wallet including Bitcoin Core.

PC purse

You can use largest online wallets, like Blockchain wallet. But if you want to get precise info, you can check links - https://99bitcoins.com/best-bitcoin-wallet-comparison-review/ and https://www.cryptocompare.com/wallets/#/overview, there are a lot of information. Blockchain online wallet of course is largest one. ;)

I don’t think storing BTC on exchanges is the most common way to save coin and it is definitely not the best method. The wallets exchanges don’t belong to you. The best method is to store BTC in paper wallet, desktop wallet (Private key controlled by you) or hardware wallet.
Hardware wallet is not too expensive, it cost less than $100 which is a good investment to safeguard your coins.

Although it can not be said to be the best method for exchanges, there is a guarantee at major exchange, so it can be relieved a little.

What kind of a guarantee?
MtGox was a big exchange, people are still trying to get any recompensation from them...
Bittrex is just locking accounts and keeping funds hostage...
Yobit simply disables wallets and doesn't answer tickets for weeks...
There are many big exchanges that have screwed over their users in the past. Don't think that your funds are safe just because the echange is big.

Hardware wallet is best for a combination of safety and convenience and they are priced reasonably.

The problem is that many altcoins do not have support on a hardware wallet. particularly if they are using their own protocol and need support to be explicitly added by the manufacturer.

Put em on an encrypted usb drive. u get the airgap and and encryption so only you can use it.


This is agreed. You can only take a haircut at best and it is unhealthy to create a false expectation.

i am using paper wallet but my method in storing bitcoin in a website or in mobile app in our country is creating multiple accounts and separate my coins these will prevent to lose all your wallet in one time in case something happens.   

maybe for now I still keep bitcoin in online wallet, but so far have never experienced problem with wallet, and maybe later i will try to save it in hardware.

If you wait untill you have a problem, it's usually to late  ;)
I'd recommand to at least switch to a desktop wallet on a properly secured/clean pc, at least you'll be in controll of your own private keys, so you have nobody to blame but yourself if you mess up...

The exchange is a bad option for storing your money, because it can close at any time ... For example, I use an online wallet on the service apibtc.com, since there is no commission for personal use, instantaneous transactions and problems have never occurred to me. And for the API, commission only 0.5%

I think the best way is having a Bitcoin wallet on your PC. To protect this wallet is necessary encrypt it with a reliable password, this makes it more difficult to hack, but does not give 100% protection, and it is also important to create a backup of the entire wallet, and also there are bitcoins services in which u can use multi-signature operates.

I am just storing my bitcoins in my online wallet and as of now, it is the best method that I know.  I tried storing bitcoins before on exchanges but after that I moved all my bitcoins into online wallet.  It is good because, I paid my credit card bills and utility bills using that wallet.  Just store them wherever you want.  Just keep in my mind to not share your password or pin to anyone and to always log out.

Storing your bitcoin in an exchange, isn't it everybody likes to do, but what if the website gets hacks or what if our data gets stolen for any reason. I think storing your bitcoin in an exchange is highly risky than storing it in your hardware wallet. Why i prefer hardware wallets like Trezor or Ledger nano s, because they are highly secured and they are easy to execute and operate from anywhere by anyone. If you need to spend few dollars for your hardware wallets then please go for it, your paying one time fee for your long term benefits.

I keep bitcoin in my wallet online and this I do because sure security is guaranteed the most important thing is to be careful in the confidentiality of the pin and if after opening it or after the transaction we have to clean everything we do on the computer and also do not let anyone know about pin us.

The main thing is always to have possession of your private keys and never give them to anyone.
Exchanges dont give you this control for the most part, also online wallets have varying degrees of security. Some are multi-sig which means you have control but many aren't.

Personally I felt that the cost of a hardware wallet was justifiable for the additional security it gives.

Who told you that? As long as you aren't the sole owner of your private keys, which means that you allow someone else to take care of them, your coins can never be secure. It's quite shocking that people actually think like this, it isn't only dangerous, but it also shows the stupidity of the general person here in this forum.

No matter how much effort you put into trying to work as secure as possible, you still depend on a third party to take care of your coins, and that's exactly where a problem forms. You don't know how that party is storing your coins, you don't know what happens if someone of their employees, or perhaps the operator himself acts when he has financial problems, etc. After the dangers from inside, there are the regular external dangers such as hacks. Do something to understand what it actually means to have a third party have full control over your coins.

blockchain.info or any web wallet isn't the way to go. You are relying on a website to stay up and if it goes down then you could potentially be screwed. Use desktop wallets at the very least and if you can afford a Trezor do it. It will be the best investment you make.

I agree with your point that all coins should not be stored on blockchain.info, but not really for the reasons that you state.

Blockchain.info does not have your private keys, so you are able to save a backup of your wallet, in case you need to get access to your blockchain.info coins through another service.   Blockchain.info is currently using the 12 word seed for such alternative access.

I usually keep a small amount on blockchain.info in order to be able to quickly and easily transact with anyone or even to have emergency funds that I could access if I am out and about and I can get the coins through the blockchain.info app on my phone.  Recently, I have been limiting my amount to less than .5 BTC; however, I am thinking that with recent price rises, I may have to lower my "carry around" limit even more.  Maybe .2BTC would be sufficient - but if I am going on a trip, it may be better to have up to .5BTC to be able to access... These are ongoing questions that can come about with changes in prices and changes in security features that are contained in various wallet options (including the ability to hide some of your balance by archiving some of the addresses).

Cold storage doesn't always require purchasing hardware. If you make a "paper wallet" you can do it for fairly cheap, you could then laminate it and stick it in a safety deposit box. You could also make a more "substantial" wallet if you have access to an air-gapped laser cutter. You could engrave it into a metal sheet and then place it in a folder to prevent other people from seeing it and then place that whole packet into a safety deposit box. This method would also allow for a bit more durability and general survivability. The odds of a bank robbery are incredibly low, but you could also disguise your key in a method of your choosing before recording it. For example, a typed page that looks innocuous unless you know how many words to count over on could hide your key from even someone who is staring at the page AND knows that your key is hidden in the writing.

This is also one of the question that I have, I'm wondering if I can just print the seed to a paper and delete my computer wallet every
time I am not using it to be safe. I heard of a hardware wallet  but wondering if what will happen to it when you lost the hardware
itself or what if it is broken is it possible to retrieve the wallet back? Paper wallet might be the best wallet to have since it is a hard
copy as long as you keep the paper it is impossible to steal it from you.

I think the best way is to hold it in your bitcoin wallet and make at least a monitoring of exchange rate in buying and selling. Just holding the bitcoin can have a higher returns if it sell in a higher price.

Electrum offline wallet.

Please correct this problem.

The best to store my bitcoin is blockchain wallet because I do not trust any other wallet due to the security and authentication. For me only blockchain is trustable and reliable. Keep your bitocins in blockchain wallet and swait for some time and do not use or spend them if you do not need and when the price go up more then you can use or sell your bitcoin using your blockchain wallet.

Any wallet where you hold your own keys is secure.

However cold wallet strorage is by fare the safest way to store your bitcoins. If you don't need them for trading i can recommend this.

If you dont want a cold storage because of its cost and also doesn't wanted it in some exchange, you can also use online wallet like blockchain and coinbase, i also hear someone using freebitco.in to store there BTC because everyday he will received an interest by simply storing his bitcoin their which i think its a good idea, because if your not gonna use it, its better to stock it on a website where you can gain interest by simple storing it

stored your bitcoin in the multifull wallet and put the hard privatekeys to secured your bitcoin from the hackers, storing in the different wallet is the best idea to secured your bitcoin if one of your wallet hack you have one more wallet for your bitcoin if store in one wallet all your bitcoin have possibility lost your all investment if your wallet got hack.

The best way for it to do so is to have a mind set. A very strong mindset actually to do it. Why? Yes maybe yoy have the mindset but if it is not strong enough then everything will be useless when have already changed your mind. Saying that you will always be saving amounts in your storage is really easy but it is really hard to do so if you dont have a strong mindset

I think coinbase is an exchange with bad reputation. Coinbase is not secure because it's an exchange. I read one thread in this forum that a lot of customers account got hacked.
For free and secure wallet use online wallets with keys.

I agree on your point of view. As for me,In oder for me to store my bitcoins safely,I have to change it into a real money which is the physical money or we call it as fiat. I definitely like tp store it in a wallet first that is of course a digitized money from bitcoin. It is true that saving is very hard to do but if you have determination in saving your money as well as bitcoin,there's no problem with that and it's a good discipline to not spend things which are not inportant. So from the exchanging real money from bitcoin,I store it in my vault or in the bank. Through these,I can store my bitcoin into cash in the best way I can.

Cold storage is the best way no matter in you are daily trading or holding for the long term. Cold storage is the safest and should only be accessed when needed and a new cold storage should be created when you have accessed the previous one.

If you are going to be a daily trader, then keep your coins on your exchange, this is the best way that you can store them because you will not have to move your coins everytime that you want to buy/sell a coin.
If you are not going to trade, then keep your coins on your wallet, if you have an offline wallet, then it is much better because you know that you are never going to be hacked, so you are going to be much more safe than holding them on a exchange.

It is definitely not the safest way to store coins. Be cautious when it comes to exchanges because you are actually entrusting your coins to them. You are not the one holding or owning the private key or pin codes to your coins if you are storing them in exchange sites. A cold storage is the best but if you are only saving a single bitcoin perhaps you will have to trust some other online wallets temporarily.

In my opinion it is safest to store your bitcoins on your hardware wallet than online just make sure that you got your own private keys. And another one safe to store bitcoin is paper wallet you can find one on the internet.

i use coinbase. I would suggest you to use that because it is in usa and is regulated. They also have a exchange so you can trust it completely it also is going to credit all the forks which are going to occur in bitcoin. The fees is also really less

For the best security, you require cold storage. Cold storage in the blockchain realm simply means a device that is disconnected from the Internet. This is the toughest security measure possible to safeguard any crypto-investment from the prying interests of hackers.

Paper wallets are the most secure, if left unused that is.
It is also very cheap, but you would have to secure the paper (against fire, etc...).
Their biggest disadvantage is that they are quite clumsy to use AFAIK.
So if you happen to have a stash of bitcoin you know you wont touch before long, a paper wallet might be a good option.

But if you still want your bitcoins to be somewhat accessible for spending, a hardware wallet seems a better option IMHO.
I prefer a hardware wallet as a middle ground between security and ease of use.

So, the first and foremost rule never keep all your bitcoins in your one pocket, DISTRIBUTE THEM among different wallets.

a hardware wallet is the best choices if you want the secure one to save bitcoin, but from my experience i save my bitcoin in online wallet like blockchain and local exchanger in my country is safe, you need to know that dont give your private key or password from your account to anyone, if you give it its same that you give all youor btc to them

Hey guys, I wanna ask what are your plans on your Bitcoin in the future? Do you plan to keep on investing on Bitcoin related businesses or do plan to convert it into fiat and ventures on new business?

I'm planning to invest more on Bitcoin related companies and convert some of my Bitcoin into fiat and invest it on our local stock market. How about you?

A Hardware wallet like a Ledger Nano S for example, should suit as the best Option.
Personally, I don't use one but store my coins on exchanges - since there are so many wallets at once.

I use a hardware wallet. I also store the the seed words in a seperate location. This way if the physical wallet is lost/stolen/destroyed  I can back it up, and if the seed words are lost I can still have access to my funds and protect them.

Avoid keeping bitcoins in exchanges as they are more prone to cyber attack, put them in wallets.Different exchanges/wallets are CEX.IO , Coinbase , Coinmama , Whaleclub , Lake BTC , Bitit , VirWox , HitBTC, Changelly.

If your amount is small and you are interested in Trading keep it in premium Hot Wallets (Online Wallets) like Coinbase , Blockchain , Xapo

I hear a lot of talk about coinbase and i want to know if people from outside the USA can use it as well because i can see that there is a lot of verification when it comes to them and i don't think with me being outside the USA, i can successfully pass them at all.

hardware wallet.. and best among that is ledger nano s

You can keep your bitcoins on Windows / Android based software such as Copay, Mycelium Wallet etc.

If you have more bitcoins and want to keep it ultrasafe then go for Hardware wallets like TREZOR . or the cheapest Ledger Wallet.

For me the best way to store my bitcoins is blockchain wallet, because it is the most reliable, secure and authentic wallet for my bitcoins. The transaction is also easy and the use from blockchain wallet is also comfortable. I will suggest to all the people to use blockchainbitcoin wallet for holding and storing their bitcoins. No other wallet is so secure and reliable like blockchain.