Bitcoin Forum

A lot of crypto users still get it confused hence they loses their hard earned cryptos to either scam exchanges or ignorance of how wallets work. It is important that we sensitize the crypto community every now and then.

Centralize Exchanges


In 2018, the pretty bad boy "Scam" made away with millions of dollars in hundreds. Also, in the early 2019 to date, there has been reportedly exit scam and exchange hack associated with exchange such as Cryptopia, DragonEx, Coinmama, Bitrue and even Binance wasn't an exception.

QuadrigaCX exchange collapsed as well. See news here... https://www.coindesk.com/exit-scams-swindled-3-1-billion-from-crypto-investors-in-2019-report

Hardware/cold storage/ledger


It is pathetic seeing such huge funds being parted away with whereas it could have been prevented taking the right step. Undoubtedly, centralized exchanges rank zero where crypto storage is concerned. To be factual, hardware/cold storage is practically safe but with limitations which seem to be the exceptional strength of decentralized wallets.

• Cold storage or ledger may lost and that's the end.
• in case of fire accident or theft, it is gone.

• The time required in decryption might be used for other productive activities.
• it is expensive.

A desired and effective wallet should have the following:

A desired wallet should be :

• Safe and secure.
• Easily accessible.
• Flexible (i.e even if host is misplaced or stolen, funds can be retrieved without recourse to the actual host)
• Simple and efficient (i.e should provide for easy transferability and exchange of assets).
• Give value back to the user among others.

Decentralized wallet

Since 2017, I have been in crypto, I use only decentralized wallets with different functionalities but of recent, I discovered ATOMIC WALLET which is why i write this article being a satisfied user.. If you are reading this, I am pretty sure wallet isn't a new word to you and there are couple of them out there you can get on your mobile or PC. But ATOMIC WALLET has cool features perfect for both an average and PRO users. It is:

• a non-custodian wallet that neither stores your credentials nor can it assess your funds
• a multi-currency light wallet that lets you conveniently manage your crypto assets and portfolios (Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin, XLM, BCH, Doge and over other 500 coins) in one pack

• a value-giving (option of earning reward through of ATOMIWALLET native coin -Atomic Wallet Coin(AWC)
• comprises of basic and advanced functionalities such as Storage, Swapping asset with another through the Atomic swap functionality -an advance feature that facilitates easy exchange of assets within the application thereby eliminating third party interference

• has inbuilt exchange services (in partnership with external exchanges such as Changelly, Changenow
• has feature to purchase crypto with bank/credit card

Considering hardware wallet is an expensive thing is awful because it only cost about somewhere $100 to $200 so spending this amount for securing coins worth in millions is something deserves.

Agree with other risks of using hardware wallet but this is what we have the best even compared to the other online or paper wallets.

Yes hardware wallet is the safest option but not all coins are supported by these devices.

There are other very safe ways to store your coins. You can download a multi coin wallet like coinomi and hold it there on a device that is kept offline most of the time. The most danger comes from downloading files especially compressed ones and opening email.
If you don't send your coins to the wrong address, don't invest in a scam, and don't hold on exchanges, you are already doing more than most investors.

That's true. Top hardware devices majorly support the top and renowned coins on coinmarketcap. I got a Nano s wallet last 2 years and I was looking to store two random tokens I bought from Crex_24 but it gave me a tough time. At a point, I thought I bought a faulty wallet. So since then, I just store btc in my hardware wallet. Mobile wallets like IMToken and trust wallet are more dynamic and accommodating with ample security too as long as you don't loose your phone or you have your Passphrase or private key copied out in your private jotter

Hardware wallet might have some disadvantage compared to online wallets, at least your fund's security is ensured, especially if you are holding a huge fund. And in case of theft or loss, as long as you have the key phrase or seed, you can still access your wallet through it. But still, the risk of losing the phrase lays on the hand of the owner. In the end either if it is hardware or online the security of our fund lays on our hand.

A hardware wallet is worth buying when you have a large amount of money . Because it is really quite expensive and it should be used justifiably.

Isn't it atomic wallet a centralized wallet? I have made by a party, and i thought that it couldn't be considered as a decentralized wallet. There's not such truly decentralized wallet. As far as i know, i haven't seen any points from your explanation that explains why atomic can be considered as a decentralized wallet.

Do you know what centralized mean? It's a functional wallet but i can't define that as one of the decentralized wallets. I see that wallet and for me rather than it and cold storage always become the best choice.

I'm feeling curious about can i take my private key from there if I'm willing to use it in the future?

I just try to think about any wallet has been made by the developer, and it's not suitable to call that as decentralized when there will always be at least a single party or someone who created the wallet.

i really like Coinomi for my phone, im not a whale tho, SIM swap is REAL : /
I lost coins to Quadriga, what a weird situation that one was, i might get them back in 6-12 months tho it's looking like
Don't trust exchanges for long term or high amounts thats the only given in this scene anymore haha
Nice read :)

For now, I use Ledger nano s to store bitcoin and ethereum (with all of its erc20s). And I save the mnemonic phrase in the paper provided by ledger. It is very safe from the reach of the internet. And for the mobile wallet, I use Trustwallet, which is convenient and easy to use. There are also many wallet tokens available such as bch, tron, xlm and many more.

Bitcoin and many altcoins are treasures. And the longer you HODL them the higher their value gets. Because of this, they should be stored and kept in the best way possible in terms of safety. There is no other wallet or storage safer than hardware wallet. In terms of the most trusted hardware wallets, Ledger and Trezor are the two ruling wallets. They have built a great reputation as the most secure hardware wallets for your cryptocurrencies. They are adding more and more altcoins to their compatible lists.

Every online wallet can be breached if you don't aware of it or if you misuse it! Even a hardware wallet can be hacked if the user discloses the phrase code on online or take a picture of the phrase codes! If you have bigger money to hold, don't hold all in one hardware wallet, divide into 2 or 3 wallets! For online, Metamask and Trust Wallet are the most secure wallet.

It is true that Bitcoin and Altcoins are our treasure and as such we need to keep them safe,other wallets can be used to keep them safe as long as you keep your private keys safe and you avoid phishing links but the safest still remains hardware wallet even though it has it's disavtanges as you listed, everything has advantages and disadvantages. So when we talk about safety for Coins, Hardware wallet comes to my mind.

I do not keep my wallet in the hardware that makes it difficult for me to open my wallet when I have to type it again, I believe that the wallet online is safe, Coinomi and Trustwallet my choice to store assets from tokens and coins will be simpler compared to devices hard.
Of course the mnemonic phrase must be saved so that no one else knows.

Storing your Bitcoin on a hardware wallet is the recommended and safest option. You could go for either Ledger or Trezor. Remember to buy it from an official seller only and never use a resold hardware wallet. Backup the seed words and keep them with you. but if you want to use your Bitcoin for paying for coffee or other daily activities then you should use a paper wallet as it gives you the option of liquidity. these wallets are also called online wallets and are less secure when compared to a hardware wallet. but nothing gets the point across better that coins aren't "stored" on your computer or on digital device, and you can still check up on them with a block explorer. helps people better understand the important bits.

Atomic wallet good. I think there should be more information about the wallet to help potential users understand it better. It's one of the most important exchanges I checked out in the past. It actually impressed me but I don't remember why didnt use it then. I guess it's because I didn't see much on the website to guide me on how to use it and about it most important features.

Agree, it's best to keep the coins we have on the hardwallet. But if you don't have it, you can use a trusted mobile wallet such as a Trust wallet or others as long as the wallet has a good reputation and we store Seed words safely

I'm also a user of atomic wallet but on mobile, and it's good. I use both Atomic wallet and trust wallet to store multi assets without having to install wallets for individual coins. The option to buy crypto with credit card via atomic wallet isn't functional on mobile the last time I checked, correct me if I'm wrong. To be on the safe side, store your private keys or mnemonic on a USB drive and also write down on paper and keep safe.

bitcoin is valuable but altcoins aren't.

that is the main reason why people keep holding their altcoins on exchanges because they want to have quick access to them whenever the dumping begins so that they can sell super fast before it becomes too late and they lose all their money.
not to mention that trusting altcoin wallets is a very hard thing nowadays. it is not just about malwares but it is also about their numerous bugs because nobody uses them and they bugs remain there since nobody reports to fix them.

Yeah I didn't dispute it either but comparing Hardware wallet with Decentralized wallet is the advantage that the latter has over the former. The risk associated is higher in the former that the latter. Besides you are right about spending such minimal amount to protect one's fortune isn't a big deal but at a low level even in some medium level, most cannot afford it.

Pretty cool. I have infact used coinomi once but not to compared to the services and benefits that Atomicwallet gives users. I earned some free coins, I can buy BTC other cryptos and perform trade right within my wallet without leaving the space to trade it elsewhere. Also, each asset of tokens is assigned a distinctive private key which mean i do not need to always import my overall private key if i need to perform a simple transaction.

But have we to consider the risk involved is justifiable? such as theft or misplacement or accident or any external factors beyond our control such as the act of God or other?

Lol @Legend,

Even the hardware wallet is made by human. And if we are to compare the risks involved in using both methods, i am of no doubts that decentralized wallet is better. Hardware only gives the benefit of keeping your coins offline same as decentralized. You will need internet to use your hardware wallet which means it is still at risk especially if you have malware installed on your machine. over time we have seen and researched that decentralized has proved safe to use. Its quite hard to decrypt private keys except they're mishandled. I am not against the use of cold storage either. Atomic wallet is decentralized because it is a non-custodian wallet meaning it doesn't have the knowledge of your key(s). Only you does. it makes you anonymous and free of surveillance except for the blockchains.

Coinomi is cool. i used it once or twice to store MRO but I wish that you try out Atomicwallet and give me feedback.

Atomic added extra functionalities such as instant swapping of cryptos via the atomic swap exchange at very low fee, buying cryptos with your card and few others.

But the hardware can't be used without internet. You still need internet to move it which makes it still prone to attack if one has a malware on his machine.Decentralized wallet is as well safe so long the P.Key is kept safe and quite tough and almost impossible to decrypt P'key without user's activity. Both are cool. but for the value giving, decentralized wallets are cool hence why i decided to use Atomic wallet only.

Say what?  You can buy a ledger nano s for under $50, and there are other ones for even less than that.  And I do think they're one of the most secure methods of storing bitcoin and a lot of different altcoins.  Paper wallets are a good idea as well, but I'd much prefer a hardware wallet in case I need to send coins instead of just storing them.

Those are risks for anything, tho.  Anyone can get robbed, fires can destroy all your possessions, and if you can think of a disaster which could destroy a hardware or paper wallet or computer, it can happen.  It's all about minimizing those risks.

Nice one.

I am very happy for the first line of your statements. Knowing that even hardware wallet is prone to hack so long it requires internet to effectively use it.

Well PAL atomic wallet is a new wallet that still perform worse than old wallets, if we are talking about better wallet i should be hearing about trust wallet, copay, myether, coinomi, etc atomic wallet works but still buggy, balance disappeared from time to time, synching problems do occur

That's great to know you approve of decentralized wallets too. You may try Atomic wallet for value adding and simplicity in trading and exchange of cryptos.

Nice one. This also tells me hardware wallet are prone to attack as malware programs may be written on it to steal coins which is why I will rather use Decentralized wallet for now. Nevertheless, I am yet to store up to $5,000 worth of crypto. Sooner, I will do more than that.. :D

If you are so concerned about the severity of your fund, irrespective of the time required to get some things done on the wallet, inasmuch as it guarantees maximum security, I think  that is the best, particular when you are managing huge fund that you do not want to lose.

Almost all available wallets have private keys and recovery seeds, users are the ones who will choose the wallet of their choice so we don't need to make them use any wallets, coinomi and trust are the best wallet hands down, i bet other wallets don't have monero in them, anyways just keep your recovery seed or private key safe

You do your best, share useful information and do promotions. 8) No problem, as long as it can provide educative information.
Each wallet choice must have advantages and disadvantages to each. Of course, the best is the Hardware wallet, as most members suggest, although it is quite expensive but it is proportional to the level of security and comfort when used to store lots of assets. This does not mean that other wallets are not quality, it depends on the concern of users in managing security and maintaining every "click" and behaviour on the internet.

The first option is to save with a hardware wallet, because were not connected to the network in storage period then this is the safest choice. Second choise for alt wallet, I entrust it to myetherwallet or metamask. because it is connected to the network and is at risk of being hacked, if you have large funds, it is better to split into several wallets. I never used atomiwallet so cant give any reviews.

try to save data that is not connected to the network is the best way because the network may still have shortcomings which means it can still be hacked, and your way is good when storing data in a place that is not network connected. and when accessing data must be very careful with checking the url of the website

Hardware wallet is the best choice indeed. Also,
Using myetherwallet can also secured your funds as long as you did not make any mistake to leaked any information of your wallet especially the private key. I also do the same idea of splitting the funds to multiple wallets to avoid risk of losing it all in an instant 

People doing hard work for good earning but scammers are very clever & stolen hard working fruitable income within few minutes. i think we should be carefull.my opinon is that we should be store our coins who have get by hard work, in safest hard wallet software.

Scammers and hackers are getting better every year, so you should be really protective in all of your assets because they could easily steal it in a minute. Finding a good wallet is really not the best solution to protect your funds because even a online wallet that has a strong security features they could easily access to it, that is why you should be really using a hard wallet even it has an expensive price because it is still perfect to it's price and it is the best solution to keep all of your funds away from hackers.

Hardware wallets are still the most preferrable to use nowadays. Like what you said there are now many wallets that have been shut down because the hackers can access their platform.

You need to compare each wallet by yourself and don't depend on other people because we have a different favorite wallet to store bitcoin and altcoin. Some people say that this wallet is good, that wallet is good, but if we don't know how we store the coin, then it's not good at all for us. We need to try one by one of the wallets so we can find which wallet that will suit us, and the most important is we are easy to use the wallet, and we don't have a problem accessing the wallet.

Hardware wallet can be the key to all these problems, but we cant' deny the fact that using online wallet such myetherwallet is still needed. Hardware wallet does not cover all types of altcoins in the market there are still  limitation to its capability. It is safe and the most secured but it is still incomplete.

the most important thing in the wallet platform is their security, because if the security provided is not perfect then the platform will be left out by the user. therefore many people currently use hardware wallets because security is managed independently without a third party

Cool. I have used in fact countable number of wallets i can't remember all but the special thing about Atomic is the extra ancillary services it offer which aren't available on other wallets mentioned above. You just need to try it out and see. other wallets aren't bad as well. 

Nice one from you. Quite courageous.

Hardware wallet is good. No doubt, meanwhile Decentralized wallet is good for keeping your ALTs.

hmm thoughtful, but not as decentralized ones where paraphrases used.

fully hardware wallet is very safe for me, from 2016 I used a hardware wallet that never experienced any problems. Wallet Applications like this can be hacked, because our devices are always connected to the internet. all this time I used the Trezor wallet to only provide $65 to secure 1000+ of your crypto assets. but it's also quite interesting what the OP said. :)

Hardware wallet is the safest until every government find ways to eliminate hackers which is impossible in internet and today's era of technology. We must put in hardware what we want to hold longer then those we want to trade keep it in wallet and some in exchanges. Make sure to put 2FA security and be careful in keys and visited websites.

But does hardware wallet works without the internet? if so, It would be indisputable. i have seen cases where hardware wallet contained malicious program and soon as the owner connected to internet, all was vanished. Also, some lost their coins just as they connected it for transaction. i really wondered if that could be, not until i read about it and have one of the victims on same group i belong.

I still make use of exchanges to store some of my coins, particularly when I am expecting updates to sell in profit. After selling, I withdraw my fund into my wallet, so as not to run at loss for any hack. This !right be risky, to curb this, I ensure that larger percentage of my funds are in my wallet.

At the beginning as a newbie one of my Etherwallet hacked and I lost my coins from that wallet after that I bought hardware wallet (Trezor) to store my coins safe from that day till today I have not been afraid of hacking and one more thing if we lost our Trezor wallet we can still retrieve our all coins by buying a new Trezor as well as keeping safe the seed phrase of the wallet and apart from this I am not much aware of atomic wallet so keeping trust on Trezor wallet till date.

Yes, I also prefer to hold my money on Trezor, but I also have a part of my money on large exchanges where I trade with coins and also constantly rebalance my portfolio

First mistake is to ever even keep our coin on an exchange, so that should first of all be discouraged, and people should stay away from exchange wallet if they really want to have a secured coins, but when it comes to hardware wallet, i think for now, it is still the most secured wallet which is quite very cheap to me, although it depend on the amount kept there, because it would not be worth it to buy hardware wallet for an amount that is even  lower than the cost of the wallet itself.

There are still other ways of keeping ones coins too anyway, I think it is still safe too to actually keep money on a desktop wallet, but the one that has its own private key for us to be able to make recovery at any time. That is the only way that we can make a full recovery.

I use a variety of cryptocurrency wallets and atomic wallet happens to be one of them but it's definitely not at the top of my list, the wallet that holds that too spot is imtoken, I might just be sentimental about the wallet because it is my first ethereum wallet but apart from imtoken, I also adore trust wallet as well, although both wallets has grown from being just ethereum wallets to being multi-wallets that you could use to store a variety of coins and tokens from different blockchains.

There's no safest way than Manual way. All the private key of your assets must be safe to the Paper. Then laminate them with plastic and save it in your Safety Box. I'm saying this because I see in another perspective. Save them to our device can't fully trusted. A lot of cutting-edge malware program was developed every day, and you don't know, maybe it already been on your device.

When you keep your fund by your self, then it is assumed that you are in full control of it and no one seems to bother you on it. However, some have mishandled the security details, which should be well kept I'm a safe place. A slight lockage in it, can get it compromised.

Your opinion is true, there is no device or system that is safe even though using antivirus. the safest way is to lock the private key by compressing it using winrar and locking it. Now a lot of malware and ransomware can infect devices very quickly. I myself have also been a victim of ransomware and my personal data cannot be opened, if I want to open it I have to send a bitcoin to get the antidote.

It seems the way you say is safe but it's somewhat complicated. I prefer to keep all of that on my device, in my opinion that way is still said to be safe. As long as you don't do anything like opening the door for malware. Or rather do not install anything on your device.

Get a hardware wallet, fast and easy
Trezor
Ledger
Viper

I personally prefer paper wallet if the coin you tend to hold has one though and if it doesn't then create yourself one, find wooden or iron to carve your private keys on or recovery see if you are too scares that the paper can get burnt.

Indeed, the way I use is complicated, but security is more guaranteed. Although the data can be stolen by others, they will not be able to open it because it has been given a password. Devices that are used without attaching anything are not necessarily safe if they are still connected to the internet.