Bitcoin Forum

As a beginner in the world of cryptocurrency, I need some help here. I cannot download the entire blockchain so I cannot use bitcoin core for exchanging (and why should I...). So, have you any good choice of company that keeps your bitcoins safe?

Right now I have created a blockchain.com account. It seems legit. I want to read your replies, tho, for more securance.

Not really sure what you are looking for, but I assume you are asking about a wallet...

I would not recommend centralized wallets like blockchain.com . You can have issues with private keys and if the website is down ... no funds for you :))
No 1 rule in crypto: Don't trust anyone !
No 2 rule (very close second): Not your keys, not your coins !

You don't need to sync bitcoin core in order to use it. You can use prune mode (after verification discards old blocks, keeping only most recent 2GB worth of blocks).
Or you can use Electrum (https://electrum.org/) on your PC and Mycelium on your phone.

There are many other options but these are well established and very frequently used (also by me)

There is no Bitcoin company... and try to avoid any online wallets, as there is always high risk of phishing attacks.

Best thing I would suggest is that you buy some Hardware wallet like Ledger or Trezor.
There is also free desktop wallet alternatives.

A company/business being safe or legit doesn't mean it's going to be "safe". Look at these exchanges[1]; it's safe to assume that most of them are legitimate businesses/companies, but being "legitimate" and "trusted" doesn't make you invulnerable to attacks.

As for the Blockchain wallet, ehh. Personally I'm more of an Electrum[2] or Wasabi Wallet[3] guy.

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[1] https://cryptosec.info/exchange-hacks/
[2] https://electrum.org/
[3] https://wasabiwallet.io/

why would you even want to use bitcoin if you still want to rely on a centralized service to store your money for you? just stick to fiat and continue using banks and don't bother with the volatile currency.

you do need to sync and you have to download the entire blockchain. the only difference is that you don't have to store the entire blockchain.

For starters, that has a good balance of accessibility and owning-your-keys, but not with security.
That's also a step-down from an SPV wallet because you have to visit their website, log-in using id & password and query their server to access your wallet.
So, expect website-related security and other issues like delayed update of balance, log-in issues and more ways to get hacked.

Consider switching to Electrum just like others suggested.
Or use this to select your wallet: bitcoin.org: Choose Your wallet (https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet?step=5&platform=windows&user=beginner), tick the right options on the left.
The wallets with "Full validation" tag are the ones that requires to download the full blockchain;
wallets with "Simplified validation" tag are the ones that doesn't require full verification of the blockchain.
Those with "Centralized validation" are the ones you can call "Companies".
Just make sure to choose the one with "Control over your money" (most of them does).

Thank you, I think I will go with Electrum. I just don't get why Electrum differs that much with the ones I call "companies". It seems that I don't need to get sync plus the software connects with electrum servers.


So I'll have to download the whole 250GB first and then delete until 2GB?

Electrum is an Open source wallet project, there's no real "benefit" for the creator and doesn't keep your data etc

A company is something private, and it's main purpose is the one of having profits. For that, they do store and sell data, apply some shady terms and conditions (KYC)....

Apart from that, you are in control of your seed AND private keys, whereas "company wallets" don't usually let you have access to both, or even one of those



Only if you download Bitcoin Core and prune it; Electrum is a lightwight client so there's you don't have to download the whole Blockchain. In fact, the whole instalation weighs something around 80MB. You can follow this guide (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5240594.0) from direwolf to verify the download before installing anything

I just read that downloading from electrum.org is not completely verified process.  :-\

So I have a question. If someone sends me bitcoins (to the BTC Address I have in my signature) will they arrive after the mining to my wallet?

https://i.imgur.com/7r2na4B.png

That's why you should follow this guide (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5240594.0) which was already linked in this thread. This process ensures that the installation file wasn't replaced with a malicious version which could steal your coins.


As long as the address belongs to your wallet, yes. In fact, you will see the coins a moment after they have been sent, but they will appear as unconfirmed.

As I can understand from what you've said. Actually I think you're asking how can you keep you BTC (or any other cryptocurrencies) in safe.
But for that, you don't need any company if you want. There are more than one way to keep your crypto assets. We are calling them a "wallet".

There are some kind of wallets which you can hold your assets.

Paper Wallet: You can basically create a wallet and send your assets in it. (for example, you can visit https://www.bitaddress.org/)
Hardware Wallet: These are one of the safest ways of keeping your BTC's safe. Because it is so hard to reach assets without your personal information. You can look for Ledger or Trezor for hardware wallets.
Hot Wallets: These are basically can reach an internet connection. So usually seems untrustable ways. If your devices have some problems then your assets can be in danger. There are varieties such as mobile wallet, Desktop wallet and Web-Based Wallet. For example Bitcoin core (https://bitcoin.org/en/download) is a desktop wallet, Trust wallet (https://trustwallet.com/) is a mobile wallet and Magnum wallet (https://magnumwallet.co/) is a web-based wallet.

You can also find a lot of wallet option from here: https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet?step=1

Paper wallets are not that straight forward for newbies. It is common practice to make them while not connected to the internet and delete any associated files from your PC before reconnecting (just mentioning in case he wants to explore that option)
OP, here you can read  some more on the subject:
[Guide] Create an Offline Wallet For Bitcoin and Altcoin Only Use 1 Paper (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5190202.0)

And how do I know that bitaddress.org doesn't store its private and public keys in database? What's the point of that site anyway?

You can download the website files (see GitHub respository (https://github.com/pointbiz/bitaddress.org)) and run them on an air-gapped PC. This will ensure that the keys are not sent anywhere.


You don't have to install anything and you can easily generate a paper wallet if you don't trust other forms of storage. Paper wallets are not really convenient if you intend to spend your coins often and this one in particular generates only legacy addresses.

You just download a file that generates pub&priv keys
And that is why you do the process offline, so you avoid any issues.
It is open source and as long as you verify the signature everything should be OK :)

Actually, if you are using the site.. you don't know.
I would discourage from using such a site to generate a paper wallet. Doesn't matter whether downloaded or online.

You can create a private/public keypair by using electrum or even via the linux command line using openssl.




While the private keys might not get sent anywhere, the random number generator could be manipulated or flawed. Especially when we are talking about javascript libraries.
Generating them using electrum, which uses the os.random() python function which uses the operating systems default entropy generation method is the preferred way.

Use it when you are offline or use github.

Paper wallets can be very practical. But you also need to keep the private key in that paper wallet well.

If you are going to keep a high amount of crypto assets in this wallet, I definitely recommend you to choose a hardware wallet.

Also, even if you do not buy a Ledger, you can create your own seed keys and use that wallet in another Ledger, but this is not practical.

What ever you do, don't use an online wallet or a wallet that isn't open source.
Online wallets aren't safe at all. When the website goes down, you won't be having access to your wallet. Again, those online sites are always prone to hacking. The online wallet creator might claim that they are 100% secure, but trust me, no such wallets can be 100% secure and they can never guarantee you that you will never lose your coins.
Like others said, as long as you don't control your keys, the coins aren't yours. If anyone else has access to your keys, then you can't call yourself the sole owner of the coins.

Yes, given that the address you input is correct and matches yours, it should arrive.

You are fairly new to Bitcoin, so I would not suggest that you use Paper wallets as your primary storage option. Paper wallets generated with bitaddress.org is very secure, but you have to use it correctly or you will lose your coins. (Generating the paper wallets is not secure, if you do this online or if you use a computer that are re-connected after you created those wallets.)

Paper wallets is also not practical for daily use, but rather an option for people who wants to buy coins for long-term storage. You would be much better off downloading the desktop wallets like previously suggested by other users to access your coins. (eg. Electrum etc.)

Some people create an account with Crypto exchanges and use their wallets, but I would advise against doing that, because these exchanges are primary targets for hackers. (Only deposit coins there for trading and then transfer it to other wallets as suggested)  ;)

For the time being. bitcoinpaperwallet, which used to be open source and a secure way to generate paper wallets, has fairly recently turned in to a scam site, with their code disappearing from github and producing a variety of pre-generated addresses which are then having coins stolen from them. If you are going to use any website to generate a paper wallet, regardless of how secure it has been in the past, you should spend some time reviewing the code to make sure it is doing what you think it is doing. A better option is to probably use a wallet like Electrum or a hardware wallet on an airgapped machine to generate either a seed or private keys which you then turn in to a paper wallet.

Although you are right, I think the bigger issue with using exchanges or web wallets to store your coins is that they can do anything they like with your coins and with your account. They frequently do things like springing unannounced KYC on their customers and refusing to let you access your coins unless you comply, track your deposits and withdrawals and freeze your account if they don't like how you are spending your own money, or even just freeze your account because you have trigger some arbitrary algorithm they use (which they never disclose). As you say, these should be avoided.

https://www.bitaddress.org/ safe and it is open source. If you want to look at it please visit: https://github.com/pointbiz/bitaddress.org

So if you want, you can create a BTC wallet offline using these codes.

BTW, bitaddress is not only way to create a paper wallet. You can also use these ones;

*https://walletgenerator.net/
*https://bitcoinpaperwallet.com/
(Update: these options can not be safe anymore! Refer: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5242711.msg54473516#msg54473516)

As I have explained in my post just above yours, both the sites you have listed there are known scams. They were both once open source and trusted sites, but have both been bought out by a malicious third party and turned in to scam sites. Unfortunately, because of their previous good reputation, lots of people still blindly use them without checking and end up losing their coins.

See this post (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5247201.msg54444963#msg54444963) and the post by user bedla a few below it for a good explanation of the issues.

Just because a site was once open source/trustworthy/reputable/etc., doesn't mean it will always be. You should never be using a live site anyway, and if you are downloading a site to use (or any program or software, for that matter) you should be checking the source code of what you have downloaded, and not just assuming nothing malicious has happened since the last time you downloaded it.

I am updating what I wrote in the previous post. I have never heard of this subject. Thank you for the correction.

Then the most reliable way for now might be to use a hardware wallet.
I would like to share with you a method of creating a paper wallet (with a Ledger).
In this method, you will need a Ledger device. However, you do not need to have Ledger in this method. It is enough to create a wallet with Ledger belonging to a friend you trust and reliably store the seed keys of this wallet. Then you can reset the device and return it to its owner. Your wallet, which you can always access with a Ledger device, is at hand.
I agree, it is not a practical method, but it is extremely reliable.

I disagree.
Why should someone use a hardware wallet from a friend instead of simply using his computer ?
Using a device from a different person, again needs more trust.

If you trust your hardware (which you have to, otherwise you shouldn't use any IT devices), you can boot a live linux distro and use /dev/random to generate the entropy. Then use openssl to create your private- and public key as well as the address.
This requires less trust and is more handy.

You first off never want to leave your coins on an exchange or a "hot wallet".  A hot wallet is apps on your cell phone ( such as bread, or blockchain ).  Exchanges have been known to be hacked before as well as exchanges like Coinbase use a "moral" code of their own and have been known to lock up peoples funds.

The safest wallet is a paper wallet, but these are difficult for beginners to set up.  I would suggest buying either a Trezor or Ledger wallet.  These are quite easy to use.

If you are mean exchanges than binance and coinbase. But im not recommend to you to store money there. Its much safer to just hodl on your own non-custody wallet

First thing I would tell you  ::) there is no such thing as Bitcoin Company .

It's the third party exchanges that people usually use to change their Bitcoins.

You should write down your country because I do think it would be good for you to use your national exchange, low fee , plus direct transfers to and from your bank account.

Therefore find some local one , most wallets do provide even exchange at a good price .

Purchasing a hardware wallet like Trezor, Ledge nano s and Keep Key can be a good choice, because I use it too. I am a Trezor Wallet user, safer compared to a wallet on a computer or cellphone. But for paper wallets I have never used it, paper wallets can be an option or alternative wallet that is safe and free, but the Private Key must be stored properly and not to be lost or damaged.

Binance and coinbase are for sure not the most trusted Bitcoin companies!

I don't understand why you point them out and then say you don't recommend them. So are they trusted or not?

I'd trust Trezor and Ledger. Their products can be trusted and there were no signs of ill will from them. Using them is probably the second safest way of storing your coins right next to an offline cold wallet.

Ease and accessibility. The vast majority of people have zero experience or knowledge regarding booting from a live OS, using linux, using command lines, etc. Saying that people should just use OpenSSL is glossing over the fact that the majority of people have no idea how to even tell their computer to boot from a USB stick rather than from the hard drive. It might be more handy for you, but it certainly isn't handy for the person who has to spend hours searching the internet for instructions for every single step. Plugging in a hardware wallet and having it spit out a seed in 3 minutes is far more handy for these people.

It's the same scenario as with an encrypted airgapped cold wallet. It's more secure than a hardware wallet, but it requires a degree of technical competence to set up and use correctly, and the majority of people are going to be more comfortable using a hardware wallet than spending hours figuring out how to set one up.

I know there are people who say "Well, everyone should just learn", but that's an unsatisfactory response. Bitcoin can't require the average person to spend hours or days to learn how to generate a wallet securely. It can't require everyone to be able to boot to linux or use a CLI. It need to be easily accessible, and hardware wallets achieve that while maintaining a very high level of security.

In my opinion trusted bitcoin company or trusted exchanges to store bitcoin is coinbase, but blockchain.com is also included
trusted and has a good security system. I use coinbase for about 2 years, and have never experienced problems. Therefore
I recommend storing bitcoin on coinbase.

What about all the people who have had problems with Coinbase? All the people who have had their accounts hacked? Or their coins confiscated? Or their accounts frozen? Or had their KYC details sold to third parties? Just because you have had no problems with a company yet, doesn't make them trusted.

We have no idea what blockchain.com's security system is. They are entirely closed source and there have been no independent audits of their security set up, so to say they have a good security system is complete conjecture. They could store everyone's private keys in plain text on an unencrypted laptop which someone carries around to coffee shops - we have no idea.

The whole point is to not trust any third parties. Withdraw your coins to your own wallet, and store them yourself, instead of trusting complete strangers to hold your money for you. Don't trust, verify.

If you have already created Blockchain account, then that's great but be careful about password and private key. If you lost them somehow or share them with anyone(ex: airdrop, give away etc) , may Cause you can lose your fund.

only online wallets i use is coinbase and i have for along time since i got into btc like 5 yearsago, and blockchain wallet. dont know if they can be 100% trusted nothing can be 100% but i trust them enough.

The main reason for high bitcoin miner fees is supply and demand. Which means that miners can only confirm. However, there is a chance that the value of bitcoin could spike again in the near future, and those who buy when it is at its current value could stand to turn a profit. Bitcoin or other types of cryptocurrency, you'll have limited legal protection and a high risk of losing some or all of your capital.

I am one of the victims of Binance. Was pretty shocked when I found out it was compromised like some time after the incident.

Basically nothing online (as a service) is safe.

the one you start yourself  :D

I guess we can't call it a centralize wallet. It shares you access of your fund to yourself like other wallets do; for instance, electrum. But blockchain is an web wallet and I wouldn't recommend anyone to use that as it's more prone to be hacked.

    I think it is best to use a hardware wallet, because no software can be installed on this type of wallet, so these wallets are extremely secure and it is impossible to be hacked. Another very good option, but more complicated to use is paper wallet, but the one who opened this thread being a beginner, it is recommended to use a hardware wallet.

i am so sure youre talking about bitcoin wallet or where you can store bitcoins. The first most secured wallet i will advise is the hardware wallet, you can either get the Ledger Nano or Trezor wallet those are the two that i know. If you can get those two then i will advise you open an account on blockchain.info or you download Jaxx wallet on app store those are the two wallets i go started with when i got into crypto

Blockchain.com is considered the most trusted wallet, they transact 1bn dollars a month,
https://www.blockchain.com/


If you have some sort of server-side knowledge why not set up your own node... it's the safest way to go...


Best of luck