Wallets and Cold Storage.

[to64time]

How safe is it to store bitcoins on a place like coinbase? I know mt gox went down is it likely something like that could happen to other exchanges?

[notlist3d]

How safe is it to store bitcoins on a place like coinbase? I know mt gox went down is it likely something like that could happen to other exchanges?

Coinbase is very safe, they even have insurance that should protect investment if big site hack (it does not protect individual account's though if lost do to you).  So it has that with Mt Gox never had.

Only problem with it is you have 0 control outside of coinbase.  You won't get a paper wallet or private key you can enter into a different wallet and use your holdings.  Your stuck there if there is any problems.

[PartsSlinger]

How safe is it to store bitcoins on a place like coinbase? I know mt gox went down is it likely something like that could happen to other exchanges?

Coinbase is very safe, they even have insurance that should protect investment if big site hack (it does not protect individual account's though if lost do to you).  So it has that with Mt Gox never had.

Only problem with it is you have 0 control outside of coinbase.  You won't get a paper wallet or private key you can enter into a different wallet and use your holdings.  Your stuck there if there is any problems.

Wait.. So if I am reading this correctly, if I exchange cash for bitcoin through coin base it has to stay in coinbase? I couldn't send the coins to another wallet that I have?

[Duomo]

How safe is it to store bitcoins on a place like coinbase? I know mt gox went down is it likely something like that could happen to other exchanges?

Coinbase is very safe, they even have insurance that should protect investment if big site hack (it does not protect individual account's though if lost do to you).  So it has that with Mt Gox never had.

Only problem with it is you have 0 control outside of coinbase.  You won't get a paper wallet or private key you can enter into a different wallet and use your holdings.  Your stuck there if there is any problems.

Wait.. So if I am reading this correctly, if I exchange cash for bitcoin through coin base it has to stay in coinbase? I couldn't send the coins to another wallet that I have?

Yes, you can purchase coins on Coinbase and send them to another wallet. They don't keep your coins forever. You don't have to worry about anything. I made large purchases on coinbase and transfer my coins over to my wallet on my computer.
*As stated, you shouldn't keep your coins on an exchange, no matter which one for a long time for security issues. I always feel safer holding my coins, my personal opinion.

[genesysOS]

Coinbase is very safe, they even have insurance that should protect investment if big site hack (it does not protect individual account's though if lost do to you).  So it has that with Mt Gox never had.

I completely disagree. Coinbase has had lots of security vulnerabilities in the past that were disclosed to them. In almost all cases they either failed to properly fix the issues and/or pay those who reported them. Some hackers who weren't paid said that in future they would not be disclosing any issues to coinbase and would use the issues to steal the BTC because they won't pay them. They have been very lucky because they could've been cleaned out many times in the past but the hackers didn't do it thinking that coinbase would give them a reward instead, but coinbase rarely did that even though they have made promises to do so.

About the insurance, BitPay also had insurance and when they were hacked for $1.8 million the insurance company didn't pay out due to a technicality. So you can't really count on that.

http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2014/Dec/28

http://www.newsbtc.com/2015/12/21/unbelievable-bitcoin-exchange-coinbase-bans-user-who-helped-saved-millions/

http://www.newsbtc.com/2015/12/22/bitcoin-exchange-coinbase-comes-clean-on-bounty-controversy

http://www.coindesk.com/bitpay-sues-insurer-after-losing-1-8-million-in-phishing-attack/

[notlist3d]

How safe is it to store bitcoins on a place like coinbase? I know mt gox went down is it likely something like that could happen to other exchanges?

Coinbase is very safe, they even have insurance that should protect investment if big site hack (it does not protect individual account's though if lost do to you).  So it has that with Mt Gox never had.

Only problem with it is you have 0 control outside of coinbase.  You won't get a paper wallet or private key you can enter into a different wallet and use your holdings.  Your stuck there if there is any problems.

Wait.. So if I am reading this correctly, if I exchange cash for bitcoin through coin base it has to stay in coinbase? I couldn't send the coins to another wallet that I have?

Coinbase does not give you a private key for address you use on it's site.  So if you leave it on the site you cannot use private key and import it into another wallet.  They do this for safety as a lot that use it are pretty new I think.

But with a lot of other options you have either seed words, or private key that you could use to import address into a different wallet.   I like ones where I have the private key.  I mostly use hardware wallets which keep it on it, and give seed word's to backup.  And paper wallets which are cold and not touched.

[PartsSlinger]

How safe is it to store bitcoins on a place like coinbase? I know mt gox went down is it likely something like that could happen to other exchanges?

Coinbase is very safe, they even have insurance that should protect investment if big site hack (it does not protect individual account's though if lost do to you).  So it has that with Mt Gox never had.

Only problem with it is you have 0 control outside of coinbase.  You won't get a paper wallet or private key you can enter into a different wallet and use your holdings.  Your stuck there if there is any problems.

Wait.. So if I am reading this correctly, if I exchange cash for bitcoin through coin base it has to stay in coinbase? I couldn't send the coins to another wallet that I have?

Yes, you can purchase coins on Coinbase and send them to another wallet. They don't keep your coins forever. You don't have to worry about anything. I made large purchases on coinbase and transfer my coins over to my wallet on my computer.
*As stated, you shouldn't keep your coins on an exchange, no matter which one for a long time for security issues. I always feel safer holding my coins, my personal opinion.

Ok cool. I don't know why I kept reading that wrong. Might just be a long day and my processing is down to zilch haha.

[xmax]

Forget getting a wallet from one of the locations you have mentioned.  Just transfer your bitcoin to a offline computer storage of some sort.  if you have an old cell phone that does not get any service, only wifi, transfer it to that.  I would not recommend storage such as a paper wallet, but also do not announce that the addresses you are going to be storing.  Just my opinions. 

[PartsSlinger]

How safe is it to store bitcoins on a place like coinbase? I know mt gox went down is it likely something like that could happen to other exchanges?

Coinbase is very safe, they even have insurance that should protect investment if big site hack (it does not protect individual account's though if lost do to you).  So it has that with Mt Gox never had.

Only problem with it is you have 0 control outside of coinbase.  You won't get a paper wallet or private key you can enter into a different wallet and use your holdings.  Your stuck there if there is any problems.

Wait.. So if I am reading this correctly, if I exchange cash for bitcoin through coin base it has to stay in coinbase? I couldn't send the coins to another wallet that I have?

Coinbase does not give you a private key for address you use on it's site.  So if you leave it on the site you cannot use private key and import it into another wallet.  They do this for safety as a lot that use it are pretty new I think.

But with a lot of other options you have either seed words, or private key that you could use to import address into a different wallet.   I like ones where I have the private key.  I mostly use hardware wallets which keep it on it, and give seed word's to backup.  And paper wallets which are cold and not touched.

Ahh ok I got you. So, since they don't give you private keys technically anyone at Coinbase could have access to your coins if you let them sit there, correct?

[subcypher]

That's correct. If you don't solely hold the private keys, you aren't the sole owner of the Bitcoin. I do honestly recommend that people start out on Coinbase or Circle just to reduce the number of variables and get used to buying, selling, and using Bitcoin. But for security and long term storage there are much better ways. If you're new, you could check out my tutorials at my website. It's fairly new and certainly not done, but you may find a place to start.

[PartsSlinger]

That's correct. If you don't solely hold the private keys, you aren't the sole owner of the Bitcoin. I do honestly recommend that people start out on Coinbase or Circle just to reduce the number of variables and get used to buying, selling, and using Bitcoin. But for security and long term storage there are much better ways. If you're new, you could check out my tutorials at my website. It's fairly new and certainly not done, but you may find a place to start.

Awesome! I will definitely check it out. I want to store and save coins in hopes to make money which is what I will be putting in cold storage, but I would also like to keep a small amount in a wallet and maybe even in coinbase to make online transactions and do other things with my btc. It would be such a small amount that if I lost it or it was stolen I would be too upset about it. I would just chalk it up to learning experience.

[subcypher]

That's not a bad plan at all. I have three levels of storage, actually. The bulk of it is kept in a hardware wallet that I keep in a safe. I have a small amount in a mobile wallet that I use from day to day. I also have some in a mobile wallet that is locked with another hardware wallet. One thing I love about Bitcoin is that you can make it work for you. If you need some help, don't be afraid to ask.

[PartsSlinger]

That's not a bad plan at all. I have three levels of storage, actually. The bulk of it is kept in a hardware wallet that I keep in a safe. I have a small amount in a mobile wallet that I use from day to day. I also have some in a mobile wallet that is locked with another hardware wallet. One thing I love about Bitcoin is that you can make it work for you. If you need some help, don't be afraid to ask.

Thanks I appreciate that. I did read your tutorial on creating offline addresses. I've always heard people talk about that, but it's good see the steps involved in it. I will definitely be giving that a try tomorrow 

I've also looked into hardware wallets. I think I will probably use something like a USB memory stick. I really like the devices like the Trezor, but my main worry if is I store something like the Trezor away for a few years and it decides not to work and Trezor goes out of business I could potentially use a lot of money.

[subcypher]

Then my suggestion would be to get a Ledger HW.1. It doesn't rely on Ledger the company to work. It's a USB stick, sort of. You can pick one up from Purse for $15, I paid in Bitcoin, and they shipped me mine for free. I have a review of one on my website. Check it out.

[TTMNewsMJ]

You can try to store them on paper wallets.
It is a safely method.

[notlist3d]

Then my suggestion would be to get a Ledger HW.1. It doesn't rely on Ledger the company to work. It's a USB stick, sort of. You can pick one up from Purse for $15, I paid in Bitcoin, and they shipped me mine for free. I have a review of one on my website. Check it out.

The Ledger Nano is also a option if wanting one still in a area not to expensive.   I have did a hands on with it - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1305888.0

So far have used KeepKey, Trezor, Ledger Nano.  I have lots of good things to say about using hardware wallets if done right.