How and where do I store my bitcoins?

[richardsNY]

In terms of offline wallet... Ledger still has a black friday sale

Just keep a "dirty" wallet for trading/gambling. But save your bigger amount in a hardware/offline wallet...

Hardware wallets aren't a necessity. You can very well just stick to having your wallet files stored on USB drives, where you can even choose to add another layer of protection by encrypting everything. That's what I am doing. Or you simply create a paper wallet containing your long term coins. It's a free method.

[Huge Black Woman]

Take the advice and cold store them mo fos. That's way too much to be storing on a cell phone.  Spose it's a good thing you isn't gambling them all away.   You got what we call luxury problems my man.

[richmcrich]

The principle is not all eggs in one basket.
An offline wallet; paper based or HD wallet for savings. This is not for everyday usage.
A PC wallet if our job demands the daily transactions with our clients
A web wallet for small expenses. Sometimes this is pairing with smartphone.

yes that is right to say i am agree with you that is too much dangerous and risky if you are going to put all your bitcoin in one wallet you should use multiple wallets to distribute your bitcoin in it, through this way you can minimize the risk of your whole bitcoins from hacking.

It is better to store bitcoin in different wallets especially if you have some large number of bitcoins, as there is always a risk of hacker who can hack your bitcoin wallet therefore it is good to distribute bitcoin in different wallet so as to minimize the risk of losing all at once.

[acroman08]

Offline wallet like bitcoincore and multibit will be the best choice for you to store your coins. Or you can use hardware wallet Ledger or Trezor. I have tried Ledger wallet sometime ago and it was good, too bad I lost it but luckily I had not stored all of my coins on the ledger.

Are you saying you weren't able to recover your funds from the lost Ledger? Far as I know, funds can easily be recovered in case of losing the ledger. As long as one has a copy of their mnemonic, it can be recovered in mycelium/multibit/etc.

I personally store my coins in mycelium and have recently gotten Electrum but I'm still figuring it out. Would definitely like a hardware wallet like Trezor or even Ledger, but, I'm gonna wait till I have plenty more coins to store. (who knows when that would be)

[deadsilent]

Me, i have two wallets and one local wallet. I dont want to store my btc on one bitcoin wallet. So when the wallet encounter trouble, im able to switch with the other. Also i dont guarantee my btc is safe thats why im using these wallets. My local wallet is very useful, so i suggest you must use one. My local wallet very versatile. You can pay bills, prepaid load and convert btc into cash. Im not gonna use my btc without this.

[traderethereum]

Me, i have two wallets and one local wallet. I dont want to store my btc on one bitcoin wallet. So when the wallet encounter trouble, im able to switch with the other. Also i dont guarantee my btc is safe thats why im using these wallets. My local wallet is very useful, so i suggest you must use one. My local wallet very versatile. You can pay bills, prepaid load and convert btc into cash. Im not gonna use my btc without this.

good idea to use local wallet since we should split our bitcoin to avoid bad things that could happen. is that local wallet like bitcoin core or multibit? i use multibit because its really light to syncronize with the network and its different with bitcoin core which is need too long before its completed syncronize.

[X-ray]

Me, i have two wallets and one local wallet. I dont want to store my btc on one bitcoin wallet. So when the wallet encounter trouble, im able to switch with the other. Also i dont guarantee my btc is safe thats why im using these wallets. My local wallet is very useful, so i suggest you must use one. My local wallet very versatile. You can pay bills, prepaid load and convert btc into cash. Im not gonna use my btc without this.

good idea to use local wallet since we should split our bitcoin to avoid bad things that could happen. is that local wallet like bitcoin core or multibit? i use multibit because its really light to syncronize with the network and its different with bitcoin core which is need too long before its completed syncronize.

i guess he's reffering to local exchanger wallet not a desktop wallet so it's basically an online wallet were provided by his local exchanger as he's stated he could pay bills, prepaid load and convert bitcoin into cash. though it's not really secure, the exchanger could have the right to close the account or turning out to be scam if they have intention to do this

[BingoDog]

Me, i have two wallets and one local wallet. I dont want to store my btc on one bitcoin wallet. So when the wallet encounter trouble, im able to switch with the other. Also i dont guarantee my btc is safe thats why im using these wallets. My local wallet is very useful, so i suggest you must use one. My local wallet very versatile. You can pay bills, prepaid load and convert btc into cash. Im not gonna use my btc without this.

good idea to use local wallet since we should split our bitcoin to avoid bad things that could happen. is that local wallet like bitcoin core or multibit? i use multibit because its really light to syncronize with the network and its different with bitcoin core which is need too long before its completed syncronize.

i guess he's reffering to local exchanger wallet not a desktop wallet so it's basically an online wallet were provided by his local exchanger as he's stated he could pay bills, prepaid load and convert bitcoin into cash. though it's not really secure, the exchanger could have the right to close the account or turning out to be scam if they have intention to do this

Yeah, it's not very wise to keep the coins on the exchanger. They are not ment to be the real wallets and your coins are there at risk. Exchangers are exposed to hackers attacks or your account there could be locked for different reasons. It's good to keep coins on exchangers ony for trading purpose.

[GregH37]

Me, i have two wallets and one local wallet. I dont want to store my btc on one bitcoin wallet. So when the wallet encounter trouble, im able to switch with the other. Also i dont guarantee my btc is safe thats why im using these wallets. My local wallet is very useful, so i suggest you must use one. My local wallet very versatile. You can pay bills, prepaid load and convert btc into cash. Im not gonna use my btc without this.

good idea to use local wallet since we should split our bitcoin to avoid bad things that could happen. is that local wallet like bitcoin core or multibit? i use multibit because its really light to syncronize with the network and its different with bitcoin core which is need too long before its completed syncronize.

i guess he's reffering to local exchanger wallet not a desktop wallet so it's basically an online wallet were provided by his local exchanger as he's stated he could pay bills, prepaid load and convert bitcoin into cash. though it's not really secure, the exchanger could have the right to close the account or turning out to be scam if they have intention to do this

Yeah, it's not very wise to keep the coins on the exchanger. They are not ment to be the real wallets and your coins are there at risk. Exchangers are exposed to hackers attacks or your account there could be locked for different reasons. It's good to keep coins on exchangers ony for trading purpose.

Yes, exchange are too much risky so never try to put your all bitcoin in exchange, also we should also use multi wallet so as to distribute your bitcoin in different wallets so as to minimize the risk of your losing money. Storing bitcoins must be done based on the purposes, exchange or online wallets are also good, but only if you have enough reasons.

[rizkyhiw]

Me, i have two wallets and one local wallet. I dont want to store my btc on one bitcoin wallet. So when the wallet encounter trouble, im able to switch with the other. Also i dont guarantee my btc is safe thats why im using these wallets. My local wallet is very useful, so i suggest you must use one. My local wallet very versatile. You can pay bills, prepaid load and convert btc into cash. Im not gonna use my btc without this.

good idea to use local wallet since we should split our bitcoin to avoid bad things that could happen. is that local wallet like bitcoin core or multibit? i use multibit because its really light to syncronize with the network and its different with bitcoin core which is need too long before its completed syncronize.

i guess he's reffering to local exchanger wallet not a desktop wallet so it's basically an online wallet were provided by his local exchanger as he's stated he could pay bills, prepaid load and convert bitcoin into cash. though it's not really secure, the exchanger could have the right to close the account or turning out to be scam if they have intention to do this

i am not sure if he realy refering to a local exchange
as there is a local wallet that allow you to pay bills, prepaid load etc
for example cahsila that integrated with mycelium wallet
really bad idea if you put all coins in an exchange , you should never trust third party service , just store a little amount only on them.

[wxa7115]

I have less than 10  in localbitcoins and about 5 each on BTCC and their justpay wallet.

I don't trade actively, just buying around 1 coin every week or two since a few months ago.

Should I be considering some secured wallet?

Yes, when you begin to accumulate bitcoin then it is the moment to consider securing your bitcoin in a better way since a hacker may try to steal them from you, good options are hardware wallets like trezor, paper wallets or even a desktop wallet in a computer that is encrypted and that does not go online.

[Casabrandy]

To keep our btcsecure even a big or small amount we must always consider that we cant trust any sites or apps that much , this apps were all controlled by a developer though there are still some that is really trusted. Try to portion it on diffrent wallets or why not consider investing on different andreliables investment sites its like storing too jut dont put all in one investment.

[shinratensei_]

Me, i have two wallets and one local wallet. I dont want to store my btc on one bitcoin wallet. So when the wallet encounter trouble, im able to switch with the other. Also i dont guarantee my btc is safe thats why im using these wallets. My local wallet is very useful, so i suggest you must use one. My local wallet very versatile. You can pay bills, prepaid load and convert btc into cash. Im not gonna use my btc without this.

good idea to use local wallet since we should split our bitcoin to avoid bad things that could happen. is that local wallet like bitcoin core or multibit? i use multibit because its really light to syncronize with the network and its different with bitcoin core which is need too long before its completed syncronize.

The sounds weird for me.
You was using a desktop wallet and suggesting about local(exchange wallet). It may hard for me to say learn again about it. But I don't think so just for storing a small amount of btc and I need use bitcoin core, this will become the different thing if you want to run bitcoin core for full nodes.

[susila_bai]

Me, i have two wallets and one local wallet. I dont want to store my btc on one bitcoin wallet. So when the wallet encounter trouble, im able to switch with the other. Also i dont guarantee my btc is safe thats why im using these wallets. My local wallet is very useful, so i suggest you must use one. My local wallet very versatile. You can pay bills, prepaid load and convert btc into cash. Im not gonna use my btc without this.

good idea to use local wallet since we should split our bitcoin to avoid bad things that could happen. is that local wallet like bitcoin core or multibit? i use multibit because its really light to syncronize with the network and its different with bitcoin core which is need too long before its completed syncronize.

The sounds weird for me.
You was using a desktop wallet and suggesting about local(exchange wallet). It may hard for me to say learn again about it. But I don't think so just for storing a small amount of btc and I need use bitcoin core, this will become the different thing if you want to run bitcoin core for full nodes.

If you want to be in safe side you can use desktop wallet , i use electrum and till now did not faced any problem, keeping coins in exchange wallet is not recommend  as if they scam then you dont hold any keys to recover your bitcoins

[X-ray]

Me, i have two wallets and one local wallet. I dont want to store my btc on one bitcoin wallet. So when the wallet encounter trouble, im able to switch with the other. Also i dont guarantee my btc is safe thats why im using these wallets. My local wallet is very useful, so i suggest you must use one. My local wallet very versatile. You can pay bills, prepaid load and convert btc into cash. Im not gonna use my btc without this.

good idea to use local wallet since we should split our bitcoin to avoid bad things that could happen. is that local wallet like bitcoin core or multibit? i use multibit because its really light to syncronize with the network and its different with bitcoin core which is need too long before its completed syncronize.

The sounds weird for me.
You was using a desktop wallet and suggesting about local(exchange wallet). It may hard for me to say learn again about it. But I don't think so just for storing a small amount of btc and I need use bitcoin core, this will become the different thing if you want to run bitcoin core for full nodes.

If you want to be in safe side you can use desktop wallet , i use electrum and till now did not faced any problem, keeping coins in exchange wallet is not recommend  as if they scam then you dont hold any keys to recover your bitcoins

not only the chance of getting scammed but also the possibilites of getting disabled the accounts is there and make it really such an awful decision for people who hold big amounts of bitcoin and willing to store it in an online wallet. if you have much bitcoin then move out from online wallet or you will regret sooner

[xIIImaL]

To keep our btcsecure even a big or small amount we must always consider that we cant trust any sites or apps that much , this apps were all controlled by a developer though there are still some that is really trusted. Try to portion it on diffrent wallets or why not consider investing on different andreliables investment sites its like storing too jut dont put all in one investment.

If you fear about online and app wallet. Just put your bitcoins in the paper wallet or cold storage. These places are more secure one in holding your bitcoins. But I do not think your bitcoins are risky in online wallets like blockchain and coinbase.

[Potato Chips]

To keep our btcsecure even a big or small amount we must always consider that we cant trust any sites or apps that much , this apps were all controlled by a developer though there are still some that is really trusted. Try to portion it on diffrent wallets or why not consider investing on different andreliables investment sites its like storing too jut dont put all in one investment.

If you fear about online and app wallet. Just put your bitcoins in the paper wallet or cold storage. These places are more secure one in holding your bitcoins. But I do not think your bitcoins are risky in online wallets like blockchain and coinbase.

Every wallet that don't give private key is risky as it means that you don't really own them.

@OP,  If you got the money buy a hardware wallet, its the safest when storing huge amounts of bitcoin.

But if you don't an offline wallet will do, As long as your wallet is not often connected to the internet it will be safe.

[wxa7115]

To keep our btcsecure even a big or small amount we must always consider that we cant trust any sites or apps that much , this apps were all controlled by a developer though there are still some that is really trusted. Try to portion it on diffrent wallets or why not consider investing on different andreliables investment sites its like storing too jut dont put all in one investment.

If you fear about online and app wallet. Just put your bitcoins in the paper wallet or cold storage. These places are more secure one in holding your bitcoins. But I do not think your bitcoins are risky in online wallets like blockchain and coinbase.

Every wallet that don't give private key is risky as it means that you don't really own them.

@OP,  If you got the money buy a hardware wallet, its the safest when storing huge amounts of bitcoin.

But if you don't an offline wallet will do, As long as your wallet is not often connected to the internet it will be safe.

If you are going to use a desktop wallet to store your coins, remember to store it in a safe operative system like any flavor of Linux and not in windows which is full of bugs and backdoors.

[Chris!]

Omg yes you need something secure. You're talking about 20± bitcoins here.

I would recommend an encrypted paper wallet (with at least 3 copies in different buildings) made on a secure Ubuntu live USB or a trezor / other hardware wallet. I wouldn't keep all of your coins in one wallet either, I'd put a few bitcoins in each.

Whatever you end up doing, don't trust anyone and dont keep all of your bitcoins in one spot. Make sure if you're creating keys it's ultra secure. Stop storing your coins the way you are now for sure!

[geopolisch]

In terms of offline wallet... Ledger still has a black friday sale

Just keep a "dirty" wallet for trading/gambling. But save your bigger amount in a hardware/offline wallet...

Hardware wallets aren't a necessity. You can very well just stick to having your wallet files stored on USB drives, where you can even choose to add another layer of protection by encrypting everything. That's what I am doing. Or you simply create a paper wallet containing your long term coins. It's a free method.

While there can be more and more layers of protection but actually you see if you ask some technical or professional people they will always suggest you to store your bitcoins in offline wallets.
I personally store in blockchain online wallet and have my private key printed for safety.