Safe to keep coins on exchanges?

[jusplayin]

Hello all,

Hereby a newbie question (again)
I have coins on Kraken and Bittrex and would like to know if it is 'safe' to keep them there before/after the 1 august date as well.
I did read that cold storage and paper storage are the best, but what if i keep my coins and fiat on those exchanges so i can more easily buy/sell during fluctuations?
How would you keep the coins secure yet flexible to move around?

Thank you

[maydna]

Hello all,

Hereby a newbie question (again)
I have coins on Kraken and Bittrex and would like to know if it is 'safe' to keep them there before/after the 1 august date as well.
I did read that cold storage and paper storage are the best, but what if i keep my coins and fiat on those exchanges so i can more easily buy/sell during fluctuations?
How would you keep the coins secure yet flexible to move around?

Thank you

if you have bitcoin and altcoin then i think you are safe, but for bitcoin, i think its better to save in offline wallet, but if you still want to save in kraken and bittrex then i am sure that it will be fine too. but for me, beside i save it in exchanges, i am installed multi wallet in my android and my pc and i sending my half coins in that wallet, just in case to make sure my coins is safe. for using multi wallet, i can send it to another exchanges if the coin is increase.

[deadsilent]

For me. 50/50 because we still dont know what will be the outcome of bitcoin hardfork. So 50% in case the price grow up. You still get profit in case bitcoin surges. And 50% in fiat. It's for the safety and make sure you won't feel guilt whatever happen. Anyway, it's still safe to store your tokens to bittrex and Kraken. Unless someone attack their site and take all your credits.

[HabBear]

Depends who you ask.

It's as safe as leaving your fiat in the bank...it's practically the same thing. When you leave your fiat money in the bank you give it to the bank, you no longer physically own it but instead you're given an "i owe you" for that balance.

The same concept and reality applies with bitcoin exchanges.

The only difference is that most countries make it easy to sue a bank if they steal off and don't honor paying you the money you have credited in your account. This infrastructure doesn't exist as much with bitcoin.

The guy that owned Mt. Gox (the first bitcoin exchange, yes?) has just started trial following the hack and wrong doing he's accused of that resulted in the loss/theft of a lot of people's bitcoin. Justice may be found (for Karpeles or the bitcoin community) but those balances will never be restored.

One of the core tenets of bitcoin is that it allows you to be your own bank. You don't engage in that feature when you leave your balance with an exchange.

Think about our current monetary system, the transaction you can participate in that doesn't require a 3rd party to get involved (and therefore charge a fee) is receiving a tip from someone. You can't even give a tip to someone without having to pay a fee to a bank to get actual paper money in your hand. It's f*cking ridiculous.

[LilibethSantos]

No exchange should be trusted. Mt. Gox was a trusted exchange that was comparable to Kraken yet they suddenly ran off with our coins. Use the exchanges to trade and then send the coins to your own wallet.

[HabBear]

No exchange should be trusted. Mt. Gox was a trusted exchange that was comparable to Kraken yet they suddenly ran off with our coins. Use the exchanges to trade and then send the coins to your own wallet.

Shit, at least let Karpeles get through the trial before you vilify him as the thief. There are some exchanges now that offer vault storage and/or insurance.

Recognizing the failures of the past is wise, though, especially in this world of no refunds/returns!

[freedomno1]

It's relatively safe but not ideal the question is do you think the exchange is competent and will be able to transition or get bogged down and confused.
This is either a Y2K event or a chaotic situation ahead so a personal wallet is still the best option control the private key park the coins and avoid above all else confusion, just leave fiat for trading if you want the cash won't be affected.

Assume a worst case scenario precaution ^^.

[ice18]

The safest thing to do on your bitcoins before Aug. 01 is to withdraw it into your own desktop/mobile wallet that you controlled your own private key.

[jusplayin]

Thank you all for your valuable insights
Kraken and Bittrex are nice, but as many stated it is only as safe as MTgox and weird things always happen.

Any recommended desktop wallets? (which are also easy to withdraw and deposit again back to kraken/bittrex when needed?)

[Panda Trump]

Thank you all for your valuable insights
Kraken and Bittrex are nice, but as many stated it is only as safe as MTgox and weird things always happen.

Any recommended desktop wallets? (which are also easy to withdraw and deposit again back to kraken/bittrex when needed?)

Yeah, get the Trezor Wallet. It's a decently secure Bitcoin wallet. I'd also save your wallet as a paper wallet for full safety.

Get your trezor wallet here: https://trezor.io/

Regards,
Trump

[jusplayin]

Yeah, get the Trezor Wallet. It's a decently secure Bitcoin wallet. I'd also save your wallet as a paper wallet for full safety.

Get your trezor wallet here: https://trezor.io/

Regards,
Trump

Thanks, i also noticed the Nano S - https://ledgerwallets.net/
Any experiences on it?

Things are sold out though and by the time i get one in the mail it is already too late

[savecoin]

Yeah its actually safe and secured too.
 All the best!

[jusplayin]

Yeah its actually safe and secured too.
 All the best!

Is that what many said about MTGox before too?

[khaled0111]

no one can answer that question. we have to wait and see what will happen in 1st of august.

[Mindin]

I would say the bigger the exchange the safer it is, would be more unsure about small and newly started exchanges.

[Blastful]

Never store your bitcoins anywhere you don't have access to the private keys. Anything can happen and with the current weak laws on virtual currencies, it will be next to impossible to get justice. Why wait to go through all that hassle when you can store them safely and freely in a wallet that you fully control?

[Mindin]

Never store your bitcoins anywhere you don't have access to the private keys. Anything can happen and with the current weak laws on virtual currencies, it will be next to impossible to get justice. Why wait to go through all that hassle when you can store them safely and freely in a wallet that you fully control?

That depends. If you only have a tiny amount that isn't worth much, why bother?

[wealthium]

No exchange should be trusted. Mt. Gox was a trusted exchange that was comparable to Kraken yet they suddenly ran off with our coins. Use the exchanges to trade and then send the coins to your own wallet.

yea..... Mt. Gox was one of the biggest exchange at that time... I also prefer to keep coins to your own wallet.

[MBrandoeye]

Until the exchange works is safe. The problems come when exchanges close!

[Hoho29]

to keep all of what owned money or bitcoin in one place is too risky and lead to total loosing , so it is better to divided into different wallet exchange , online and local offline wallet controlled only by you .