Storing Cryptocurrencies on Exchanges

[akhilsh6896]

Is it Okay to keep BTC and other coins at exchanges?

[eternalgloom]

If you're planning on holding certain altcoins for a longer period of time, it's advised to keep them in a secure desktop or hardware wallet.
You're always running the risk that the exchange gets hacked or that they'll disappear with your coins.

If you're actively trading with them, it's probably cheaper (in fees) to keep them stored at the exchange though.

[RektEx]

That's really a personal opinion. I keep the bulk of mine on Coinbase in the hope that they are well insured and secure. Some of my friends refuse to keep most of their's on exchanges though due to past issues.

[mk4]

Exchange gets hacked = you're fucked. If you only hold a small amount and dont mind losing them, then go ahead.
Relevant: THE INSIDE STORY OF MT. GOX, BITCOIN'S $460 MILLION DISASTER
Don't make history repeat itself.

[Insanerman]

Cryptocurency Exchange also have security measures but is not advisable to store a large amount of Crytocurrencies. Hackers are tirelessly working day and night to steal BTC's in an Exchange. Convenience is one of the common reasons why people are always storing their money in an Exchange. Also in real life, most people are not storing their money in bank because it also has the possibilities to be robbed, more likely in an exchange which is Digital and hosted by the internet.
Set up a wallet specifically a cold storage.

[NeuroticFish]

Is it Okay to keep BTC and other coins at exchanges?

Keeping your money at an exchange means that you keep your money in the pockets of somebody you don't know only on the promise they will give your money back when you ask for them.
They can run with your money, they can get robbed, they can pretend they got robbed and poof! your money's gone.
Is it worth the risk? That's really up to you.

[bakhbtc]

I would not trust my money to the someone who can be hacked or lost my moneys

[raoul78]

I keep the coins I don't trade with on my ledger wallet. The ones I don't plan on holding for too long on an exchange because the fees are too high to transfer them back an forth.

[DooMAD]

It's a bit like a self-fulfilling prophecy.  The more people who keep their money on any given exchange, the more tempting that stash will look to thieves and the more likely they are to try and intercept those funds.

Always remember that Bitcoin was designed as a peer-to-peer transaction between two people, with no third party holding custody of your funds.  Leaving your money on an exchange in the hands of someone else is categorically not how Bitcoin was intended to be used.  If you don't have direct and sole control over the private keys where the funds are stored, you don't have control over your bitcoins and they can be taken from you.  Exchanges have proven time and time again that they generally aren't secure enough to be treated like banks.  

As others have said, if you're actively trading and don't mind taking the risk because it's potentially profitable, sure, keep them on there.  Otherwise, only trust them with what you're prepared to lose, which I'd hope isn't a very large sum at all.  

But I would stress that if you do start to look after your own funds and you haven't had a great deal of experience with that, be sure to learn about security first if you haven't already.

[HodorHodl]

Cryptsy taught me that keeping anything more than a few quid to play with on an exchange is foolish.

Expensive lesson, but oh well.

[blue5dragon]

Cryptsy taught me that keeping anything more than a few quid to play with on an exchange is foolish.

Expensive lesson, but oh well.

Yer, I unfortunatly learnt that expencive lesson. Not keeping my coins on any exhanges, too risky to keep anything that your not trading with on them.

[squesto]

Not the best idea unless you plan to trade them frequently

[boogy07]

Yes it's Okay to keep money on exchanges. Trading requires agility - and you don't have that when the money is at home in cold storage.

If you are not trading - it's also still okay to keep it on an exchange - but it's safer to move the funds to a personal wallet, especially large amounts that would make you cry if you lost it.

The fear people have in my humble opinion is similar to the fear of traveling in planes. There's been a handful of high profile hacks, but these are spread across almost 8 years.

I would suggest a reasonable level of due diligence before using any exchange.
Find out what type of business structure they have, and what level of security they have.

[leppyj]

Is it Okay to keep BTC and other coins at exchanges?

it is in your best interest to get an offline wallet or hardware wallet yo store your coins because you dont have access to your private keys on an exchage.

[cryptomaster420]

Is it Okay to keep BTC and other coins at exchanges?

Exchanges can lose your money but allow you to sell quickly when things go south.
There's no best option, but I like my ledger

[crypto42]

If you do plan to hold coins on long period then I suggest you to keep them in their official released wallet

But if you are active on the exchanges just to use the pumps and dumps through period of time to double or triple you'r investment then it's smart to keep them on the exchange.
But beware, once they are on the exchange you do not own them, even tho you have created your own wallet address on the exchange. Once they are on the exchange, the exchange owns them , so if the exchange decide to shut down for some shitty reasons or idk, then everything is lost

Keep 35 % of your coins in exchange if you want to use the pumps and sumps and the other 75 % in the wallet

But everything depends of you
more safer is always the wallet
but always make a BACKUP of it
hope this helps

[mrchef111]

It is definitely safest to store your coins in a hard wallet or software wallet on your computer.

[Dropcarve]

For me its alright if its low value but if its like 10 you should restore it on your own wallet

[LupeKidman]

I keep coins at exchange only if I plan to trade them soon. If it's about holding - cold storage recommended

[DooMAD]

I would suggest a reasonable level of due diligence before using any exchange.
Find out what type of business structure they have, and what level of security they have.

Sorry to nitpick, but most exchanges should naturally be pretty cagey in regard to what details they give out about their actual security, just in case anyone is able to identify a weakness.  They shouldn't be publicising every detail about how your funds are stored, because that would be almost as much of a risk as not having any security.  Exchanges operate very much in the "security through obscurity" bracket.

The limited details and buzzword-filled assurances they might give on their website really aren't sufficient to make a truly informed decision, assuming they're being truthful to begin with.  Do all the research you like, but you're never going to know how good their security is until the moment they suffer a breach.  Ulimately, it's pot luck, so take your choice and be prepared to live with the consequences.