How safe is a custodial wallet to a hardware wallet

[Kelvinid]

I recently purchased some Bitcoins butAccording to most posts and replies on this forum it seem the best way to hodl Bitcoin is to use a hardware wallet as long as you can keep it safe.
Well is the hard ware wallet better than a custodial wallet??

And the difference is huge...if we could rate custodial wallet (1-10) it was just 2 while hardware wallet is 9.
Hardware wallet gives us a higher level of security but the question is if the amount of your Bitcoin is worth enough to store there or something you look for another option like using Electrum wallet.But I tell you that no matter what wallet you are using and if you are too careless, especially on links that will address you into logging your wallet account, that doesn't matter as there is a bigger chance that you will lose your funds. In fact, I was using an electrum wallet for many years and fortunately, I'd never experienced hacking.

[_BlackStar]

I recently purchased some Bitcoins butAccording to most posts and replies on this forum it seem the best way to hodl Bitcoin is to use a hardware wallet as long as you can keep it safe.
Well is the hard ware wallet better than a custodial wallet??

Pay attention to these two points:

• Choosing a hardware wallet is the wisest choice when you expect your bitcoins to be stored with the best level of security.
• Hardware wallets are also the wisest choice when you want to store relatively large amounts of bitcoin.

But in my opinion, hardware wallets are ideal for users who have experience in bitcoin rather than beginners. But if you are just starting out, then I can instead recommend you choose an open source mobile or desktop wallet, and you can switch to hardware wallet as your experience in bitcoin has developed. But when it is about which is the best between hardware wallet vs custodial wallet, then hardware wallet is the best choice.

[hZti]

Software Wallets are 100% safe if they are used correctly. Bitcoin was designed to be used only with software wallets. Still hardware wallets are a good invention since they make it more easy to store your bitcoins. So if you have the money you should get one.

[Smack That Ace]

Software Wallets are 100% safe if they are used correctly. Bitcoin was designed to be used only with software wallets. Still hardware wallets are a good invention since they make it more easy to store your bitcoins. So if you have the money you should get one.

Not all software wallets are 100% secure, even if you use them correctly. We have custodial and non-custodial wallets, if you use a custodial wallet, it means you don't have complete control of your bitcoins, when using the custodial wallet, your bitcoins are no longer yours anymore because you don't keep private keys. But in contrast to a non-custodial wallet, you are the only one with the key to access your bitcoins, which is much more secure than a custodial wallet. Hardware wallets are non-custodial wallets.

[KiaKia]

Custodial wallets are red flags, they can decide to close down one day and walk away with customers' funds since they are the ones holding the private key of every customers wallet, custodial wallet are the wallets that require you to log into the platform and deposit your assets, all you need to use is an email account and your password, when you see such crypto wallet, run.

Many people have lost a good amount of BTC, DogeCoin, and LTC to free wallets, till this day I doubt that they paid a soul back, instead they even deny that they did such things, with many proofs against them.

If you want the safest crypto wallet for Bitcoin, buy a hardware wallet.

[Coin_trader]

I recently purchased some Bitcoins butAccording to most posts and replies on this forum it seem the best way to hodl Bitcoin is to use a hardware wallet as long as you can keep it safe.
Well is the hard ware wallet better than a custodial wallet??

Hardware wallet is the best if you don’t want to worry much about your asset as a beginner because your private key won’t leave your hardware wallet every time you use it unlike custodial wallet that you don’t have access to your private key.

Electrum and other non-custodial open source wallet are the alternative option if you can’t afford to invest hardware wallet during your initial investment journey on crypto. Actually most reputable member here start on these wallet since hardware wallet doesn’t exist when we are all newbie on crypto. It’s just hardware wallet make life of newbie easier on keeping safe their assets compared on traditional non-custodial wallet that keep you importing private key or seed phrase whenever you will access your wallet on different device.

[hitsnorth]

I recently purchased some Bitcoins butAccording to most posts and replies on this forum it seem the best way to hodl Bitcoin is to use a hardware wallet as long as you can keep it safe.
Well is the hard ware wallet better than a custodial wallet??

The hardware wallet is much safer than a custodial wallet, but if you don't have much Bitcoin, and especially if you have different altcoins it's easier to use a non-custodial wallet.

[WillyAp]

Hardware wallet is the best if you don’t want to worry much about your asset as a beginner because your private key won’t leave your hardware wallet every time you use it unlike custodial wallet that you don’t have access to your private key.

After reading the pros and contras I tend to believe that non custodials are wisest in safeguarding. 
As long as you know how to restore them.

[SamReomo]

I recently purchased some Bitcoins butAccording to most posts and replies on this forum it seem the best way to hodl Bitcoin is to use a hardware wallet as long as you can keep it safe.
Well is the hard ware wallet better than a custodial wallet??

My friend never trust those custodial wallets, they aren't safe at all. They have access to your whole coins and they can do whatever they want with your coins. They can simply steal your coins and make up a news that their system was compromised by hackers. I would also recommend you to keep in mind that most hardware wallets are unsafe. When you choose a hardware wallet try your best to research as much as possible before deciding to go with any of them.

It should be far better to install a secure software wallet on a separate desktop, and then disconnect that wallet from internet. Also make sure it has a secure SSD installed in it. The software wallet is far safer than the other options.

[mk4]

After reading the pros and contras I tend to believe that non custodials are wisest in safeguarding. 
As long as you know how to restore them.

It should be simple enough as long as you can read basic computer-related instructions. And if you understand Bitcoin and/or cryptocurrencies enough to actually risk some of your money, you should be able to easily know how to restore a wallet backup.

[Little Mouse]

Crucial Topic.

Custodial wallet is a type of wallet that requires a third party to takes hold of private keys on behalf of every user.
Which makes asset more secure, because only the third party and the user knows the private key.
In a case where there is missing asset, the private key must have been shared to someone outside the third party and user.

You don't know how a custodial wallet works. You never own the private key in a custodial wallet. It's the third party or your custodial wallet that secures the private key and holds the coins for you. You know it means you don't own the coins but some number in the custodial wallet you use. They can freeze your account, run away with your coins, etc. How come you think a custodial wallet is better? Spend some time learning all these before you invest in cryptocurrencies. Did you know what happen to mtgox, maybe the recent issue with FTX or a lot of issues in the lending platform etc? Have some deep digging on these.

As for Hardware wallet, just misplacing it could put the user at risk, because no third party to help checkmate the security.

You will have your wallet and the seed key. Just make sure you have access to any of these. Write your seed key few times and store them on different places.

[Asuspawer09]

I recently purchased some Bitcoins butAccording to most posts and replies on this forum it seem the best way to hodl Bitcoin is to use a hardware wallet as long as you can keep it safe.
Well is the hard ware wallet better than a custodial wallet??

If you don't want to make it too complicated just use Electrum wallet, It's one of the best wallets to store your Bitcoin, it's secure, has seeds, and a private key, and it's easy to install and access on your computer, obviously better than custodial wallets.

A hardware wallet is the best when it comes to security but your gonna need to buy the hardware if it's not an issue go for it, Custodial wallets are the worst since you don't have control over your funds at any moment they could easily freeze your account, banned it, or worst similar to what happened to FTX.

[majeed]

I recently purchased some Bitcoins butAccording to most posts and replies on this forum it seem the best way to hodl Bitcoin is to use a hardware wallet as long as you can keep it safe.
Well is the hard ware wallet better than a custodial wallet??

So you want to keep your Bitcoin safe, huh? Well, you got options, but according to the folks on this forum, a hardware wallet is the way to go. Think of it like a physical gizmo that holds your secret codes and gives you access to your Bitcoin.

But why exactly is a hardware wallet better? Simple - it adds an extra layer of security compared to other wallets. Take custodial wallets, for example. These wallets need someone else, like a broker or exchange, to keep your codes safe. It might sound good, but it means you're giving up control over your Bitcoin. And if anything goes wrong, you're up the creek.

If you want to have your Bitcoin under your own control, you gotta use a hardware wallet. That means no third party is holding your money, and you call the shots. But listen up - using a hardware wallet ain't no child's play. It requires a certain level of tech skills, and you gotta read and follow the instructions like it's your bible to make sure your Bitcoin stays safe and sound. So, if you wanna be a pro at hodling, a hardware wallet is the way to go, folks!

[mendace]

I recently purchased some Bitcoins butAccording to most posts and replies on this forum it seem the best way to hodl Bitcoin is to use a hardware wallet as long as you can keep it safe.
Well is the hard ware wallet better than a custodial wallet??

Yes, absolutely because it creates the private keys inside the device itself and does not expose them to the network during creation, this is certainly the best way to keep your bitcoins.  As an alternative to an HD wallet I suggest you download the ISO image of Tails and burn it on a USB, inside you will find electrum but Tails is an os that only uses tor and is much safer than any other.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

Well, OP, I believe you mean to say a non-custodial wallet because a custodial wallet is just like the bank; they have every detail about your funds. But using a non-custodial wallet means that you have full control over your private key or wallet secret phrase, which you can use to access and import your wallet any time you want. If you want to keep your bitcoins in cold storage, you can use a hardware wallet or an electrum wallet generated on an airgapped device.
@tbct_mt2 already made a good suggestion

Electrum wallet is free for download and use. If you want to use it as a cold wallet or multi-signature wallet, you only have to learn a little bit and can set up yours.

Creating a cold storage wallet in Electrum
Creating a Multi-sign wallet in Electrum

[goldkingcoiner]

I recently purchased some Bitcoins butAccording to most posts and replies on this forum it seem the best way to hodl Bitcoin is to use a hardware wallet as long as you can keep it safe.
Well is the hard ware wallet better than a custodial wallet??

A custodial wallet in my eyes is exactly the same thing as a third party wallet, like an exchange wallet for example. And if that wallet is not open source, like Trustwallet (although Trustwallet is non-custodial), then there is even less reason to trust it. Such wallets have to be viewed as third party wallets because in the worst case scenario, your funds could be taken from you for any reason. Its a huge security flaw and I do not recommend it. There is no need for trust when it comes to cryptocurrency.

The best option is always a hardware wallet. 99.9% of the time, nothing will go wrong with any kind of custodial wallet. But if (when) it goes wrong, you lose everything. Thats not something I would want to risk.

[justdimin]

I recently purchased some Bitcoins butAccording to most posts and replies on this forum it seem the best way to hodl Bitcoin is to use a hardware wallet as long as you can keep it safe.
Well is the hard ware wallet better than a custodial wallet??

And the difference is huge...if we could rate custodial wallet (1-10) it was just 2 while hardware wallet is 9.
Hardware wallet gives us a higher level of security but the question is if the amount of your Bitcoin is worth enough to store there or something you look for another option like using Electrum wallet.

I wouldn't put it like that, I would say it depends on the user. Custodial wallets are 10/10 safe if you do nothing with it and not connect it anywhere, just keep holding it, which is what hardware wallets basically do and if you take it out there to trade then it becomes dangerous there too whereas in custodial you do not take it out but you trade or basically you connect somewhere which triggers the risk.

I personally feel like if you know how to use it and if you are aware of how you should not connect to anything if you are not certain, then there shouldn't be any problem at all. There are people who connect to websites with no ssl, imagine that, ssl is mostly free in most shops and they don't even have that, which makes custodial less prone to hacking.

[m2017]

I recently purchased some Bitcoins butAccording to most posts and replies on this forum it seem the best way to hodl Bitcoin is to use a hardware wallet as long as you can keep it safe.
Well is the hard ware wallet better than a custodial wallet??

Comparing a hardware wallet to a custodial wallet is identical to keeping money in a safe at home and keeping money in a bank.

In the first case, only you have access to your funds and have full control over the situation. But in connection with this, additional difficulties arise: you take on all the responsibility for ensuring the safety of storing money. If you make a mistake somewhere, then only you will have to sort out the problems.

In the second case, the bank's security service will not allow attacks on your money from outside, but there are no guarantees that there will be no attacks inside the bank. That is, bank employees or management can simply deprive you of access and the money itself. The bank may go bankrupt, cease to exist, and so on. In short, there is always a risk of losing money.

Despite the fact that each of these methods has its own nuances, most bitcoiners prefer HW devices. Trusting your crypto to third parties deprives one of the most important features of bitcoin - it's self-sufficiency.

[Who is John Galt?]

Software Wallets are 100% safe if they are used correctly. Bitcoin was designed to be used only with software wallets. Still hardware wallets are a good invention since they make it more easy to store your bitcoins. So if you have the money you should get one.

There is nothing 100% safe in the world, and not only software, but also hardware wallets are no exception. But the custodial wallet doesn't even come close to 100%, because not your keys means not your bitcoins. Trusting your bitcoins to a third party is not even close to the spirit of bitcoin, which implies responsibility for any actions with your coins. With due care, a non-custodial wallet can be secure enough to be used, but few people take due care.

[crunck]

I recently purchased some Bitcoins butAccording to most posts and replies on this forum it seem the best way to hodl Bitcoin is to use a hardware wallet as long as you can keep it safe.
Well is the hard ware wallet better than a custodial wallet??

You need to learn about custodial and non-custodial wallets, hardware wallets are non-custodial. If you want to be safe, you should spend some money on a hardware wallet, but if you don't have enough money for it, you can use a non-custodial wallet. Whether your assets are safe is largely up to you, so using a software wallet is just as safe as a hardware wallet if you use it correctly. But as non-custodial wallets, don't confuse them.