How many private keys and types of support ?

[unknowncustomer]

Hello,

I expect to store a large % of my net worth in bitcoin.

I currently have two wallets/private keys, on electrum software/PC device. Both private keys "secretly" located.

I expect to buy more bitcoin, should I create a new wallet (in order to diversify risk) or use the already existing one ?

Should I buy an hardware wallet in order to diversify risk or paper wallet is enough ?

Do splitting 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 of bitcoin in 3 different wallet/private key would eventually diminish risk instead of only one wallet ?

What about multisig ? Running my own node ? Useless in my case ?

Note that I do not expect to move funds for the next 3/5 years.

Thanks !

[1715121960]

1715121960

[1715121960]

1715121960

[Charles-Tim]

Running your own node would help much in the security and safety of your coins, but you are running full node for privacy reasons. With full node, your node connects to others nodes instead of depending on central server.

If you have a computer that you are no longer using, you can go for Electrum cold storage: https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/coldstorage.html

Or going for a hardware wallet that is reputed already by bitcoin community.

Using software wallet which is online wallet is not advisable for high amount of bitcoin.

You can use passphrase with your seed phrase than complicating it with splitting of your seed phrase. But the passphrase is as important as your seed phrase for your coin not to lost. If you go for it, backup the seed phrase and passphrase in different locations and have like 2 to 3 backups of the seed phrase and passphrase.

If you get two hardware wallets and go for multisig setup, it enhance the security.

Properly multisig wallet on different devices is not also bad.

But always still be careful of malware.

[hosseinimr93]

Should I buy an hardware wallet in order to diversify risk or paper wallet is enough ?

Electrum (if it's used properly) would be secure and you won't need a hardware wallet. Take note that if you want to be completely secure, you should run electrum on an air-gapped device. Otherwise, your wallet would be always prone to hacking. If you can't have an air-gapped device for any reason, it would be better to go for a hardware wallet.

Also note that you won't have a secure wallet just with generating a private key and address and printing it on a paper.
A paper wallet is secure, only if it's generated using the correct method. This means that it should be generated using a safe tool on a safe device.
I also recommend you to work with a HD wallet with a seed phrase. In this way, you can have numerous  addresses all generated by a seed phrase. You can write down your seed phrase easily on a paper while there's a big possibility that you make a mistake when writing a private key.

Do splitting 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 of bitcoin in 3 different wallet/private key would eventually diminish risk instead of only one wallet ?

You can do that. But a single wallet would be enough if that have been generated in the correct way.
Again, you only need to keep your seed phrase. You won't need to keep individual private keys.

What about multisig ? Running my own node ? Useless in my case ?

All depend on your needs.
If you want to generate a wallet, send some bitcoin to that and just hold them, you won't need to run your own node.

With using a multi-signature wallet, you would need multiple seed phrases for accessing your fund and in this way, you may increase your security.
Use a multi-signature wallet, only if you know what exactly you are doing.

[Cricktor]

If your coins worth exceeds low 4digit fiat equivalents (speaking of $ or €), I'd go for a hardware wallet or air-gapped cold storage. A hardware wallet properly used will prevent you from possible malware on your computer (you still need to carefully inspect any transaction that you're about to sign with your hardware wallet which is basically a signing device and secure store for your wallet's private keys). Additionally you always need to carefully check that your copied wallet's receive addresses actually belong to your hardware wallet. Beware of clipboard malware.
Never omit checks and verification of addresses on your hardware wallet's screen.

You should always have redundant copies of your wallet's mnemonic recovery words. Those words shall never get in contact with an online digital device. Never take pictures of your recovery words. Think about a fire proof "metal copy" of your recovery words. There's a nice thread by @fillippone in the other technical section in this forum (cheap and privacy friendly solution with stainless steel washers).

You can study good and safe self-custody of your crypto coins here: https://www.smartcustody.com (there's a lot to read there, especially in the big PDF they host). It might be a bit over the top, but it's interesting to carefully study procedures for safe self storage. The more knowledge you gain, the better risk analysis you're able to make and then implement well established procedures that should keep your coin wealth safe.

[o_e_l_e_o]

I currently have two wallets/private keys, on electrum software/PC device. Both private keys "secretly" located.

I expect to buy more bitcoin, should I create a new wallet (in order to diversify risk) or use the already existing one ?

Be aware that what you are doing is not providing you with any additional safety. Creating multiple wallets using the same software on the same computer is pointless - every single one of those wallets is exposed to the exact same environment and the exact same risks. If one is compromised, they all are.

Electrum is good software, but on an internet connected computer then it is a hot wallet, and is therefore one of the least secure types of wallet. As mentioned above, your options for a more secure wallet are either to use Electrum on an airgapped device, or to purchase a good hardware wallet. Or potentially both of these options, if you wish to split your coins up to minimize risk of losing everything.

[RickDeckard]

Electrum is good software, but on an internet connected computer then it is a hot wallet, and is therefore one of the least secure types of wallet. As mentioned above, your options for a more secure wallet are either to use Electrum on an airgapped device, or to purchase a good hardware wallet. Or potentially both of these options, if you wish to split your coins up to minimize risk of losing everything.

Adding to the recommendation above, you can choose to pair this setup by creating a watch-only wallet, which you can use to control the transactions of your cold storage. There's no kind of information regarding your private keys within this kind of wallet. To create one you can follow this[1] guide.
[1]https://bitcoinelectrum.com/creating-a-watch-only-wallet/

[unknowncustomer]

If your coins worth exceeds low 4digit fiat equivalents (speaking of $ or €), I'd go for a hardware wallet or air-gapped cold storage. A hardware wallet properly used will prevent you from possible malware on your computer (you still need to carefully inspect any transaction that you're about to sign with your hardware wallet which is basically a signing device and secure store for your wallet's private keys). Additionally you always need to carefully check that your copied wallet's receive addresses actually belong to your hardware wallet. Beware of clipboard malware.
Never omit checks and verification of addresses on your hardware wallet's screen.

You should always have redundant copies of your wallet's mnemonic recovery words. Those words shall never get in contact with an online digital device. Never take pictures of your recovery words. Think about a fire proof "metal copy" of your recovery words. There's a nice thread by @fillippone in the other technical section in this forum (cheap and privacy friendly solution with stainless steel washers).

You can study good and safe self-custody of your crypto coins here: https://www.smartcustody.com (there's a lot to read there, especially in the big PDF they host). It might be a bit over the top, but it's interesting to carefully study procedures for safe self storage. The more knowledge you gain, the better risk analysis you're able to make and then implement well established procedures that should keep your coin wealth safe.

Thanks for the link, currently reading very helpful !