Why can't regular flash drives store Bitcoin

[JayTrain]

It's understandable that hardware wallets may be difficult and expensive to obtain in some parts of Africa. However, there are software wallet options that can help secure your Bitcoin, such as  Additionally, creating an offline wallet with a paper wallet or using a USB flash drive with a trusted software wallet can also provide added security for holding Bitcoin. It's important to do thorough research and understand the risks associated with any wallet before storing your funds.

[1714692789]

1714692789

[1714692789]

1714692789

[1714692789]

1714692789

[freedomgo]

In most part of Africa hardware wallets are not only difficult but expensive to get apart form using custodian wallets like trust wallet and metamask is there an alternative software that can help hodl Bitcoin in a flash drive. or otherwise

Because what I do using a USB flash drive is that I just put it in the File is electrum account, including password, private key, and seed phrase, even the wallets I made in metamask on the USB flash drive.
But even though I don't have hardware wallets yet, I don't just keep it in one USB flash drive, but in three USBs so that in case of loss or damage, I have another USB flash drive reserved.

Don't take it wrong, hardware wallets are incredible and much safer but along with its high security features and other stuffs to protect our most precious stored keys/passwords, means that it's already understandable that owning one of these wallets doesn't come cheap and its hefty price is somehow reasonable enough because what we are storing in it are important.

But if we don't have that much funds to afford one, anything inside our house can be used as a storage for our precious keys. The only thing we need to do is to hide it in a much safer place and away from others to reach because they may use it in other things without knowing that there's an important key stored inside.

[Abiky]

Flash drives without built-in security mechanisms are particularly vulnerable to hacking, data breaches, and limited lifespans that can quickly result in data damage or loss, which is the fundamental reason why conventional flash drives cannot contain bitcoins.

It is better to keep quiet about your wallet because there is no need for someone to come into your room to look for something unless you are the one who sparked their curiosity. I prefer writing the seeds down somewhere safe because I am a very private person and use my room alone.

I've seen flash drives with built-in encryption using a numeric keypad that can be used to unlock it wherever you are (hardware encryption). But such drives are expensive compared to ordinary flash drives made by SanDisk and Kingston. Software encryption is cheaper, although not recommended for people who aren't tech-savvy enough to use it properly.

A simple, cost-effective solution would be to either print or write the private key/seed of your Bitcoin wallet (paper wallet). The only downside is you can't use this as a "hot wallet" for paying every once in a while with BTC. It's intended to be used as a "vault" for long-term storage of your coins. Each method has its own advantages/disadvantages, so I'd suggest the OP to do his own research to determine which one is best for him. As long as you don't disclose the location of your keys/seeds, there should be nothing to worry about. Just my thoughts

[yazher]

You can store your Bitcoin on a flash drive but it depends on you how you protect your wallet.
There is no problem with storing BTC in a flash drive just make sure that you know how to protect your wallets from any attacks.

Well said, because others only rely on the hard wallet instead without learning the basic things they need to protect their crypto assets in their wallet, in the end, they will quickly get fooled by some tweets that are scams and fraud. If a person really knows what he is doing in terms of his security against any hacks, he can also use paper wallets if he is not capable of finding any source to get any hard wallet or the like of it. Therefore, it all depends on the person and all he needs to do is to equip himself with knowledge and invest some time to learn the preventive measures to avoid scammers and hackers.

[Artemis3]

Flash memory loses its data after some years... So even if you don't lose the drive, the drive will lose it for you...

This is why you are told to write seed words by hand in a piece of paper, make a copy of that also by hand and store them securely in two physically separated places (in case one place burns down, you still have the other).

[_BlackStar]

I'm reporting this topic to be moved to the appropriate board because this discussion does not appear to be on the correct board. Or the OP could also move it himself:

Bitcoin Forum > Bitcoin > Development & Technical Discussion

Flash memory loses its data after some years... So even if you don't lose the drive, the drive will lose it for you...

This is why you are told to write seed words by hand in a piece of paper, make a copy of that also by hand and store them securely in two physically separated places (in case one place burns down, you still have the other).

Don't just rely on one way, while several other ways are also suggested. Some will write on paper and make a copy and keep it in a safe place, others will engrave it on some stainless object or something. But it can also be painted and disguised behind a painting that you can attach to the bedroom wall. At least have two different places to minimize the risk of loss, but what's the point of bothering to do it when they only have a few cent in their wallet.

[BlackHatCoiner]

But even though I don't have hardware wallets yet, I don't just keep it in one USB flash drive, but in three USBs so that in case of loss or damage, I have another USB flash drive reserved.

Besides that this is a flash drive waste, what will happen if all three flash drives die approximately at the same time? It's an existent concern, much more probable than losing three pieces of paper at the same time, if you're cautious at least. And it's even more probable to happen if you have bought all three drives at about the same time, given that they have the same lifespan.

[Jon_Hodl]

I would do some experimenting with the popular Tails OS. I know it comes standard with Electrum wallet and I heard recently that they recently added support for Sparrow wallet. I think that might be a good first step.

You would still need a way to secure your seed phrase because you would need to enter it before you could recover your wallet to receive or send bitcoin. If I ever found myself in an emergency situation and I wanted to use bitcoin, I think I would use Tails running from a USB drive and keep my seed phrase on my person with a passphrase that I memorize.

[Faisal2202]

In most part of Africa hardware wallets are not only difficult but expensive to get apart form using custodian wallets like trust wallet and metamask is there an alternative software that can help hodl Bitcoin in a flash drive. or otherwise

That's not possible to convert your regular USB to a hard wallet to store BTC with full reliability. As Simple or regular USB is just made up of storage unite and a few resistors etc. which have nothing to do with security, encryption, display, network connectivity, etc. etc. as hardware wallets have in them. So if you really want to make a DIY hardware wallet at home, then my suggestion is to read the following threads.

• Open Source Hardware Wallets--> This thread is full of all the details about wallets and it also contains a section of DIY wallets where you can get an idea to make one.
• DIY Bowser Hardware Wallet
• Krux DIY Hardware Wallet
• Make your own Trezor Hardware wallet for under $40
• low-cost hardware wallet for less than 10 dollars--> This might get your attention as it's the cheapest one you will find to make. Note* he just made a plan to make one but AFAIK he did; it made it actually it's just a plan as till now he doesn't talk about any progress.

but i prefer you to not use DIY wallets to store huge amounts of BTC as the parts you will be buying are open-source and when you will buy them from third parties there could be viruses in them. Such as a YouTuber bought one and lost all of his money (he bought it from a third party and get scammed). ( Never, ever, buy your hardware wallet from a third-party)

Plus if you really want to make one, you should have a basic level of knowledge about, encryption, electronics, and IT, as you can make one by watching YT video too which needs no experience.

[TheGreatPython]

You can store your Bitcoin on a flash drive but it depends on you how you protect your wallet.
There is no problem with storing BTC in a flash drive just make sure that you know how to protect your wallets from any attacks.

Well said, because others only rely on the hard wallet instead without learning the basic things they need to protect their crypto assets in their wallet, in the end, they will quickly get fooled by some tweets that are scams and fraud. If a person really knows what he is doing in terms of his security against any hacks, he can also use paper wallets if he is not capable of finding any source to get any hard wallet or the like of it. Therefore, it all depends on the person and all he needs to do is to equip himself with knowledge and invest some time to learn the preventive measures to avoid scammers and hackers.

Well, basically, if someone is using a hardware wallet, they don't need to be worried much about security that much if they haven't shared their wallet address or anything related to it with anyone or in a public place, one can barely find an address containing some Bitcoins if they don't know about it already so that makes it difficult for them to brute force.

But, if someone is using hardware storage only to save their private keys and are using an online wallet or a desktop wallet, then they will need to make sure that they are using the best encryptions to safeguard their wallets from attacks.

[humanvelocity]

Are you sure you would want to store Bitcoin in flash drives? If you can keep them safe without miss placing them then sure that would work but any flash drive isn’t the most reliable medium to store anything as important as above.

[Quidat]

In most part of Africa hardware wallets are not only difficult but expensive to get apart form using custodian wallets like trust wallet and metamask is there an alternative software that can help hodl Bitcoin in a flash drive. or otherwise

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-life-hacks/privacy-and-safety/how-and-why-to-encrypt-usb-flash-drive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9qWAXH--8A

Try to visit out these links and you would really be seeing the steps or instructions on how an USB drive could possibly be having those passwords
before you could completely to gain access into its files and contents. Im aint saying that this is superior to those Hardware wallets
but its still considerable if we do speak about seed or PK security.

Just be sure that you do have some multiple back ups, because we know that durability and hardware or software malfunctions could occur
on which it would be better to be mindful about certain back up than on being sorry if you do lost it all.

[BlackHatCoiner]

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-life-hacks/privacy-and-safety/how-and-why-to-encrypt-usb-flash-drive

Why would I want to use a closed source software, namely BitLocker, to encrypt a file in a closed-source OS, which could be written on paper with usage of open-source, secure alternatives?

but its still considerable if we do speak about seed or PK security.

It's obviously more secure than having your keys exposed to the public, but it is not comparably to setting up a Live OS, in an airgapped machine, and backing up your seed phrase in paper.

[panganib999]

Actually, you can, for the most part especially during bitcoin’s early days, a lot of people use various physical manners in order to store their crypto currencies For instance, you will encounter a lot of people in this forum, talking about using paper wallets which are essentially just your regular old papers with the private key, sad to see the Seed phrase scribbled onto it.  Of course, this is not as secure as current, physical and cold wallet that are for sale. But for the good part of bitcoins early days this did great. Now you can still use your regular old flash drives in USB sticks by just putting your private key and seed phrases on the text file, and then saving it. I personally use this method a couple years ago, but I stopped, because I tend to forget where I placed, and stored my flash drives. As a suggestion, if you are to use your flash drive as a  private key/seed phrase, repository might as well keep a copy of the text file that includes your private keys and seed phrases. Just in case you misplace your flash drive, so you always have a back up.

[Abiky]

Why would I want to use a closed source software, namely BitLocker, to encrypt a file in a closed-source OS, which could be written on paper with usage of open-source, secure alternatives?

Exactly. There are plenty of open source alternatives available that totally respect your privacy. With Microsoft spying on users since the release of Windows 10 (using Telemetry), I'd steer clear from anything linked to the company especially when it comes to protecting my utmost sensitive data. TrueCrypt and/or Veracrypt is all you need to encrypt your flash drive without worrying about getting your data exposed to a third-party. Since private keys/seeds take little space, you can save money by buying a flash drive with the lowest storage capacity available. That is if you're planning on using the flash drive as a "hardware wallet". For cold storage options (not planning to use your crypto funds periodically), write or print the keys/seeds instead (paper wallet).

Centralized exchanges have been "messing around" with customers' funds, so it's best to practice self-custody of your coins to safeguard your investment for the long term. As long as you follow the necessary security precautions, there should be nothing to worry about. Just my thoughts