How to keep your Cryptocurrency assets safe
Seven Simple rules to keep your Cryptocurrency assets safe
It takes skill and personal responsibility to secure your digital money. Follow my seven simple rules to secure your cryptocurrency assets.
Rule 1: Be personally involved to manage your cryptocurrency assets
Do not leave it to others to manage your cryptocurrency assets. You have to learn and update your knowledge about the changing cryptocurrency landscape.
Rule 2: Do not leave your assets on exchanges
Many people have lost all of their assets because they simply left them in exchanges that were either hacked or shut down (such as Cryptsy and MtGox). Do not make the same mistake.
Rule 3: Have absolute control over the private keys of your wallet
Store your assets in a wallet that you control the keys to. If you don’t control the keys to your assets then you don’t control what happens to them.
Rule 4: Use two factor authentication (2FA)
Add an extra layer of security by adding two factor authentication (2FA) to your wallet and on exchanges. Even if your password was hacked by an attacker, they would need access to your 2FA code in order to make transactions. Hence, you must enable two factor authentication.
Rule 5: Keep large amounts of Cryptocurrency in cold wallet or hardware wallet
Store large amount of cryptocurrencies in cold wallet only. Mobile wallets are good for storing very small amounts of cryptocurrencies ($100 to $500). However, do not carry a lot of cryptocurrencies on your smartphone under any circumstance. It’s a time bomb waiting to explode. If you lose your phone or your phone is compromised your funds are gone forever.
Rule 6: Use core wallets for cold storage
Core wallets are no frills and designed to be stable and conservative. Every cryptocurrency project has a core wallet. Always use a core wallet for cold storage of large amounts.
Rule 7: Backup your wallets
Always remember to keep at least one offline backup of all of your wallets. I like to use a USB for this or physically write down/print out my private keys and store them in a safe place.
Golden Rule: If You Don’t Have The Private Keys To Your Wallet Then You Don’t Own Your Cryptocurrency Assets
Also go through my safe computing checklist.
