Crypto Security
CRYPTO SECURITY
Don’t leave your private keys just lying around. Please??! As soon as you write down your keys they are “sacred relics” to be cherished and guarded with ferocity!
While we’re on the subject of “DON’T!!!s”, please don’t ever send any cryptos to a famous person who is “Giving away Bitcoin!” or some other coin. There are many of these scams and quite a few of my very savvy clients almost fell for them. It’s amazing Youtube and other platforms allow this kind of thing… It can be very convincing. Rarely does anyone give away cryptos. Just ignore it. Or better, report it.
Also, don’t tell people how much crypto you have. Don’t brag either. I educate people about cryptos but nobody knows how much or how little I have and I always play it cool. “A little goes a long way” is my motto, “so no need to go overboard”. And this is true for me! I do not go overboard.
If I am helping you buy/secure cryptos, I will never disclose your name and amount to others. Not to your friends. Nobody. If you are worried that you have disclosed too much info and if and when crypto is a “big deal” and people ask you about it, say things like “Yeah, I wish I’d bought more,” and “I sold too much too soon, oh darn,”.... To throw them off. It’s not deceitful, it is none of their business. It’s for your own security and peace of mind. You never know what random person may overhear your friend...
It could well be that that small amount of crypto you bought someday turns into a massive amount of value and you do NOT want to be hounded about it by family and friends. They will talk and word will spread.
You can still help out your friends and family financially, but ALWAYS do it according to YOUR OWN PLAN no matter what. Don’t let anyone pressure you to sell your coins too soon. That will almost always lead to regret.
One last thing, don’t “borrow” to buy cryptos if you find a platform offering this. You may end up locking them up on the platform and if the market dips, you could get liquidated.
There’s all kinds of stuff out there in the wild west cryptophere that one could find appealing at first. I find it easiest to simply buy what I can (without losing sleep over the amount) and hold the coins in my own possession indefinitely.
I also try to be unemotional about my cryptos. Avoid intense urges to buy or sell. Market movements can create some strong emotions in ALL people. Try to relax about it all and make a buy/sell plan that is workable for you. Be flexible, but STICK TO IT as best you can to avoid any big regrets.
It’s easy to wish you had bought at this price instead of that price, but I get over it fast. Hindsight is 20/20 and no one gets the perfect price all the time, or all traders would be rich (note: because I mentioned the word “traders”, I might as well include this vital piece of info: there is a big difference between traders and long term investors. I’ve found it much better NOT to trade around cryptos one has made the PLAN to hold long term… Trading is a whole other breed of cat and I would only think it wise to trade $100 out of $10,000 if I thought trading was a good idea, which I do not).
I’ve discovered that sometimes the best way to buy is to purchase small amounts at a time and dollar-cost-average in my purchases. If I buy a coin at $200 and the same amount again lower at $100 per coin, my average price per coin is $150 now instead of $200.. I love when it dips because I get to buy more for cheaper! But most people are scared when it dips and don’t buy…they sell at a loss! Classic newbie mistake. (Much more to understand about all of this in my advanced guide.)
Cryptos are super volatile! Up AND down. It’s normal. And a good thing, for now. :-) EXPECT IT TO GO DOWN AFTER YOU BUY! It just happens, the nature of the game, haha… Please try to relax and have fun with cryptos!
Anyway…. Wallets can be tricky sometimes. Some are easier than others.
IMPORTANT SECURITY PRACTICES WHEN SETTING UP A WALLET:
DIVERSIFY COIN WALLETS, DON’T USE JUST ONE WALLET
ONLY STORE PRIVATE KEYS ON PAPER
DO NOT TAKE PICTURES OF YOUR PRIVATE KEYS
DO NOT STORE PRIVATE KEYS ON A CLOUD
IF YOU WANT, STORE A COPY ON A USB (WHILE DISCONNECTED FROM THE INTERNET), NOT ON YOUR COMPUTER OR PHONE
HIDE YOUR HANDWRITTEN PRIVATE KEYS (IN TWO LOCATIONS, PREFERABLY) Laminate and put in a fireproof, waterproof bag.
WARNING!!!!!!!
DO NOT SHARE PRIVATE KEYS WITH ANYONE, EVER, FOR ANY REASON!!!!! Ever. Got it? Promise? Good!
What’s that?
“Support” is asking for your private keys?
Um, NO!!!!
But this “Support” is “legit”! And saying your wallet is compromised and to download this new version?
NOOO WAY!!!!!! Ignore, delete, no clicking any links.
HOW I SECURE MY COINS
Here’s how I personally like to secure my coins for the long term using desktop wallets (and some mobile wallets):
I open the wallet and turn off the wifi,
I select the coin on Exodus (or Atomic, Guarda, etc) and export the private key for that coin
I write the key down on paper,
I double or triple check the key, noting capital letters etc clearly.
I then make sure I have the public key down, too (double check it!). I also have this key stored in my easy-access notepad on my computer (not private) as well as WITH my private key on that same paper (secret). You want an easy-access computer document of your public addresses for each coin for each wallet so you can easily send newly purchased coins from exchanges to the appropriate wallet by simply copy and pasting the address in the exchange to be able to “send” it to your wallet (without having to open the wallet to get the address every time). Saves a lot of time.
If your wallet is a web-based wallet, wipe the cookies.
For the single coin wallets or phone wallets, there is only that first “seed phrase” and that is what you write down. Remember, the words correlate to number sequences, containing your private key. For example, I would write down:
Wallet: DGB Mobile Wallet
Coin: Digibyte
Private Key: 1. Bird 2. Calm 3. Path 4. Toy 5. Weather 6………..
Public Key: edSdfi24hffG5yd55f3q1FDAA34………. (entire key with capitals and lower cases clearly indicated)
Do this for each coin (per each wallet) you hold or plan on holding. Each coin should have a website with helpful resources and a list of supported wallets.
As we are using Digibyte as an example, here is a great website for Digibyte wallet resources: https://digibytewallets.com/
For more wallets, see Resources page or the Single Coin Wallets blog post.
