How to Keep Crypto Assets Safe

As a cryptocurrency, most notably Bitcoin, becomes more popular, the value of the currency increases. In this tutorial, I will teach you how to keep your crypto assets safe from hackers and yourself!

Why Keep Cryptocurrency Safe?

Before we learn how to keep our cryptocurrency safe, it’s important to understand why we should want to do so in the first place. Just as cash, debit cards or any other physical objects can be stolen from you, so too can your cryptocurrency. And, just like a thief can use a debit card to take out money from an ATM machine and purchase something on the spot, a skilled hacker could use your digital keys to do the same.

When someone sends you a sum of cryptocurrency, they are basically sending an encrypted message that says “I give the right to spend this token to whoever has access to this private key.” If someone else gains access to your key and sends the money away, it’s gone. This is why you need to add another level of security in order for you or someone else not to gain access to your funds on Bitcoin Prime.

Types of Wallets

There are two types of cryptocurrency wallets: software wallets and hardware wallets. Software wallets are typically free, but they are less secure than hardware wallets. For example, if you lose or break your phone or computer that contains a software wallet, someone could easily send away all the money in your wallet. You would be powerless to stop them!

Hardware wallets, on the other hand, are like a USB drive that you can hook up to your computer and send money from or receive money to. They come with their own private key that is stored inside the hardware wallet, and the only way to send money from it is for you to physically press a button. Even if someone broke into your home and stole your hardware wallet, they would not be able to access your funds since they aren’t stored on it.

How to Keep Your Cryptocurrency Safe: The Basics

This part of the tutorial is more for people who want a basic understanding of how to keep their cryptocurrency safe.

1) If you are holding Bitcoin, Ethereum or any other currency that is supported by the Exodus wallet, it is strongly advised that you download this free software wallet. It supports about 29 different coins. It is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems.

2) The company where the Exodus wallet is developed never has access to your private key. That means no one can hack them and steal your key, nor can they send away all the funds in your wallet.

3) The wallet’s source code is open-source which means its community of developers has reviewed it for any hidden backdoors that hackers might use to gain access to your funds. (i.e. Exodus is not a scam wallet)

4) To access this wallet, you need to set up a password and write down the 12-word phrase that will be used for recovering your account if anything bad happens to your computer or hardware wallet such as it getting broken or stolen. (i.e. Exodus is not a scam wallet)

5) If your computer or mobile device gets broken or stolen, you can always download Exodus on another device and use your 12-word phrase to recover your account. (i.e. Exodus is legit and not a scam wallet)

Summing Up

With a software wallet, you’re in complete control over your private key and what you do with it. With a hardware wallet, not only are you still in complete control but also the wallet itself is much less likely to be hacked because hackers can’t get into its source code or gain access to its physical hardware because it doesn’t interact with the internet.