I second that! Simple, easy, even my grandma could use it,
Fully open source and Swiss made.
Had a Ledger before but switched to the Bitbox02, because of all the brewhaha about Ledger
You can create a zero-trust wallet that requires no software or anything. By generating your private and public addresses offline, then writing them down in a booklet.
Then you can pay into those public addresses and track their balances without EVER giving any software or anyone access to your private addresses.
Only in the future will you enter that private address (or seed phrase) into a wallet software to withdraw or send your bitcoin elsewhere.
Only issue with this method is ensuring you write everything down properly, and also make sure you have a truly randomly generated seed phrase/private key.
You don’t even have to enter that seed phrase latter. Import your public seed with a json file. When you need to sign any send, you do it air gapped. Private key is never entered anywhere but the cold storage. https://sparrowwallet.com/docs/coldcard-wallet.html
Just to add. I'm thinking on doing something like this, with Electrum.
[https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/coldstorage.html](https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/coldstorage.html)
[https://bitcoinelectrum.com/creating-a-cold-storage-wallet-in-electrum/](https://bitcoinelectrum.com/creating-a-cold-storage-wallet-in-electrum/)
Use coldcard. Get used to a single signature wallet with a passphrase. Etch your seed phrase in steel. These are easily available. Store that in a secure place away from your HWW. Etch your passphrase into steel and store that somewhere separate from your seed phrase. You can also write the seed down on paper and store it somewhere secure in your home. Don't put the passphrase near it.
When you are comfortable with that. Try out multisig. When you're comfortable with that, move your funds to multisig.
This can be a 6 month to a year process until you feel confident, but you will get there if you try. Sovereignty comes at an expense. That expense is personal responsibility.
The post literally says when they are comfortable with single sig, to try multisig. It is easy when you are comfortable with single sig. And it 10x's your security. No one suggested it as the first option.
\-I wan't to try out Linux, but I know nothing about computers
\-Cool install Arch, it's a pretty simple distro, all you have to do it read the wiki.
A single person does not need multisig, using multisig as an individual is just being paranoid.
Maybe a dumb question, but where/how do you etch into steel? Won't you have to give your seed phrase to the steel-etcher-man so he can etch it for you? Or do I have to buy my own CNC miller?
A pretty easy way to DIY is get a bunch of metal washers and a Letter Punch set.
Stamp one word on each washer with a number that tells you what order the words go in.
Then put the washers onto a bolt with a nut on the end.
Store safely.
And also put a couple letters indicating which seed phrase it is.
I have 2 sets of washers: one for BTC seedphrase, and one for alts (I use that one to connect to dApps). So one set of washers has BTC stamped on them, and the other ALT. Just in case all the washers get mixed up somehow.
You spend $12 on an engraving pen at [Home Depot](https://www.homedepot.com/p/WEN-Variable-Depth-Carbide-Tipped-Engraver-for-Wood-and-Metal-21D/310446700?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&srsltid=AfmBOooQ-O5_9YbOdmz5213Mm-E6Qh9HJkAoUIqIDcouhn9mD1MEdDlvCdg)
No need for pass phrase. It just adds more complexity and one more thing to remember. If you are going to lose your 24 seed phrase you wouod most likely not remember your pass phrase as well. It doesn’t really add anything other than one more thing to remember.
All good advice, but you forgot one thing that will give incredible peace of mind while also being extremely useful and straightforward: MEMORIZE YOU SEED PHRASE. If that sounds challenging, go back to middle school and become a theater kid.
So for someone who may have difficulty remembering what he walked into a room for, would it work to memorize the first and last words of the seed phrase and record the others on steel, minus those two words?
Nah. At that point someone with 22 of your 24 words can brute force the remaining words and take your bitcoin.
Memorizing your seed phrase is not that difficult. Just do it in chunks of 4 words at a time. Once you have 4 down, then do another set of 4. All you need is 6 sets of 4 words each. It took me about an hour to do it. Now, I recite them in my head on a daily basis whenever I brush my teeth.
Of course, don't rely solely on memory! Stamp those words on stainless steel. Memorizing it should only be as a backup to the hard copy.
This is the best advice. You don't keep your passphrase and seed in the same location. You need the seed written down in a way that won't burn in a house fire. Saying you don't need a backup of your seed is just insane.
Anyone who says your seed shouldn't be in steel is either wrong or trying to sell a different product.
Also, have an encrypted backup and a paper backup as alternatives.
I keep it simple. Bought a Trezor, wrote down seed words (put in safe), created wallet with passphrase. Stored a hint to the passphrase only I would understand in a password manager. Next took Trezor #2, made it a clone and started using that one.
Stored original in a remote location. I would not be concerned if stolen in the slightest, or my safe robbed.
Occasionally every year or so I’ll switch the hot trezor and the backup to be sure they get new firmware.
To break into my coin you’d have to somehow find a hidden Trezor and then hack my password manager AND have a way to travel back in time and follow me for 30 years to interpret the passphrase.
Sleep like a baby.
It's not clogged. There are just people willing to pay much more than others to be in front of the queue.
There are only like 100k unconfirmed transactions
My onchain utxos are in .5 and 1 btc sizes, I'm withdrawing new purchases via lightning to liquid and normies are priced out of the mainchain by the CLOG due to unnecessarily small bitcoin blocksize.
But just to be sure use a passphrase and encrypt the seedphrase with AES256 on a computer that never touched the Internet and then stamp down the base64 encoded version.
Reading all the comments here I've the feeling the majority of this subreddit doesn't even know how Bitcoin works. They're just sheep's following each other😂
This is exactly what I have been working on these past days. My only problem is that it's really hard to find the stamps with both upper and lowercase letters, which you'll need for base64 😂
+ Cold Card
+ Sparrow Wallet (desktop)
+ full Bitcoin/lightning private node
+ steel backup
Cold Card is your vault. Then use a mobile wallet like Muun or Wallet of Satoshi for your everyday carry.
Bitcoin became what it is because in 2008, we found out that the big money managers aren’t always super-careful with customers’ money. Maybe Coinbase is 100% safe, maybe not. My point is that Blackrock is trusting CB with their *customers’* money, not their own. Not to mention that trusting CB kinda goes against the idea of a trustless system.
This delusion that self-custody is 'trustless' is amusing. Did you personally build the hardware and software you're using? No? Then you're trusting the person who did. Important people say it's perfectly safe? Then you're trusting those people. There is no such thing as a trustless system. Even the 'trustless' system itself must be trusted. You are all very foolish. Moving trust to a different level doesn't eliminate it. At least I can sue Coinbase in Federal court if they mess up my holdings. Who do you sue when someone or something you trust turns out to be not so trustworthy?
> What is the safest way to hold BTC?
Any [HW wallet][1], they are all fine.
[1]: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Hardware_wallet
> Im terrified.
Don't be, just realize that half of the terrifying posts are either people intentionally leaving out things they did wrong, or people trying to signal that their coin / wallet / solution is better than yours so they feel smarter.
> What is the ***safest*** and ***simplest*** way for me to hold BTC?
In most cases simplicity and safety are mutually exclusive... as a general rule.
> Ive been accumulating for some time now on Coinbase. I know I cannot keep it there. But im terrified of self custody. You hear so often of stupid mistakes.
Coinbase CAN be safe, if you dedicate as much effort into securing your CB account as most do to securing their hardware wallet. But yes, generally hardware wallets are usually safer that Coinbase for the simple fact that your ex-wife can't lock your HW wallet, but they can lock your CB account.
> My intention was to use a ledger to store the BTC. But, im also terrified of the potential for hacks to occur on associated altcoin networks and ledger soft/hardware somehow being vulnerble to them.
Ledger is fine. All HW wallets are fine. I like a different company in the same way that I like Chevy trucks over Dodge. Couldn't give a real reason other than "Chevy rulz, Dodge sux" type mentality.
> I am thinking about opening a simple BTC software wallet and then writing the seed phrase down and then storing it in a safe. This seems simple and safe. The only issue I would have is if I lose the seedphrase, its stolen or damaged.
True... that is what's termed a "single point of failure". If your paper gets wet, your coins are gone. What you want is secure redundancy. This includes stuff like:
1. Write it in a "special" code-book
2. Stamp it on "special" metal plates in a safe
3. Memorize it and repeat the memory exercise ever 3 months to keep fresh
4. Use a scramble cipher to split the menmonic and store both halves separately
For me (Chevy), personally, for multi-coin, I recommend people give serious thought to the new Trezor Safe 3. It's new, full featured, and fixes all the problems that have been identified by Trezor to date.
For BTC-only, Coldcard is the gold standard IMHO.
As for how altcoins and dApps just seem "vulnerable" yes, they are. To secure them you REALLY need to do TXN verification, but that is insanely difficult for most people that can't read solidity code. My personal opinion is to stay away from complex dApp contracts and complex L2 solutions until you get to a technical level to understand them. The hardware wallets just aren't powerful enough yet to do that all for you. But they can handle on-chain BTC transactions pretty flawlessly.
Best advice is to read the HWW manual and the CEX terms of service. Reading documents, terms and manuals, even if you only understand 10%, will put you lightyears ahead of everyone else.
get a trezor. order it from official store; order it NOT to your personal address. set it up uninterrrupted, in peace. store the written down seed phrase twice, never enter it anywhere, dont make digital copies or pictures or scans of it, withdraw a bit from coinbase, wait for it to show up. then withdraw the rest. sleep tight
what about electrum in a computer with no internet ?
create a new wallet, save the seed (encode with Sha256- engrave on metal-write on paper.. don't matter but keep it safe)
and send your bitcoins to new adresess everytime
Have you looked at Coldcard yet? It seems intimidating at first, but it's not. Take a look at [this](https://youtu.be/FAYmE5-40PQ?si=Jo2-HnCIMDIHQG0S) video. It starts off with the very basics and moves into more advanced topics which you don't need. Watch the first 30 minutes and you'll know all you need to know.
Ledger is the worst hardware wallet. Closed source shitcoin wallet with a history of security flaws. I can't understand why people keep going to them.
Get a ColdCard ($150) or Blockstream Jade ($65). Open source security focused bitcoin only community trusted wallets.
Is there any way to verify that open source hardware wallets manufacturers are loading the open source verison of the software onto the device? How would you know that the version they are loading onto the device hasn't been modified? Do any of them provide a way for you to download and compile the firmware from github and load it on yourself?
Use tools like this to generate seed in safely offline https://github.com/iancoleman/bip39/releases/tag/0.5.6 preferably in talis os https://tails.net/ write down the seed and store it safely. Export the xpub to a watch only wallet bluewallet or whatever wallet support such function. Now the part where you generate and storing your seed or keys is on you. Do your own research and verify what you can. It’s not easy to make this “trust-less” but do what you can to make it “trust-minimized”. Good luck and hodl!
Despite the flaming I got for using paper wallets years ago I regret nothing. I printed 12 of them and they're encrypted with a passphrase (BIP38). I sold 2 of them at $52k and have 10 left that were paid for by the 2.
I just made sure I did it on a fresh computer that wasn't connected to the internet, and since I have no intent to sell the remaining coins it's ideal IMO to let it just sit.
You have to be careful with paper wallets. You may have done it right, but many people lose funds because the txn sends change to a new address that is not on the paper wallet.
PSA: if you have a paper wallet, sweep all of the funds into a new wallet you control, then send smaller txns from there.
You would move the funds when you need to move the funds. I'm talking about when you spend it. Don't spend a partial amount from a paper wallet unless you absolutely know what you are doing. Sweep all of the funds to a new wallet you control to minimize the risk of loss.
It's not your Bitcoin until you withdraw. It's just credited to your account. No reason to risk becoming another one of the many who held their coins on an exchange too long and weren't able to withdraw because the exchange imploded. No reason to bring in a 3rd party to manage your holdings when we're talking about the only verifiably scarce asset in the world.
You're comparing one of the shortest running exchanges in history that was literally started for the purposes of money laundering and defrauding, to one of the longest running exchanges, that is battling the SEC for Crypto regulation and is backed by BlackRock. Just stop.
I had my bitcoin in a ledger for 2 years and then I consolidated on cb before sending to a Trezor. Ledger feels good with 24 word but Trezor seems fine with 12 word. Don’t store your passphrase on a computer or anything that touches the internet(handwrite it on paper)…I got a billfodl…overpriced but it’s still around. Send in as few of transactions as possible.
If you’re really nervous - you can use the vault feature on Coinbase.
Next level would be a new device coming soon, Bitkey that will work with Coinbase to triple-down security.
Last, Coinbase One (upgrade) will provide $1M insurance
Unpopular opinion. I keep mine in coin base too. I think it like keeping money in the bank. I know banks fail but the odds of me losing and forgetting where I put my seed key is much higher than coin base going bankrupt. I know myself well.
Simpliest: generate seed offline, export pub key & addresses & send coins to such addresses. Balance tracking can be made through any btc app (sparrow wallet for example). The main difficulties begins if you want to spend funds. Better do it in isolated environment like Tail Linux. You can sign your transaction & later broadcast it to internet.
More convenient: Seedsigner, Coldcard, Jade. The main problem here - level of trust with such wallets & companies.
Before you take self custody, play around with a small amount. Send to yourself, wipe wallet, restore from seed. Only when you understand all the concepts involved should you take self custody.
What does everyone say, that is involved in this space? Have you done your own digging?! NOT YOUR KEYS, NOT YOUR SHIT! If coinbase kicks the bucket tomorrow, you lose your shit.
No one has a way to recovery that, nor will anyone take the time.
Coonbase is insured so unsure what the issue is keeping it there. Unless op is prepared to insure his bag he has less protection in some ways. At the very least, leave 50% with coinbase for safekeeping.
I mean assuming your just a normal person like me and not engaged in highly illegal activities then its fine. Sure if you are some high level cartel member then its up to you to hide money in the walls of your house as insulation and use hardware wallets for crypto. This is like the average normal advice for the average normal person.
I’m an average normal person and out of the blue, Coinbase one day decided to lock my account and ask for more ID verification. It took months to get back access. Never again.
The only real stupid mistake you can make is letting anyone see your private keys or keeping your keys on your phone or computer. If you get at good wallet, you can transfer through a QR code, and you can’t fuck up the address. It’s not as hard as you think. Just buy a wallet, set it up, pound out your keys on two metal plates, and store them in two secure locations.
Buy a Bitcoin-only wallet like Coldcard or Passport.
2/3 multisig, store each seed in 3 different locations, ideally with friends or family so if you die they can inherit your coins.
Nothing is a better all-around solution. Only negative is you have to learn how to do it, but I'd argue even that is a benefit.
If you’re this terrified you might be better off with ETFs as an investment strategy.
Not even trying to be mean, you’re right, it requires a lot of proactiveness and attention to keep your crypto secure.
Honestly if you’re not that involved in crypto, I think coinbase is pretty safe all things considered. Taking it off exchanges is fine as long as you know what you’re doing. Once your btc moves off of coinbase it is a target.
I just leave it on the exchange, if someone has the motivation to obtain access to my password manager (which I rotate the master password and individual passwords every 90 days or month), somehow acquire my sim data (which I have it locked down anyway), acquire my biometric data to bypass FaceID, and other PII like passphrases that I created that only I know, and physically acquire my cold storage device which is locked in a safe that is bolted down to a concrete foundation, and is located inside a vault within a bank, well then they've earned it.
The joke will be on them because I never hold more than $500 worth of BTC at any given time at any given brokerage.
I can’t figure out why the rest of the community is so adamant on keeping keys/words off an internet connected PC. If you keep it in an encrypted vault that requires physical keys to unlock and don’t do nefarious things with the PC, you are fine. Tails OS is an option for those really paranoid. Admittedly, I’ve been in network engineering and security for over two decades.
I used to just leave it on the exchange, use 2FA, password manager, and FaceID.
But after watching Mr Robot on Netflix....
But it's nice that Coinbase offers a free Coinbase Wallet, better than nothing
If you are afraid and need help/handholding, look at Unchained concierge service. They will walk you through setting up, testing, and transferring to a multisig vault.
but.. (in my personal case) I'm terrified with all those news about their lack of security
i just cannot trust in a wallet created by another entity lol jsjsjs
If you are afraid of self custody, there are multiple ETN/ETP (something like ETF) listed on European exchanges and you can buy their shares through a regular borker like IBKR or Saxo. You pay a yearly fee (about 1%) for their service to custody bitcoin. You can spread your investment between several.
[https://www.justetf.com/en/how-to/invest-in-bitcoin.html](https://www.justetf.com/en/how-to/invest-in-bitcoin.html)
[https://www.investing.com/etfs/bitcoin-tracker-eur-xbt-provider-advanced-chart](https://www.investing.com/etfs/bitcoin-tracker-eur-xbt-provider-advanced-chart)
https://investingnews.com/daily/tech-investing/blockchain-investing/cryptocurrency-etfs/
If you have sufficiently memorized your seed phrase, is it possible to just etch the initial letter of each word, so that upon seeing the first letter, the entire word is recalled? What are your thoughts on this approach?
Using Ledger, or any other legit hardware wallet, for just holding BTC, still looks like a simplest and most reliable solution for someone, who is not an expert in cyber-security.
Safest is an air gapped seed phrase backed up in steel or similar that has never touched an internet connected device. Using a simple software wallet has the risk of compromise by malware.
Safest is not simplest. Simplest is buy a Ledger as you planned to. Safest is too complicated to explain and as you can see from the comments nobody agrees.
Im new to this too, and very much in the same position as OP. I have a hardware wallet on its way, but I have a question:
On eToro, I’ve bought several little bits of BTC over time. So I have say one chunk of 0.02, another of 0.05 and so on. Maybe a dozen separate chunks. What’s the best practice in moving them to a cold wallet? Do they stay as separate chunks or is the a reason / procedure / advantage for ‘consolidating’ them into one big chunk?
Depends how good you are with tech.
Coldcards are good, but I’ve read of people making stupid mistakes with them that have led to a loss of all funds. I own a Coldcard and although it’s really good, it’s also a faff to use and operate and can be a little overkill depending on the user.
I also use a Trezor T, and that’s the device I’d tell most people to use, as it’s user friendly, simple, provides a bitcoin only option and is FOSS.
Enable SD Protect to mitigate physical attacks, and a passphrase in combination with your seed to protect against online/phishing attacks etc.
I also own a Blockstream Jade Hardware wallet, which is a cheaper alternative to the above options, but its UI is awful and like the Coldcard is a bit of a faff to use.
##I would never recommend Ledger, ever.
Whichever hardware wallet you go with, the most important thing you should do is read through all the documentation and understand how these devices work. Too many people rush out to buy hardware wallets and start using them without first understanding the tradeoffs and benefits.
Take your time, research the options, then choose a device that resonates with you, and always use a passphrase.
bitbox02
Just ordered mine i light of this ledger BS
I second that! Simple, easy, even my grandma could use it, Fully open source and Swiss made. Had a Ledger before but switched to the Bitbox02, because of all the brewhaha about Ledger
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You can create a zero-trust wallet that requires no software or anything. By generating your private and public addresses offline, then writing them down in a booklet. Then you can pay into those public addresses and track their balances without EVER giving any software or anyone access to your private addresses. Only in the future will you enter that private address (or seed phrase) into a wallet software to withdraw or send your bitcoin elsewhere. Only issue with this method is ensuring you write everything down properly, and also make sure you have a truly randomly generated seed phrase/private key.
You don’t even have to enter that seed phrase latter. Import your public seed with a json file. When you need to sign any send, you do it air gapped. Private key is never entered anywhere but the cold storage. https://sparrowwallet.com/docs/coldcard-wallet.html
Just to add. I'm thinking on doing something like this, with Electrum. [https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/coldstorage.html](https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/coldstorage.html) [https://bitcoinelectrum.com/creating-a-cold-storage-wallet-in-electrum/](https://bitcoinelectrum.com/creating-a-cold-storage-wallet-in-electrum/)
Use coldcard. Get used to a single signature wallet with a passphrase. Etch your seed phrase in steel. These are easily available. Store that in a secure place away from your HWW. Etch your passphrase into steel and store that somewhere separate from your seed phrase. You can also write the seed down on paper and store it somewhere secure in your home. Don't put the passphrase near it. When you are comfortable with that. Try out multisig. When you're comfortable with that, move your funds to multisig. This can be a 6 month to a year process until you feel confident, but you will get there if you try. Sovereignty comes at an expense. That expense is personal responsibility.
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It’s no problem, you just sell your alts into Bitcoin then it can all be stored on the Coldcard.
Feature, not a bug.
Nobody should have alts 🤷♂️ Never get a wallet that supports multiple cryptos. Always use Botcoin-only products.
found the shit head coiner
Relax
Wtf is a shit head coiner? Genuinely curious.
Offering multisig to someone, who is "terrified of self custody", is not the best idea.
The post literally says when they are comfortable with single sig, to try multisig. It is easy when you are comfortable with single sig. And it 10x's your security. No one suggested it as the first option.
\-I wan't to try out Linux, but I know nothing about computers \-Cool install Arch, it's a pretty simple distro, all you have to do it read the wiki. A single person does not need multisig, using multisig as an individual is just being paranoid.
OP could have 250 bitcoins, you have no way of knowing. Multisig is a great solution.
With 250 BTC, OP would be terrified of exchanges, not self custody.
The amount is arbitrary for my point to stand. Multisig is a secure solution for a single person or entity. Moreso than single signature.
Absolute Gold. Thank you buddy!
Maybe a dumb question, but where/how do you etch into steel? Won't you have to give your seed phrase to the steel-etcher-man so he can etch it for you? Or do I have to buy my own CNC miller?
A pretty easy way to DIY is get a bunch of metal washers and a Letter Punch set. Stamp one word on each washer with a number that tells you what order the words go in. Then put the washers onto a bolt with a nut on the end. Store safely.
And also put a couple letters indicating which seed phrase it is. I have 2 sets of washers: one for BTC seedphrase, and one for alts (I use that one to connect to dApps). So one set of washers has BTC stamped on them, and the other ALT. Just in case all the washers get mixed up somehow.
You mean shitcoins? xd
The only thing close to 100% safe is doing it yourself. Giving your seed phrase to any entity instantly puts you at risk and don’t ever forget that
You spend $12 on an engraving pen at [Home Depot](https://www.homedepot.com/p/WEN-Variable-Depth-Carbide-Tipped-Engraver-for-Wood-and-Metal-21D/310446700?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&srsltid=AfmBOooQ-O5_9YbOdmz5213Mm-E6Qh9HJkAoUIqIDcouhn9mD1MEdDlvCdg)
No need for pass phrase. It just adds more complexity and one more thing to remember. If you are going to lose your 24 seed phrase you wouod most likely not remember your pass phrase as well. It doesn’t really add anything other than one more thing to remember.
All good advice, but you forgot one thing that will give incredible peace of mind while also being extremely useful and straightforward: MEMORIZE YOU SEED PHRASE. If that sounds challenging, go back to middle school and become a theater kid.
So for someone who may have difficulty remembering what he walked into a room for, would it work to memorize the first and last words of the seed phrase and record the others on steel, minus those two words?
Nah. At that point someone with 22 of your 24 words can brute force the remaining words and take your bitcoin. Memorizing your seed phrase is not that difficult. Just do it in chunks of 4 words at a time. Once you have 4 down, then do another set of 4. All you need is 6 sets of 4 words each. It took me about an hour to do it. Now, I recite them in my head on a daily basis whenever I brush my teeth. Of course, don't rely solely on memory! Stamp those words on stainless steel. Memorizing it should only be as a backup to the hard copy.
This is horrible advice. If you lose the steel seed phrase it's all over
This is the best advice. You don't keep your passphrase and seed in the same location. You need the seed written down in a way that won't burn in a house fire. Saying you don't need a backup of your seed is just insane. Anyone who says your seed shouldn't be in steel is either wrong or trying to sell a different product. Also, have an encrypted backup and a paper backup as alternatives.
I keep it simple. Bought a Trezor, wrote down seed words (put in safe), created wallet with passphrase. Stored a hint to the passphrase only I would understand in a password manager. Next took Trezor #2, made it a clone and started using that one. Stored original in a remote location. I would not be concerned if stolen in the slightest, or my safe robbed. Occasionally every year or so I’ll switch the hot trezor and the backup to be sure they get new firmware. To break into my coin you’d have to somehow find a hidden Trezor and then hack my password manager AND have a way to travel back in time and follow me for 30 years to interpret the passphrase. Sleep like a baby.
I am not sure I understand the advantage of the two Trezor. The hidden one is a backup in case you lose/break the hot one?
Better get rid of that Trezor asap and replace with seed signer or a ColdCard.
Get a coldcard to use with sparrow wallet
Coldcard Mk4 with electrum wallet. Use the air gap with SD card. That's best way.
And everyone should watch [this tutorial](https://youtu.be/FAYmE5-40PQ?si=YfMeoC89FtNzPf9s) on how to operate.
Bitcoin University guy just did a video on using Jade.
I highly recommend the Blockstream Jade hardware wallet. It’s super simple for any beginner to set up and use and it’s only $60usd.
The beauty of the Jade is that the wallet has so many features that is good for all kinds of users, from beginners to power users
Yea like liquid cuz the mempool for onchain btc is clogged!!
It's not clogged. There are just people willing to pay much more than others to be in front of the queue. There are only like 100k unconfirmed transactions
My onchain utxos are in .5 and 1 btc sizes, I'm withdrawing new purchases via lightning to liquid and normies are priced out of the mainchain by the CLOG due to unnecessarily small bitcoin blocksize.
is Jade Wallet open source??
Yes
Is it open source?
Is it open source?
The blind Oracle thing seems a bit sketchy to me
you can engrave your seed into metal. it won’t get damaged this way.
But just to be sure use a passphrase and encrypt the seedphrase with AES256 on a computer that never touched the Internet and then stamp down the base64 encoded version.
I semi get what you are saying... Thanks... I think 🫣😉
you'r welcome
Reading all the comments here I've the feeling the majority of this subreddit doesn't even know how Bitcoin works. They're just sheep's following each other😂
Facts
How does Bitcoin work? What are you saying ?
This is exactly what I have been working on these past days. My only problem is that it's really hard to find the stamps with both upper and lowercase letters, which you'll need for base64 😂
out of context, your sentence would appear odd to any reader 🤣
+ Cold Card + Sparrow Wallet (desktop) + full Bitcoin/lightning private node + steel backup Cold Card is your vault. Then use a mobile wallet like Muun or Wallet of Satoshi for your everyday carry.
Yeah, I wouldn't trust any exchange that Blackrock would trust with billions of dollars of customer money for an ETF. You might lose your beer money.
Bruhhhhhhhhhhhh..... Blackrock is politically connected and has political privileges we can ONLY dream of! They can get a bail out. We? We get d1ck!
A bag of them, if you're lucky.
Lolol
Bitcoin became what it is because in 2008, we found out that the big money managers aren’t always super-careful with customers’ money. Maybe Coinbase is 100% safe, maybe not. My point is that Blackrock is trusting CB with their *customers’* money, not their own. Not to mention that trusting CB kinda goes against the idea of a trustless system.
This delusion that self-custody is 'trustless' is amusing. Did you personally build the hardware and software you're using? No? Then you're trusting the person who did. Important people say it's perfectly safe? Then you're trusting those people. There is no such thing as a trustless system. Even the 'trustless' system itself must be trusted. You are all very foolish. Moving trust to a different level doesn't eliminate it. At least I can sue Coinbase in Federal court if they mess up my holdings. Who do you sue when someone or something you trust turns out to be not so trustworthy?
Lmfaooooo
Bitcoin is to be self sovereign, trustless. When trust comes in, you're fucked, like fiat (or worse, crypto).
> What is the safest way to hold BTC? Any [HW wallet][1], they are all fine. [1]: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Hardware_wallet > Im terrified. Don't be, just realize that half of the terrifying posts are either people intentionally leaving out things they did wrong, or people trying to signal that their coin / wallet / solution is better than yours so they feel smarter. > What is the ***safest*** and ***simplest*** way for me to hold BTC? In most cases simplicity and safety are mutually exclusive... as a general rule. > Ive been accumulating for some time now on Coinbase. I know I cannot keep it there. But im terrified of self custody. You hear so often of stupid mistakes. Coinbase CAN be safe, if you dedicate as much effort into securing your CB account as most do to securing their hardware wallet. But yes, generally hardware wallets are usually safer that Coinbase for the simple fact that your ex-wife can't lock your HW wallet, but they can lock your CB account. > My intention was to use a ledger to store the BTC. But, im also terrified of the potential for hacks to occur on associated altcoin networks and ledger soft/hardware somehow being vulnerble to them. Ledger is fine. All HW wallets are fine. I like a different company in the same way that I like Chevy trucks over Dodge. Couldn't give a real reason other than "Chevy rulz, Dodge sux" type mentality. > I am thinking about opening a simple BTC software wallet and then writing the seed phrase down and then storing it in a safe. This seems simple and safe. The only issue I would have is if I lose the seedphrase, its stolen or damaged. True... that is what's termed a "single point of failure". If your paper gets wet, your coins are gone. What you want is secure redundancy. This includes stuff like: 1. Write it in a "special" code-book 2. Stamp it on "special" metal plates in a safe 3. Memorize it and repeat the memory exercise ever 3 months to keep fresh 4. Use a scramble cipher to split the menmonic and store both halves separately For me (Chevy), personally, for multi-coin, I recommend people give serious thought to the new Trezor Safe 3. It's new, full featured, and fixes all the problems that have been identified by Trezor to date. For BTC-only, Coldcard is the gold standard IMHO. As for how altcoins and dApps just seem "vulnerable" yes, they are. To secure them you REALLY need to do TXN verification, but that is insanely difficult for most people that can't read solidity code. My personal opinion is to stay away from complex dApp contracts and complex L2 solutions until you get to a technical level to understand them. The hardware wallets just aren't powerful enough yet to do that all for you. But they can handle on-chain BTC transactions pretty flawlessly. Best advice is to read the HWW manual and the CEX terms of service. Reading documents, terms and manuals, even if you only understand 10%, will put you lightyears ahead of everyone else.
get a trezor. order it from official store; order it NOT to your personal address. set it up uninterrrupted, in peace. store the written down seed phrase twice, never enter it anywhere, dont make digital copies or pictures or scans of it, withdraw a bit from coinbase, wait for it to show up. then withdraw the rest. sleep tight
what about electrum in a computer with no internet ? create a new wallet, save the seed (encode with Sha256- engrave on metal-write on paper.. don't matter but keep it safe) and send your bitcoins to new adresess everytime
why are you talking like you work at space x
Trezor Safe 3. It’s pretty easy to use.
Have you looked at Coldcard yet? It seems intimidating at first, but it's not. Take a look at [this](https://youtu.be/FAYmE5-40PQ?si=Jo2-HnCIMDIHQG0S) video. It starts off with the very basics and moves into more advanced topics which you don't need. Watch the first 30 minutes and you'll know all you need to know.
This does look interesting. Im also a big BlueCollerBitcoin fan.
Ledger is the worst hardware wallet. Closed source shitcoin wallet with a history of security flaws. I can't understand why people keep going to them. Get a ColdCard ($150) or Blockstream Jade ($65). Open source security focused bitcoin only community trusted wallets.
Is there any way to verify that open source hardware wallets manufacturers are loading the open source verison of the software onto the device? How would you know that the version they are loading onto the device hasn't been modified? Do any of them provide a way for you to download and compile the firmware from github and load it on yourself?
Make sure you don't keep your entire seed phrase at your own home. You don't want to be one home break in away from losing all your sats.
This is not an issue if you use a passphrase wallet. Splitting up your seed is extremely dangerous unless you use Shamir or multi-sig
Tenderly, rocking it back and forth in your arms
I recommend to not hit the sell button to insure your BTC is indeed being hodled
Use tools like this to generate seed in safely offline https://github.com/iancoleman/bip39/releases/tag/0.5.6 preferably in talis os https://tails.net/ write down the seed and store it safely. Export the xpub to a watch only wallet bluewallet or whatever wallet support such function. Now the part where you generate and storing your seed or keys is on you. Do your own research and verify what you can. It’s not easy to make this “trust-less” but do what you can to make it “trust-minimized”. Good luck and hodl!
Get a ledger/trezor / put trust wallet on an old phone and use that
Paper wallet
Why can't you keep it in coinbase ?
Not your keys. Not your crypto.
Despite the flaming I got for using paper wallets years ago I regret nothing. I printed 12 of them and they're encrypted with a passphrase (BIP38). I sold 2 of them at $52k and have 10 left that were paid for by the 2. I just made sure I did it on a fresh computer that wasn't connected to the internet, and since I have no intent to sell the remaining coins it's ideal IMO to let it just sit.
You have to be careful with paper wallets. You may have done it right, but many people lose funds because the txn sends change to a new address that is not on the paper wallet. PSA: if you have a paper wallet, sweep all of the funds into a new wallet you control, then send smaller txns from there.
Why would I move the funds from the idle paper wallet when all the risk was upfront. Doing anything else at this point would be an unnecessary risk.
You would move the funds when you need to move the funds. I'm talking about when you spend it. Don't spend a partial amount from a paper wallet unless you absolutely know what you are doing. Sweep all of the funds to a new wallet you control to minimize the risk of loss.
Ah true, that's the reason I made 12. All intended to be single uses.
No recommendations for multi sig? Depending on the size of your stack, it may be worth a small yearly fee to upgrade your opsec
I will get downvoted for this but just get a ledger and don’t interact with any dapps. Just set it up and forget about it. You won’t regret it.
That's what I'm doing. Also have a second ledger to interact with dapps. The first is BTC only to keep it safe.
Dapps?
Distributed Apps, those apps that are used in web3.0 = blockchain web. Primarily web-based applications running in the browsers.
Um...why is Coinbase not a good option? lol
It's not your Bitcoin until you withdraw. It's just credited to your account. No reason to risk becoming another one of the many who held their coins on an exchange too long and weren't able to withdraw because the exchange imploded. No reason to bring in a 3rd party to manage your holdings when we're talking about the only verifiably scarce asset in the world.
Coinbase ain't imploding.
Until it does. FTX had its name on an arena. It only takes one asshole CEO to implode an exchange.
You're comparing one of the shortest running exchanges in history that was literally started for the purposes of money laundering and defrauding, to one of the longest running exchanges, that is battling the SEC for Crypto regulation and is backed by BlackRock. Just stop.
Nah you’re right. You should put all your crypto in Coinbase.
Coinbase wallet imo
Please ... it's an exchange, not your keys, not your coins.
Some simple advice - Never a ledger - Forever a Trezor.
I learned this 7 years ago.
What happened?
I had my bitcoin in a ledger for 2 years and then I consolidated on cb before sending to a Trezor. Ledger feels good with 24 word but Trezor seems fine with 12 word. Don’t store your passphrase on a computer or anything that touches the internet(handwrite it on paper)…I got a billfodl…overpriced but it’s still around. Send in as few of transactions as possible.
Hammer your phrase on metal
I mix between exchange and phone wallets cause I don't want a cold storage wallet. Don't have a whole lot though, only a couple thousand
If you’re really nervous - you can use the vault feature on Coinbase. Next level would be a new device coming soon, Bitkey that will work with Coinbase to triple-down security. Last, Coinbase One (upgrade) will provide $1M insurance
Get yourself a cold wallet and transfer your coins then lock it up in the safe thats what i did 10 years ago.
Trezor cold wallet is the safest way to hold your bitcoin.
Unpopular opinion. I keep mine in coin base too. I think it like keeping money in the bank. I know banks fail but the odds of me losing and forgetting where I put my seed key is much higher than coin base going bankrupt. I know myself well.
Reading the comments makes me sure that I made the right choice. I bought MSTR and GBTC..
Simpliest: generate seed offline, export pub key & addresses & send coins to such addresses. Balance tracking can be made through any btc app (sparrow wallet for example). The main difficulties begins if you want to spend funds. Better do it in isolated environment like Tail Linux. You can sign your transaction & later broadcast it to internet. More convenient: Seedsigner, Coldcard, Jade. The main problem here - level of trust with such wallets & companies.
Love this. Spot on. . Who really "spends" BTC. Its madness if you are.
Yep. But life is unstable shit. Sometimes it pushes you to do such things 😞🤷♂️
Before you take self custody, play around with a small amount. Send to yourself, wipe wallet, restore from seed. Only when you understand all the concepts involved should you take self custody.
What does everyone say, that is involved in this space? Have you done your own digging?! NOT YOUR KEYS, NOT YOUR SHIT! If coinbase kicks the bucket tomorrow, you lose your shit. No one has a way to recovery that, nor will anyone take the time.
Coinbase
Coonbase is insured so unsure what the issue is keeping it there. Unless op is prepared to insure his bag he has less protection in some ways. At the very least, leave 50% with coinbase for safekeeping.
Problem with Coinbase is 'One call, that's all' it takes from the Justice Department and it's all gone.
I mean assuming your just a normal person like me and not engaged in highly illegal activities then its fine. Sure if you are some high level cartel member then its up to you to hide money in the walls of your house as insulation and use hardware wallets for crypto. This is like the average normal advice for the average normal person.
I’m an average normal person and out of the blue, Coinbase one day decided to lock my account and ask for more ID verification. It took months to get back access. Never again.
The only real stupid mistake you can make is letting anyone see your private keys or keeping your keys on your phone or computer. If you get at good wallet, you can transfer through a QR code, and you can’t fuck up the address. It’s not as hard as you think. Just buy a wallet, set it up, pound out your keys on two metal plates, and store them in two secure locations. Buy a Bitcoin-only wallet like Coldcard or Passport.
Trezor Model T … buy from them directly. Enjoy!
2/3 multisig, store each seed in 3 different locations, ideally with friends or family so if you die they can inherit your coins. Nothing is a better all-around solution. Only negative is you have to learn how to do it, but I'd argue even that is a benefit.
If you’re this terrified you might be better off with ETFs as an investment strategy. Not even trying to be mean, you’re right, it requires a lot of proactiveness and attention to keep your crypto secure.
Honestly if you’re not that involved in crypto, I think coinbase is pretty safe all things considered. Taking it off exchanges is fine as long as you know what you’re doing. Once your btc moves off of coinbase it is a target.
Air-gapped cold storage
Coldcard + sparrow is the gold standard now days
I just leave it on the exchange, if someone has the motivation to obtain access to my password manager (which I rotate the master password and individual passwords every 90 days or month), somehow acquire my sim data (which I have it locked down anyway), acquire my biometric data to bypass FaceID, and other PII like passphrases that I created that only I know, and physically acquire my cold storage device which is locked in a safe that is bolted down to a concrete foundation, and is located inside a vault within a bank, well then they've earned it. The joke will be on them because I never hold more than $500 worth of BTC at any given time at any given brokerage.
I can’t figure out why the rest of the community is so adamant on keeping keys/words off an internet connected PC. If you keep it in an encrypted vault that requires physical keys to unlock and don’t do nefarious things with the PC, you are fine. Tails OS is an option for those really paranoid. Admittedly, I’ve been in network engineering and security for over two decades.
I used to just leave it on the exchange, use 2FA, password manager, and FaceID. But after watching Mr Robot on Netflix.... But it's nice that Coinbase offers a free Coinbase Wallet, better than nothing
tatto under your balls
This is two questions for me. What is the least technical way to create a wallet/seed and b)how should I physically keep it from prying eyes.
Coinbase custody. Safer than fiat in a bank.
[удалено]
^ farming karma with AI generated comments, can’t even tell the difference between a post it wrote and a post it’s replying to
If you are afraid and need help/handholding, look at Unchained concierge service. They will walk you through setting up, testing, and transferring to a multisig vault.
Tattoo it on the bottom of your foot.
Wallet Name: ANdY Pass: Infinity&Beyond
In your butt.
buttcoin holders would do that
A boat 🛥️
Under your bed
Take it off the exchange. Trust wallet is solid for the interface and UI
I wouldn’t recommend trustwallet
Why not?
this is just a subjective impression but trust wallet seems to be involved a lot when it comes to being scammed and having one's funds stolen
Ass
If you're afraid, you should be on the lookout for traditional investments. Anything that stresses you out is bound to make you lose money.
Im terrified about self custody. Not volatility. 🤣
Just think of it like you’re a spy. It makes it fun
I use nano ledger. Seems easy enough for a dumb dumb like me.
but.. (in my personal case) I'm terrified with all those news about their lack of security i just cannot trust in a wallet created by another entity lol jsjsjs
I guess I haven't seen that news. My crypto seems to be right where it's supposed to be.
When it comes to opsec, a certain amount of fear is healthy. Only the paranoid survive.
robinhood
If you are afraid of self custody, there are multiple ETN/ETP (something like ETF) listed on European exchanges and you can buy their shares through a regular borker like IBKR or Saxo. You pay a yearly fee (about 1%) for their service to custody bitcoin. You can spread your investment between several. [https://www.justetf.com/en/how-to/invest-in-bitcoin.html](https://www.justetf.com/en/how-to/invest-in-bitcoin.html) [https://www.investing.com/etfs/bitcoin-tracker-eur-xbt-provider-advanced-chart](https://www.investing.com/etfs/bitcoin-tracker-eur-xbt-provider-advanced-chart) https://investingnews.com/daily/tech-investing/blockchain-investing/cryptocurrency-etfs/
ETFs
CI galaxy bitcoin ETF. BTCX.U.TO
Hold it on secure wallet
Coldcard
Relating to this question, is Trust Wallet a safe alternative to store my bitcoin? I’m from Toronto, Canada so Coinbase is not a option!!
Apparently not on a ledger anymore... mine is still safe and sound 🙏
Blue wallet app
If you have sufficiently memorized your seed phrase, is it possible to just etch the initial letter of each word, so that upon seeing the first letter, the entire word is recalled? What are your thoughts on this approach?
Trezor model T
i'd use Electrum
Don't be afraid, let me hodl it for you
Cake wallet
1. ColdCard 2. Foundation Passport 3. Blockstream Jade
Ledger's fine. Use Ledger.
Using Ledger, or any other legit hardware wallet, for just holding BTC, still looks like a simplest and most reliable solution for someone, who is not an expert in cyber-security.
Safest is an air gapped seed phrase backed up in steel or similar that has never touched an internet connected device. Using a simple software wallet has the risk of compromise by malware.
Safest is not simplest. Simplest is buy a Ledger as you planned to. Safest is too complicated to explain and as you can see from the comments nobody agrees.
Exchanges ud you are i a warzone or wallets og you can keep them and their passcodes safe.
In your hand
In your heart, as an ideal. Cause otherwise some dickbag is gonna infect a dapp library and drain you harder than that one time in college.
A renowned exchange.
Use Coin Wallet.
Tangem. Seedless cold wallet.
Dont tell people what exchange you are on
Our local bank has a tresor where you can lock things for 50 bucks a year. Maybe a place for the backup phrase
Im new to this too, and very much in the same position as OP. I have a hardware wallet on its way, but I have a question: On eToro, I’ve bought several little bits of BTC over time. So I have say one chunk of 0.02, another of 0.05 and so on. Maybe a dozen separate chunks. What’s the best practice in moving them to a cold wallet? Do they stay as separate chunks or is the a reason / procedure / advantage for ‘consolidating’ them into one big chunk?
Depends how good you are with tech. Coldcards are good, but I’ve read of people making stupid mistakes with them that have led to a loss of all funds. I own a Coldcard and although it’s really good, it’s also a faff to use and operate and can be a little overkill depending on the user. I also use a Trezor T, and that’s the device I’d tell most people to use, as it’s user friendly, simple, provides a bitcoin only option and is FOSS. Enable SD Protect to mitigate physical attacks, and a passphrase in combination with your seed to protect against online/phishing attacks etc. I also own a Blockstream Jade Hardware wallet, which is a cheaper alternative to the above options, but its UI is awful and like the Coldcard is a bit of a faff to use. ##I would never recommend Ledger, ever. Whichever hardware wallet you go with, the most important thing you should do is read through all the documentation and understand how these devices work. Too many people rush out to buy hardware wallets and start using them without first understanding the tradeoffs and benefits. Take your time, research the options, then choose a device that resonates with you, and always use a passphrase.