Where you put your Bitcoin ? Hot wallet vs cold wallet ?

[troubled soul]

I have heard varying opinions about the safety of storing bitcoin in a cold wallet versus a hot wallet. Is there a significant difference in safety between the two options?
Where you store your bitcoin ?
What strategy you use to keep Bitcoin safe ?
Any advice to keep coin safe ?


Thanks

 

[void]

buy Trezor model T (currently 20% off to promote new coinjoin support), use shamir backup and hidden wallets based on additional password for plausible deniability

store your shamir fragments safely and don't be predictable (like mum, dad, office, ...)

follow the best practices, don't try to create your own security policies and protocols - many much smarter guys already explored it all

buy a backup device and initiate it with the same seed (you don't want to do this under pressure later from your backups just because you accidentally stepped on it)

I'd recommend trezor suite but other options should be fine

understand and use coin control

Is there a significant difference in safety between the two options?

there is a massive difference
hot wallet is fine for daily spending and experiments
for anything serious you NEED to store your keys on an offline device with DISPLAY to be able to verify and sign transaction safely, anything less is significant downgrade

btw frequently discussed bluetooth connection is just fine if used properly

 

[JohnnyDoe]

Not your keys not your coins, it’s as simple as that.
You should store your coins in a hot wallet only when you need a crypto backed loan, whether for fiat or for other coins. Binance is good for that.

 

[diatessaron]

I use a USB and a laptop. Backups saved in a CD, did you know CDs can store information for thousands of years if stored correctly? I won't live that long so keeping it in a vacuum box is enough.

 

[zaybxc]

I use a Ledger hardware wallet; you need a bit of creativity to store the passphrase though.

 

[void]

you need a bit of creativity to store the passphrase though.

you need to avoid creativity not to get in trouble (you or your descendants)

 

[zaybxc]

you need to avoid creativity not to get in trouble (you or your descendants)

Well, I don't think you wrote down your passphrase on a piece of paper you keep in your desk.

There are people investing money to buy cryptosteel capsule that are fire-water impact resistant to store their passphrase; but what if the place where you store the capsule gets destroyed buy a hurricane, earthquake, landslide or whatever?

Vitalik Buterin recently outlined a crypto security strategy
https://dailyhodl.com/2023/03/19/et...n-outlines-favorite-crypto-security-strategy/
It's challenging to store a passphrase.

 

[aragon]

One thing I can highly recommend is, take your time and use the testnet. Thinking mainly of BTC here, but I believe all major chains have testnets, and I think all prominent cold wallets support them.

The problem with self custody is you are the biggest risk, and it's easy for one to misjudge one's own capabilities over time. Misplace this, forget that, misunderstand this, etc.

A testnet allows one to become familiar with all of BTC's features, with zero financial risk. You can test transactions between wallets, test destroying wallets and restoring from backups, test things like coin control and replace-by-fee transactions. Test restoring a cold wallet to a hot wallet, test running your own node, etc. And most of all, test your own memory - create some wallets, do some transactions, use passphrases for separating wallets, completely forget about all of it and come back 6 months later to see if you can still get your testnet coins back. If you fail at anything, you know what to work hard on or avoid when using real coins.

 

[troubled soul]

I find

BitBox02​

is the best solution as Far as I know...

 

[void]

I find

BitBox02​

is the best solution as Far as I know...

would be my second choice after Trezor, which is rather personal preference than "objective" judgement of course

what all hw wallets are missing the most is solutions for stealth EDC - huge business opportunity