Tips to Help Secure Your Crypto
The year 2020 has been an interesting one for those who hold and trade cryptocurrencies. Digital currencies are getting more media attention than ever! This year has also seen the creation of more cryptocurrencies than in years past. This being the case, we have not even discussed market volatility – seeing the likes of BTC go to $3k levels and climb as high as $12k. In the midst of all that, we continue to see scams to dominate the field.
The Dangers of Using Crypto
Cryptocurrencies are great for the flexibility that they bring to the use of money. The fact that users can be their own banks is also appealing, taking out all of the normal restrictions and third parties which hinder the use of money.
That could also be what makes it very easy to manipulate against users, though. Some of the ways that we have seen this happen include, but is not limited to:
- Scam Projects – more coins are coming out every day which seem to be the real deal only for them to go to dust in no time. One that comes to mind is SUSHI, in which the unknown led developer withdrew 2.5 million SUSHI from the decentralized exchange in exchange for 18,000 ETH—worth about $6 million. He also removed 20,000 ETH, worth another $7 million, from the same liquidity pool leaving contributors with less than half of what they put in within 24 hours.
- Hackers – hackers and scammers have a soft spot for cryptocurrencies. With fiat money, they have to worry about the fact that banks can trace where the funds are being moved. That is not the same as cryptos. Knowing that users are their own banks also makes it easier to target them. After all, not everyone knows the best ways to secure their bitcoins and other cryptocurrency holdings.
- Lost Access – one problem that is not usually discussed is how easy it is to lose your cryptocurrencies too. It is estimated that billions of dollars’ worth of bitcoin are lost forever as of the time of this writing. This could arise from a combination of forgetting login details, death of the account holder, loss of hardware wallets, etc.
Securing your Cryptocurrency
From the above, it is established that the dangers users face is not from one angle alone. Fortunately, you can do something about this.
Tip 1 Secure your Account
Staying safe against hackers lies largely with you. Now that you are your own bank, you are both the first and last lines of security – which is something that you should take seriously.
Here are some of the tips we have found to work in this regard:
- Choose a strong and reliable password
- Never share your password with anyone
- Enable 2FA on your accounts
- Consider cold and hot storage wallets, knowing the strengths and limitations of each
- Never access your account on a public/ unencrypted Wi-Fi network
Tip 2 Protect your Funds
After securing your account, you also want to make sure your funds do not suffer a risk of getting lost. You simply cannot walk into a cryptocurrency bank and ask for your details again if you were to lose them. In other words, that might just be the end of it.
Here are some ways to protect your funds better:
- Don’t keep your crypto on exchange platforms
- Only use trusted exchange platforms and wallet providers
- Write down your private keys and store them offline
- Keep your hardware wallets safe and secure
Tip 3 Other General Considerations
The above tips are great, but you can never be too careful. You will find these additional options desirable to your purpose too:
- Update software on your exchanges/ hot wallets
- Update your device firmware
- Don’t connect your computer to untrusted sources
- Don’t connect untrusted units to your computer
- Beware of phishing attacks
- Install antivirus software on your device
