Is it worth taking BTC off an exchange to a hardware wallet?

The Sceptical Chymist

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Quote from: mk4 on March 29, 2021, 09:53:04 PM

You gotta learn from history sir: https://cryptosec.info/exchange-hacks

OP, if I could draw big red arrows pointing to the above post, I would because it's that important. Coinbase and Gemini are probably the least likely to not survive a hack, but one of the first things you should have learned when getting into bitcoin is that if you don't have control over the private keys to your coins, you don't control your coins--someone else does, and there have been horror stories of people losing fortunes because of exchange hacks or exit scams perpetrated by exchanges.

So yeah, I'd say get your coins off those exchanges and buy a decent HW wallet (Ledger and Trezor are going to be the ones most members here would recommend). They're definitely worth the small investment it takes to purchase one.

Maus0728

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Quote from: MCobian on March 31, 2021, 07:21:31 AM

Thank you for correcting my mistake, so that the information regarding Electrum is clear. And make newbies understand more about Electrum.
Because I never used Electrum,

Just to add, you can even encrypt your bitcoin wallet using a hardware device by connecting it to verified Electrum Bitcoin Wallet. Most people often uses Electrum as their wallet interface by integrating it to hardware devices in order to increase the privacy rather than using the Leger Live (if ever you are using Ledger Products). This means that you need to have your hardware wallet ready when you open the electrum application.

In case OP still has any doubts why holding bitcoin to an exchanges is risky, then it would be better to take a look at this massive list of exchanges going AWOL. Regardless of how reputable and distinguished these exchanges are, it is still a matter of time before these incidents might happen.

[1] Exchange Graveyard

MCobian

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Quote from: Lucius on March 31, 2021, 05:54:10 AM

Quote from: MCobian on March 30, 2021, 10:38:30 PM

It's a good idea to use online wallets like Electrum which have a pretty good reputation compared to saving on exchanges.

Electrum is not an online crypto wallet, it is a non-custodial desktop/mobile wallet that gives each user complete control over private keys, transaction fees and much more. However, as it has been shown in the past, Electrum or any crypto wallet of this type is not resistant to human carelessness, and sometimes it is not so bad for beginners to keep smaller amounts on crypto exchanges - at least until they understand the basics.

It is much easier to mess up the whole thing with a download fake desktop/mobile wallet, or store the seed inappropriately than to worry only about exchange login data.

Thank you for correcting my mistake, so that the information regarding Electrum is clear. And make newbies understand more about Electrum.
Because I never used Electrum, I just hear it often that it is highly recommended to store Bitcoin rather than store Bitcoin on exchanges.
Indeed, we have to be careful if we are going to download a mobile wallet, because many peoples do not check properly, finally downloaded
a fake mobile wallet. For how to store seeds safely, there are many topics in this forum that explain it.

Lucius

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Quote from: MCobian on March 30, 2021, 10:38:30 PM

It's a good idea to use online wallets like Electrum which have a pretty good reputation compared to saving on exchanges.

Electrum is not an online crypto wallet, it is a non-custodial desktop/mobile wallet that gives each user complete control over private keys, transaction fees and much more. However, as it has been shown in the past, Electrum or any crypto wallet of this type is not resistant to human carelessness, and sometimes it is not so bad for beginners to keep smaller amounts on crypto exchanges - at least until they understand the basics.

It is much easier to mess up the whole thing with a download fake desktop/mobile wallet, or store the seed inappropriately than to worry only about exchange login data.

MCobian

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Quote from: CaVO32 on March 30, 2021, 06:56:12 PM

Quote from: ?? on ??

Depending on the amount of Bitcoin you have on the two exchanges, if you have a large amount of Bitcoin you should indeed move it to
a hardware wallet. Because if you leave it on the exchanges, there is a possibility that you lose the Bitcoin that you have. Because all exchanges
are so vulnerable to being hacked. Because according to the data I saw on the internet, most of the popular exchanges have been hacked.
Based on this, we really should look for it safely by storing it in a hardware wallet. Better to shell out a little expensive to buy a hardware wallet,
rather than the Bitcoin that we have may be lost.

If not, he can always use the electrum wallet. There's no need to shell out money for hardware wallet if he is thinking of the price. But I believe it is better to transfer your btc to your own wallet, not owned by any third party. In that way, you have full control of your funds. As you said, every exchange is vulnerable to hacking, whether it is a top exchange or not. So for me, it is worth taking your coins off out of the exchange, either by hardware or other bitcoin wallets like electrum.

It's a good idea to use online wallets like Electrum which have a pretty good reputation compared to saving on exchanges. I think storing Bitcoin
on exchanges is only what we are going to use for trading, if we really intend to store Bitcoin in the long term it is better not to store it on exchanges.
I've even heard of exchanges that freeze users' coins, with the excuse that there are no transactions for more than 6 months, this is not a good thing
in my opinion. But I forgot the name of the exchanges, but still I recommend using a hardware wallet as the safest place to store Bitcoin compared
to online wallets.

acdc

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Except for a small amount of capital for daily trading, I often withdraw my investments to my personal wallet, which makes me feel more secure.
Don't put too much faith in the safety of the exchanges, you should manage your own money.

CaVO32

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Quote from: ?? on ??

Depending on the amount of Bitcoin you have on the two exchanges, if you have a large amount of Bitcoin you should indeed move it to
a hardware wallet. Because if you leave it on the exchanges, there is a possibility that you lose the Bitcoin that you have. Because all exchanges
are so vulnerable to being hacked. Because according to the data I saw on the internet, most of the popular exchanges have been hacked.
Based on this, we really should look for it safely by storing it in a hardware wallet. Better to shell out a little expensive to buy a hardware wallet,
rather than the Bitcoin that we have may be lost.

If not, he can always use the electrum wallet. There's no need to shell out money for hardware wallet if he is thinking of the price. But I believe it is better to transfer your btc to your own wallet, not owned by any third party. In that way, you have full control of your funds. As you said, every exchange is vulnerable to hacking, whether it is a top exchange or not. So for me, it is worth taking your coins off out of the exchange, either by hardware or other bitcoin wallets like electrum.

Sadlife

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Its up to you, custodial wallets are safe although just know that they can be problematic because they tend to have lots of issues in withdrawal and accessing your money this keeps you from converting to cash when price is in ATH. In Hardware wallets you can control your money and when will you cash out. Although if you loss it there will be no insurance or support for your money.

Ridwan Fauzi

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It actually depend on your intention, if you have intention to hold for term investment then you can send your bitcoin to your hardware wallet it means, sending bitcoin to your hardware wallet is the right thing to do rather you just keep on your exchanges although you believe that those exchange is fair enought to hold your coin.

But, if you have intention for short term investment then holding your bitcoin in your exchange wallet is the right to do. Because, you will not bother selling bitcoin when the target price you want is reached. Can you imagine how complicated you are when you send your bitcoin to your hardware wallet and when the price that you wanted is already reached you will be difficult to sell your coin.

J1mb0

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I think it's best to keep your money in your personal wallet, even the best exchanges are vulnerable to hacker attacks.
Even exchanges like Coinbase and Gemini are still vulnerable, and people can lose their money.

ecnalubma

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Not your keys, not your coins. But it depends on your lifestyle if you’re day trader you don’t one, if you’re a long term holder then secure one. Exchanges security are only temporary its better if you can store your crypto assets in a hardware wallet but be responsible and store your private key in a safe place.

xZork

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If you are not involved in everyday transactions then it is best to transfer your money to your personal wallet.
Historically there have been so many people losing their money when they leave it on exchanges, even the largest exchanges cannot guarantee 100% security.

TedMosby

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https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5274318.0

as long as you have the keys, it's all good, security first.
but if you are an active trader, you need to give more effort and fees for transactions. it's worthed if you are a big trader.
if you are a crypto hodler, you know what to do.

by the way, safepal s1 hardware wallet price only $39.99. it's backed and invested by binance. this wallet has wallet holder offerings too. it supports dex and defi.
however, they haven't mentioned that their product is open source (not sure about now).
you can follow the thread here: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/safepal-hardware-wallet-review-and-opinions-5257785
I have a safepal s1 wallet but barely use it. still comfortable with a mobile wallet for daily use.

mk4

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Quote from: shoemanpete on March 30, 2021, 02:49:03 AM

I don´t see any mention of Exodus which is free but apparently has a good reputation. Any comments?

It's a decent wallet to keep your funds for day-to-day payments. As for long-term holding? Definitely not. You either use a really secure air-gapped device, or you just go the easy path and purchase a hardware wallet.

Yatsan

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If you are having no plans on using your coins that are being stored within your choice of exchanges, then better to keep those in a hard ware wallet for nothing is safe and secure online. Maybe those exchanges are having tough security claiming they cannot be easily hacked but still there are recent history of hack attacks that have been done on famous and top exchanges which brings out panic to users but have been made out a solution after such time. If you are not necessarily actively be using your coins in the exchanges, better spend off on purchasing hard ware wallets since exchanges and storage wallets have their own roles to play accordingly.

Lucius

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Quote from: James Watson on March 29, 2021, 09:46:50 PM

I currently have crypto on Coinbase and Gemini.

If you are a trader who trades on a daily basis, and you do not have any significant funds, then it does not make much sense to constantly transfer your funds from a crypto exchange to a hardware wallet and vice versa. Transaction fees would certainly be significant and might even erase your profits completely in the end.

I can’t say anything about the security applied by Gemini, but as far as Coinbase is concerned their security procedures are similar to something from SF movies (there is an article from a couple of years ago on this topic). In addition, they claim that as much as 98% of crypto assets are stored in cold storage, and that fiat assets are also insured with the banks with which they do business.

Of course this is not advice to store your crypto on any exchange, but if you are already trading crypto, then at least choose the ones with the best reputation.

jjdub7

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As long as your coins are in a wallet on the stock exchange, they are owned by the stock exchange, you do not have access to this wallet, and in my opinion there are no safe stock exchanges nowadays. Something can happen to any exchange at any time, especially if it is for cryptocurrencies. If you do not trade or have not allowed your coins to "roll" from the exchange on your behalf, I do not think it makes sense to keep them there. The safest way is to keep them in a hardware wallet.

Charles-Tim

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Quote from: shoemanpete on March 30, 2021, 02:49:03 AM

I don´t see any mention of Exodus which is free but apparently has a good reputation. Any comments?

Exodus wallet is an online wallet while OP asked for a hardware wallet. Also, Exodus is completely close source, close source wallets are not recommendable because their source codes are not revealed to the public. It is not recommendable to use a wallet that is close source because if vulnerabilities are introduced into such wallets, we will not know.

maydna

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You do not have to buy a hardware wallet if you do not have more money. You can use a desktop wallet or mobile phone wallet so you can send your coin to that wallet, and you can control your coin directly. It is not good to save your coin at the exchange if you do not use that coin to trade because you do not know what will happen to your coin. But it is better to save your coin in the hardware wallet and keep it in a safe place at your home, and I think you can buy at a discount because sometimes, there is an event from the company that selling that hardware.

mezzaluna

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If you plan to keep it away from any online Exchanges or any other online Crypto wallets, having a hardware wallet is recommendable but you should always keep in mind the different issues of having a hardware wallet. You should always keep your passwords written and hidden in a place that you would not forget or give it to someone you trust your money with.

You could always get it back and invest it into other Cryptocurrencies and that totally depends on you so whatever decision you are making, you should make sure that you should not give it to anybody you do not trust.

Topic: Is it worth taking BTC off an exchange to a hardware wallet? (Read 492 times)