Topic: Risk only what you can afford to lose - page 3. (Read 571 times)

When I started here in the Bitcoin industry, it wasn't really easy to learn, and I learned it honestly. That's why, no matter what cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin, every investor should know what is called risk and what they can't afford to lose.

Because if they don't understand this, it's only guaranteed that the capital investment they will use in cryptocurrencies will be wasted when they make a mistake in choosing these assets that they think can provide income.

The safest cryptocurrency wallet is an air-gapped hardware wallet, but its drawback is that it requires technical expertise to use, making it unsuitable for novices looking for a simple wallet that isn't too advanced for them.

Hardware wallets are protected from online attacks when they are not connected to an internet-connected computer, however even though they are the safest wallet, they can still be physically attacked. One way that hardware wallets can be compromised is if someone receives a phoney hardware wallet with flaws that allow hackers to access your wallet and private key.


There are some measures to be taken to protect air gapped hardware wallet from attacks else it can get compromise. Air gapped Hardware wallets are designed for offline purposes and are not meant to be connected to an online computer. Connecting to an online computer/network is so risky that it is even advised to always use a phone USB charger to power it up and not use an online USB connection to power it up so it doesn’t get exposed.


This is a major concern as well since it is very possible to receive a fake hardware wallet or receive a wallet that contains malware from a wrong company Despite being the safest wallet option we still need to put into consideration some security measures so we don’t risk losing our assets or private keys.

Cryptocurrency in general is very risky because we make use of wallets that are being designed and developed by other people and the majority of us lack knowledge about programming and software development but we still trust and use wallets designed by others. There is no guarantee in crypto but it is always worth the risk.

I am not scared of everything you write up about hardware wallet safety but there is one that I think is a big problem, that's software update, I wish hardware wallet don't need them, but I also believe that its one of the ways to make the wallet security gets stronger, after thinking about it all I still believe that paper wallet is the best, there is no wallet update needed and it's completely offline, in this case paper wallet beats hardware wallet.

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But I still trust Air-gapped wallets because they don't need the internet to make a transaction, the only way hackers can get people is to have access to a software update and make people download and install on the hardware somehow, that will be hard to do but people are still stupid anyway, they can get confused on way or another.

Be careful of hardware wallet apps too, I believe that hackers can create a fake one and make it available on play store or other online app stores, you need the app from the official website, never download apps from any online app stores.

Correct. Finally someone is getting it. Nothing is 100% safe and we need to make our coins safe ourselves by getting the necessary information needed.

When I talked about the exchanges I use for trading and investing Bitget and Binance particularly what I checked are the Reserve ratio and protection fund to guarantee my fund safety

The advice not to scan QR codes found online is wise. I myself am also very careful in this regard because threats can come at any time from unknown QR codes. The best solution is that I only pay cash although other options are also available using the QR code payment menu.

Downloading the software from official site or google play etc aren't always 100% safe, you need to verify the signature.

When you want to print your private key/seed phrase, you need to know if printers might store your private key/seed phrase. Similar to converting your private key/seedphrase, you're need to use tools and they might compromise your wallet.

Uninstalling the wallet from your phone aren't necessary means your cell phone completely delete every data about the wallet.

So it's not only me right? There are others that just like scanning QR codes just to see what's behind it. 
That has been one thing I liked doing in the past, don't know how I managed to stop doing it, but I still get attracted (maybe "fascinated" is the word) by QR codes.


I was leaning towards scanning codes when I found out (thanks to this forum) that there are malicious software that can change the address you copied to send Bitcoin to and make it look very similar. Somehow I also found out about the risk of QR codes so I decided to stick to the address but take more time to verify the address.

Indeed what we have to , because the risk is unstoppable in terms of online using at some time or another we  will taste this to learn and to lose.

this is the perfect solution actually and expect no Guarantee 100% , just do what you can to make it safe.
Never that I use QR code , instead I will choose sending directly to the addresses or manually typing and need to check multiple times at least I maintain my safeties .

[Guide] Secure air-gapped crypto wallet storage method

If you can not have an air-gap computer, you can use either cold storage or multisig wallet that will be more secured than a single signature hot wallet.

Creating a multisig wallet in Electrum
Creating a cold storage wallet in Electrum
Old phone as cold storage?

Nothing is 100% safe in life and practice so you must store your bitcoin on different devices, in multiple wallets. In case you lose one of your wallets or one of them is compromised, you will not lose all your bitcoins.

I tend to agree with this, through knowledge and skills, this will be attained.
Technically, I often hear people who have been scammed as their cold wallets, most of them successfully store their coins safely because they know how to minimize the risk of keeping their assets in the virtual world.

But yes, there's no 100% safe in crypto space.
Everything valuable can be hackable even online or offline, the best thing you can do is minimize the risk.

Hardware wallets are not as safe as the manufacturers would like for use to think and one of the issues is that I think manufacturers of these devices have a hand in  over complicating this issue. I have to repeat this that all we want is a device that stores our keys cryptographically and that no 3rd party apps or the manufacturer themselves can have access to our keys. If the manufacturer goes beyond these basic specs then, in my opinion they are not providing the secure service we demand.

It is certainly true but atleast using something like hardware wallets or anything that will increase the security even though it isn't 100% safe we want it to. I guess that the advice that is given is quite incomplete since many people did say that if you have money to spend or can afford to buy then it is recommended to do so since it is secured (you know I won't say it is 100% safe) but they didn't include that it isn't 100% safe. Honestly, I also did tell post about it when someone created a thread about wanting a wallet that is safe, legit and secured.

Those traders who have money but can't have some knowledge about the risk management, as it is also the part of risk management in trading. Knowledge about the risk management is also important. I have seen those users who are not going to manage well but they have their own strategies through well in their last some month which they made from the previous losses they have ever made.

And now they are doing  really well by investing and earning from the same coins in which they made loss.

That is how it works, because if there was a way to make your coins 100% secure then that would mean that not even you, their owner, will be able to access them, but since this is undesirable for obvious reasons then we need to have a way to be able to get to our coins, a method that could be used by an adversary to get to your coins as well, so this idea that we can somehow protect our coins from any eventuality is mistaken, and we have to get by with imperfect methods that secure our coins to a level we can be satisfied with.

100% agree

Any time possible to phishing or malicious attacks on any wallet on your using device, I see many people face the problem.

1. download the app.
2. create the wallet.
3. save your wallet address.
4. save private key/seed. (on your dairy or print it.)
5. possible to convert QR on key/seed. (then print)
6. When you run out of needs. Then uninstall the wallet app.

*In this case, even if your device is damaged/phishing/malicious attacks, your money will remain intact.

These are my personal opinions, I have read some such blogs and watched some videos, which now I can't remember properly.

This may be a good way of saving your Bitcoin to you but personally I think it's complicated and hectic and in my own opinion complications has its own risk.
But you must understand it's best to do what you understand and what works for you. I am using electrum and I have an online and offline wallet. My online wallet is for view only and transactions are done by broadcasting the offline transaction on the online wallet. It's safe, easy and very effective because it's hard to penetrate a wallet that is offline.

You can guide yourself and understand more about electrum cold storage by checking out this
https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/coldstorage.html

Yeah, you got it! Nothing in this life is a guaranteed slam dunk, not even those fancy hardware wallets. Every option out there has its own set of risks and things to think about. The best we can do is try our best to keep our money safe, even if it's never gonna be 100% secure. It's kinda like building a fortress - you can make it super tough, but there's always the possibility of someone finding a way in.

It's not just crypto either, the same goes for everything we own. Even stuff like cash, gold, or even that house you just bought - they all come with their own risks. Cash can get lost or snatched, gold can get swiped or lose its value, and that house? Well, it could get hit by a hurricane or just plummet in price.

So, really, "safe" is just a way of saying "not totally screwed." What's safe in one situation might not be safe in another. It's all about understanding the risks and doing what you can to protect yourself.

As they say, there's no perfect system but a continuous development is a must to maintain its safety and security. In fairness to these updates that we're getting with the hardware wallet companies, not all of them are bad at all. The obvious is there with a certain brand but still, if we're going to survey what type of wallet is the trusted one, many are still saying about hardware wallets.

The curious ones should just stop scanning all of the QR codes that they see. 
I still prefer to send and receive Bitcoins through giving the address than giving and asking for an address' QR code.

In a proper airgapped wallet you should not be scanning any QR codes not related to a transaction detail, when switching from a watch only to the wallet for signing the transaction. You should not even be sending out from the wallet cause it should be a cold wallet.

100% security exists technically, but is difficult to attain, but we should try to get as close as possible.