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Topic: The right way to store Bitcoin for long term - page 3. (Read 543 times)

legendary
Activity: 1722
Merit: 5937

1) Is something like a Nano Ledger or a Trezor the right method?
Yep, hardware wallet is definitely a good option. I am personally using Ledger Nano S for a long term hold and beside some hiccups I am generally satisfied with the device itself. App (Ledger Live) could be better though but if you use it for long term btc hold you shouldn't have much issues with it. Ledger as a comoany had some data breach problems so you wanna keep that in mind too.


2) What app should be used?
I am personally using blockchain wallet, but only as a hot wallet where I have few hundred dollars worth of crypto max. That's definitely not the place where you wanna keep your bitcoin  for a longer period of time.


Another good alternative for a very long term hodl  you might wanna consider is paper wallet. It will cost you nothing and if done properly it is a very safe way to store your bitcoin. Here is a guide how to do it.
legendary
Activity: 1512
Merit: 4795
Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform
Another suggestion, you can use two mobile phones which you can buy one very cheap and use for cold storage and use the other as watch-only wallet. It will be fine if you have a phone you are no more using again but can still function as cold storage.

Okay, here's the procedure to create a cold-storage mobile Electrum wallet:
  • 1. Install Electrum on both devices, and create a standard wallet on the "cold storage" device, that will be your main wallet that contains all the keys and shouldn't be connected to the internet even once (a newly formatted device/new device is better).
    Make sure that the seed was saved in a physical backup like a piece of paper.
  • 2. Click the wallet's name on top of the screen and click "Master Public key" twice to open the QR code.
  • 3. On the online phone, create a new wallet using the option "Standard Wallet->Use a master key", then click the camera icon to scan the cold-storage wallet's QR code.
    This will create a watch-only wallet version of your cold-storage wallet.
  • 4. Confirm if the address in the receive tab is the same.

Now to use those wallets:
  • You just have to create a transaction using the online watch-only wallet using the send tab.
  • Fill out the recipient, amount, etc. then, click pay (select if you want to opt-in RBF, yes) and click the QR code icon below.
  • In the cold-storage wallet, go to send tab and click the camera icon on the right side and scan the other device's QR code.
  • The transaction will be imported to the cold-storage wallet, now click option->sign (enter your pin) and it will be marked as "signed" above.
  • Click the QR code icon, then scan this using your online watch-only wallet and the signed transaction will be imported and now you can use options->broadcast button to send it to the network.

If you're not familiar with Electrum's defaut bitcoin denomination, you can change it from mBTC to BTC in the settings->denomination.
jr. member
Activity: 126
Merit: 7
Before buying an expensive ( or cheap) laptop , you might want to check with the sellers of the cold wallet you buy . I had to buy a 64 bit laptop to download the Ledger nano S app .
Don't know about Trezor ,or any of the others ,just don't leave your BTC in a online bank .

A Vancouver exchange cost users 180 million when the owner ( is thought to have maybe ,maybe not) died ,and no one has the keys to retrive the 180 million lost.
 
There are just to many greedy people out there! 
legendary
Activity: 1512
Merit: 7340
Farewell, Leo
I want to buy BTC, take it off the exchange, and just sit on it.
Great.

I want to regularly add more to the wallet so an easy transfer method.
If you mean that you receive funds to the exchange and you want to send them to your cold storage then okay.

Should I buy a laptop on it's own, and download nothing but electrum on it to store the BTC?
Well, if you don't have any laptops available and you want the electrum way, then yes. Instead of buying a new laptop it would be pretty easier and more secure for you to buy a hardware wallet, since you stated that you're new to bitcoin.

Would using a VPN be sensible when accessing the internet from said device?
Sensible? How's that related with your wallet?

A hardware wallet is something like Nano or Trezor?
Yes.
jr. member
Activity: 126
Merit: 7
I have nothing but trouble with my Ledger nano S , they offer next to no support , and what little there is,is only chat and there's no one responding .
Facebook is full of disgruntled users .
I'd say before buying Ledger check those sites out, you won't be wanting to be visiting them along with all the others.
Sorry I cant offer advise on what a good cold wallet is.  I only have this Ledger nano S .  
newbie
Activity: 17
Merit: 1
Hey thanks for the quick response.

I want to buy BTC, take it off the exchange, and just sit on it.

I want to regularly add more to the wallet so an easy transfer method.

I currently use a desktop PC with an external HD and internal SSDs.

Should I buy a laptop on it's own, and download nothing but electrum on it to store the BTC?

Would using a VPN be sensible when accessing the internet from said device?

A hardware wallet is something like Nano or Trezor?

Thanks again - very new to the wallet side of things, so far just left the small amount of BTC on the exchange, which I know is stupid, but I only have nothing relatively.

Thanks
legendary
Activity: 1512
Merit: 7340
Farewell, Leo
Well if you've understood how the entire thing works, then it's easy. I mean, if you do know that you have to keep your private keys safe in order to prove you are the owner of your addresses then you're okay.

There are plenty ways of generating private keys and then getting the addresses, but the greatest and most secure option for a beginner is a hardware wallet like those you mentioned. (Nano Ledger, Trezor etc)

If you feel that you don't need a hardware wallet then, electrum does fine.

Is there another more definitive, secure method of accumulating BTC for long term holding?
As I said before, if you understand the way it works you don't have to worry. For example, if you find out that you can access thousands of addresses by only writing down 12 words, then you only need that paper for the rest of your HODLing.

You should never keep your funds on custodian wallets like blockchain.com and consider it as "cold storage".
legendary
Activity: 1512
Merit: 4795
Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform
One of the safe way to securely hold bitcoin is the use of hardware wallet, because your bitcoin will be readily accessible for you to use unlike many other cold storage means. But you need to be careful and operate your hardware wallet with the app you will use to operate it with clean internet environment with no malware.

Hardware wallets like trezor and ledger nano are recommended, I will also recommend you to use electrum as the app you will use to operate the hardware wallet, you can download it from electrum.org.

But, irrespective of the wallet you are using, you need to operate the device in a clean internet environment in such a way the device used to operate it should contain no malware.
newbie
Activity: 17
Merit: 1
Hi guys,

I've been trying to learn about how to cold store securely my small bitcoin holding, and where I can move to as I buy more. I expect to be picking up more and more over the coming weeks and months.

1) Is something like a Nano Ledger or a Trezor the right method?

2) What app should be used?

Is there another more definitive, secure method of accumulating BTC for long term holding?

Thanks!
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