Topic: Why can't regular flash drives store Bitcoin - page 3. (Read 648 times)

I think you do not really need it that badly or risk it that way. I mean sure write it down to some notebook you have at your house if you want to, that would be a good idea, but you do not have to keep that notebook at a safe location, just your drawer would be enough, no?

I mean where do you live that someone may look into your room, find the notebook, find the seed, and then cash it out? That seems unlikely, even a burglar wouldn't look at a notebook for Christ sake, it doesn't make sense, they would just steal valuables and leave, not your notebook. In the end we are talking about a bigger deal here and that should be more about how you could make a profit based on crypto, the safety stuff are being overthought and no need for it.

You can store the private key or seed on a flash drive, but I wouldn't recommend it because such storage mediums can be easily lost or stolen. If you're willing to encrypt your drive and make a copy of it on another drive, then I'd say go for it. I usually encrypt my drives with Veracrypt to store all of my crypto seeds and private keys. It's a cost-effective solution that's often better than a traditional hardware wallet. Printing the seed or private key is also an option, but you'd have to be very careful not to lose the paper or let someone else get access to it.

Someone on the forum (krogoth) has been doing some tests by submerging paper wallets on water, so I'd suggest you check that out if you're interested. The great thing about Bitcoin is that you can store millions of dollars in the smallest place you can imagine, making it an extremely-portable asset/commodity. Not like Gold or Fiat where they take up a lot of space (depending on how much of them you have). As long as you have a backup plan to protect your Bitcoin, you'll be able to pass on your wealth for future generations to enjoy. Hope this helps.

My opinion, If a hardware wallet is hard to come by, you can store Bitcoins using a software wallet on a flash drive. However, not all flash drives are secure enough to protect your private key. Bitcoin storage requires high security because the private key is a vital component and if Using an unsecured flash drive can compromise the private key, leading to loss of funds.

An encrypted flash drive with a secure software wallet can help. Nevertheless, it is important to research and check software wallets for safety before use. Traditional flash drives are cost-effective but may not provide the necessary security. My advice, Always prioritize security when storing cryptocurrency assets.

Very Well said mate, I have no complete idea of what you have said
but it is completely explained , and yes depend on our risk tolerance as I only managed to have hardware wallet.
but that Engraving got my attention and yes , I think one of my wallet will be created for that.


Thanks for this tips mate, surely I will use one if not 3 of all you advised here , cant wait to have this one and that door hinges thing lol.

Yes, there are software wallets that can be used to store Bitcoin on a flash drive or other storage device. These wallets are often referred to as "cold wallets" or "offline wallets" because they are not connected to the internet, which provides an additional layer of security against potential hacks or cyber attacks.

One example of a software wallet that can be used to store Bitcoin on a flash drive is Electrum. Electrum is a popular Bitcoin wallet that can be downloaded onto a computer and used to store Bitcoin securely offline. The wallet generates a seed phrase that can be used to recover the wallet in case of loss or theft, and can be encrypted for additional security.

Another option is to use a paper wallet, which involves printing out the private key and Bitcoin address on a piece of paper and storing it in a secure location. However, it's important to note that paper wallets can be vulnerable to damage, loss, or theft, and should be used with caution.

It's important to remember that using any type of wallet, whether hardware or software, comes with its own set of risks and requires careful consideration of security measures. It's recommended that individuals do their research and seek out reputable wallet providers before storing any significant amount of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies

I recall some good old myths before that technological devices do have their own set of time where they just don't work at all so that companies would be making you buy more from them. I still have some flash drive here in my stash that I usually just use to store some "low-priority" files that I do not mind losing. They ain't meant to be fool-proof even if you buy those reputated brands like SanDisk. I would never ever rely my access to my own Bitcoin to something that could fail at any time.

Hardware wallets is like another form of investment that I would be willing to risk my money into. Writing in seeds would be the cheapest but quite secured of a way to store my recovery seed just like yours, but floods are kinda ass sometimes. Maybe storing them in a safe in the attic would be the way?

Flash drive is, first and foremost, not an alternative, because it ain't a wallet. Hardware wallets are not "flash drives" specified for Bitcoin. They do more than just storing files. They sign transactions, to be precise. They are considered safe, because you don't leave your private keys in plain sight to your Internet connected computer. Lastly, we shouldn't give him precautionary measures about flash drives, because it's a dumb manner to back up wallets in the first place.

This article must have been written by an amateur. You should not rely on a flash drive which has a very limited lifespan. You should back up seed phrase in paper, and in multiple places. That's enough.

If I am going to use a flash drive to store my private keys it won't be the only one, because I have bought so many USB flash drive in my life and they always get damaged when not in use for a long period of time, the few that still works corrupts the file stored on them, imagine storing your Bitcoin wallet on such USB, some people said I need to buy the original USB flash as there are too many bad products out there but I did and there isn't much difference, I have been mean to ask if not using a USB flash for a long period of time can cause the flash drive to expire or get bad?

I prefer writing recovery seed instead of storing private keys because with private key you will need to copy paste, but with recovery seed you only need to write the words one after the other which seems safer to me.

All you need to do is to keep your private key or seed phrase in a safest ways you can, there are a lot of things you can do to protect it, there are some people who write down their seed phrase in a piece of paper and keep them in a secret place and there are also some people who place it underneatch their house.

Just remember not to store it in any social media platform you have or save it in your computer, that would be the riskiest thing you might do to your wallet, we are always vulnerable from attack when we are using any computer or technology so always keep away your secrets on it.

I wouldn't trust a regular flash drive because sometimes they get corrupted, you may accidentally overwrite it because of forgetting what it's being used for, you might lose it altogether, you might catch viruses on it if you plug it into an infected device.
I think Electrum wallet is reliable enough, to be honest, as long as precautions are taken regarding the storage of the passphrase and the device you're using to access your coins from. It's non-custodial, easy-to-use, no special hardware required.

Any software file can be saved or store in flash drives, however we all know that it can be prone to viruses or in short the security of your Bitcoin is not guaranteed. Most of my usb got viruses that the files in there will be impossible to recover. I think in Africa if they are used to flash drives and they could handle their funds in there then it would be justifiable. It's your own risk but it's still not recommendable you should always rely on the safety of your funds which is the software transactions.

I think there is an important consideration here which seems to be ignored. Bitcoin is a virtual asset, and you can't store it anywhere. The records of your holdings are published publicly on the blockchain. The only thing you need to record is a list of the coiuns you own, and the way you can release thgem in oirder to "spenbd" them. As has been mentioned, there are numerous ways to record addresses, keys and passwords, and the safestr and most effective ways will vary from persoin to person. For example, I could use paper hidden in the van for my records. That would be protected agaiunst theft, but would be usekless in the evenb of a file, and may also be lost in a damp atmosphere. You will also need a method to access thge blockchain if you wish to spend your coins, but not if you just want to receive them. My choice is to use Bitcoin core, but there are many other optiuons that can be used safely and securely.

With hardware wallets, your private keys will not be exposed to the Internet so that it will keep your coins safely from threats which can steal your coins. With hardware wallets, you can broadcast your transaction, sign it without leaking your private key.

This is about other things like wallet backups which are vital for you when you need to recover your wallets. It belongs to a hardware wallet user and his practice. If a user is careless, does not make wallet backups, and lose his coins because of unable to recover his wallets, it is not responsibility of that hardware wallet producer.

If you build up a good lock but the buyer who buys that lock for his house but leaves the key in front of thief eyes, it is not your responsibility if that house is invaded by a thief.

Hardware wallets are not safe in and of themselves, or because there is an in-built security feature that protects its users, hardware wallets are safe because they store the owners keys offline, and when the keys are offline it is impossible for an attacker to steal it. But a hardware wallet isn't just safe on its own, the owner must have great operational security, they must back up the seed phrase generated from the hardware wallet and ensure the physical device is also kept in a safe place and always encrypted with a PIN.

To use a flash drive, it's crucial to ensure the safety of your seed phrase and private keys. When making online transactions using a flash drive, it's equivalent to using a non-custodial wallet software, but it's not as secure as hardware wallets. However, if you're experienced in signing offline transactions and broadcasting them, using a flash drive is acceptable. The key lies in how you secure your device.

The main reason why regular flash drives cannot store bitcoins is that flash drives do not have built-in security measures that make them vulnerable to hacking, data breaches, and limited lifetimes that can easily lead to data corruption or loss.
Hardware wallets, on the other hand, have built-in security that protects the digital assets stored in them safely and securely.

Well you can created a bootable OS on a flash drives, like Linux or Windows.

You can verify the IOS version of trust wallet here: https://github.com/TrustWallet/trust-wallet-ios. But as far as I know it's not fully open source so just be careful on using it.

And we all know that storing private keys in plaint text specially in flash drives is not a save security practices in my opinion.

You dont need to actually and if you do find that Hardware wallets like Trezor and the rest then you could still able to hold up your wallet but not on the same where these HW does.
Honestly, after all the years i've been around on this space which i didnt able to buy one even if im capable on doing so. I do make out some storage on a non-custodial wallet
like Electrum since we are talking on Bitcoin on here and some keys on Trustwallet or Myetherwallet which i do make some list on a notepad and saving up those keys
but of course you should really be that mindful on where you do put up those usb sticks or flash drive because on the time that
it would be exposed to other people and plugged it in, then say goodbye into your funds.

We could be able to differentiate on what are the advantage on having that HW though but since you cant really be able to afford then having that USB storage of keys
would be that sufficient but if you do have the chance on buying one then its better to do so.

Notepad, Words, anything that enable you to write down your passphrase or private key and save it to a flash drive but do take note that it is not as safe as hardware wallets so you need to exercise extra precaution when saving your data in flash drive.


True so we should remind him that such action as keeping the private key to the flash drive isn't as secure as keeping the BTC in hardware wallets.   I think we can give him precautionary measures if ever he can't afford hardware wallets and chose to use a flash disk as an alternative.

This article gives a good alternative in storing BTC privatekey if ever the person don't have hardware wallet yet.


Though the article stated saving your private key in cryptoart, I will not suggest to use any online application in storing your privatekey for security reason.

If you're considering storing your Bitcoin on a flash drive then I recommend acquiring a cold storage wallet to save your keys and keep your seeds safe.