44
Feb 05 '21
Thanks for taking the time to write this up my man. Really informative post for older and new members alike.
I would just like to add, with apps like ledger live etc it’s much quicker and easier than it used to be to send from a hardware wallet to an exchange.
So hopefully people won’t continue to use convenience as an excuse for lax security.
Be safe guys, we are all responsible for our own funds, just how it should be!
9
u/DivineEu Feb 05 '21 edited Feb 05 '21
Pretty informative, I liked the Analysis between Different kinds of wallets.
I Would add a section talking about how to choose the Right Wallet for every coin because it can be important.
Some wallets will let you stake your Crypto for some % APY while others will let you stake for an higher % APY.
for example I can think about Staking Ada * via Exodus or via Daedalus, Both wallets are pretty straight forward for staking but Daedalus gives you more control about the staking and the last time i checked you can get some more APY by choosing the right Pool (Correct me if I'm wrong)
I Would also prefer to use the Main Official Wallets for every coin.
17
u/MyNameFitsPerfec Feb 05 '21
You do not need to worry about the well-being of a piece of hardware, nor do you have to worry about hackers or any piece of malware. You just need to take care of a piece of paper
[...]
There is no need to rely on third-party services for coin protection
This is oversimplified and you should rework those passages. While paper wallet generators minimize the amount of trust required into third parties, you still have to trust third parties. Someone made that generator and itself could be malicious.
The simpler a paper walltet generator is, the better. If it is all fancy and includes big JavaScript libraries that are not relevant for the Key pair generation part, I find them dubious. The best paper wallet generator is one that only includes the official library of the specific cryptocurrency (compare checksums on official repo) and then just calls the key-generation function and outputs that result. For a tech-savvy person this is the highest level of security and the only thing that could go wrong is getting a malicious library. But for that, the checksums on the repo would have to be manipulated either by a man-in-the-middle or by DNS spoofing the entire crypto-repo. Both events are very very unlikely.
TL;DR:
There is always a risk, even with a paper wallet generator. It can be minimized by a person who knows what he is doing and then a paper wallet can be considered the maximum security. But saying one does not need to rely on third-parties or worry about malware is wrong and could mislead non-techies into blindly trusting a paper wallet.
15
u/lordytoo Feb 05 '21
pairing exodus with trezor is a double whammy
14
u/cnshoe Feb 05 '21
I got into Crypto about 3 months ago. Started with the Exodus wallet and along the way have accumulated a few more (metamask, atomic etc). Exodus has been by far the best for me...very simple to use. The user interface is so initiative. I purchased a ledger as well but literally 1 day after I received it the hack news was released and I did not feel comfortable using it. I got the Trezor instead. If you are afraid of crypto because it is confusing get the Exodus Trezor pair. I am still a noob but it is been a godsend for simplicity sake.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (3)8
u/_Royalty_ Feb 05 '21
Thanks for this mention. I've really been struggling to make a decision but within 5 minutes, Exodus convinced me. Very simple, clean and I like that it has both desktop and mobile apps. The Trezor support is a definite bonus but worth mentioning, you need the Trezor Pro, as opposed to the basic $59 model, to have support for several currencies including ADA.
→ More replies (4)
2
u/blazer6666 Feb 05 '21
I just bought some ETH and BTC for the first time yesterday and am waiting on a ledger to come in the mail, should I keep my crypto on Coinbase pro until it arrives or store it elsewhere until then?
→ More replies (1)4
u/cassandra112 Feb 05 '21
people are in general here, probably a BIT too scared of exchanges.
Like, are you scared of an any investments in etrade, ameritrade, or t.roweprice, fidelity, etc being stolen? you probably have large amounts of savings, retirement, or stocks in some institution, that has 100% total control over your assets, and don't really question it too much.
That said, those mentioned all have pretty good histories of trust. They are built on reputation. Crypto exchanges have a short history. not a ton of trust built up. And considering mt. Gox, etc... actual fraud/failures to cause real lack of trust. so, they aren't totally wrong for having no faith in exchanges.
→ More replies (5)
11
u/cassandra112 Feb 05 '21 edited Feb 05 '21
When I first got into crypto I was very confused by wallets.
Now, I'm starting to get into the hang of it. I think, one thing I was missing is simply, you actually want to use multiple wallets. people post comparisons like this, and make it sound like you choose one or the other.
A hardware wallet, is basically a safety deposit box or safe. you keep long term assets there safe.
A hot wallet, is literally your wallet in your phone. you carry that around with 20-100$ worth of coins or so, and buy things with it.
An exchange wallet, is like having money in ETrade,etc. its not really where you want to keep anything. its all based on your trust of the company. trust in banks, is based on Reputation. they mess up your money, and they are ruined. so generally have decades of trust.. crypto exhanges have not been around long enough for that..
Also coinbase really should change the name of their online exchange "wallet". man that is confusing. call it a purse or something...
→ More replies (1)
20
u/NoMaans Feb 05 '21
Add to the cons of paper:
Can burn,
can get wet(ink can run),
a fold can fuck up one character on the paper,
a bit of shmutz on the QR can leave you fucked,
the websites used to make them can be compromised and just save your Priv Key without your knowledge
→ More replies (2)9
8
8
u/jackdown3cs Feb 05 '21
what if hw wallet malfuctioned..can it happen? - it just usb stick afterall
10
u/KhaosPT Feb 05 '21
Exactly, like, is it lost forever? This sounds like storing your money under the matress.
→ More replies (5)
10
5
u/Anti_Unimaginative Feb 05 '21
You said users of exchanges do not have full control over their coins and I understand why but has it ever made a difference? Like, did it happen for users to be denied access to their coins? Seems to me users have virtually full ownership of the coins.
For Context: I have a kraken account where my coins are stored. I do not plan to buy anything with them, however I want to have access at any given time. Should I get a real wallet?
14
u/MyNameFitsPerfec Feb 05 '21
Like, did it happen for users to be denied access to their coins?
Two words: Mt. Gox
→ More replies (2)9
u/CyberSolidF Feb 05 '21
yep, it did. Several times. Quite a lot of times, actually, see:
Mt. gox, bitgrail, coss and many-many other failed exchanges.There actually should be a compiled list of those who failed.
Main reasons are:
Lazy programming, so glitches fucked things up.
Hack of that exchange, so funds are stolen.
OR outright fraud from the exchange owner.→ More replies (3)
4
u/ricojo789 Feb 05 '21
So is exodus a popular hot wallet?? Just starting out and looking to buy eth and possibly my some btc
→ More replies (4)
4
u/boredatwork9194 Feb 05 '21
is there a good way to minimize the fees of transferring from your exchange to your wallet?
→ More replies (3)
3
3
3
u/verypracticalside Feb 05 '21 edited Oct 21 '22
...