If you’re new to the crypto scene you might have heard about people moving their assets into cold storage or cold wallets but were unsure exactly what this entails. Simply put, it means storing your crypto offline to reduce access to hackers. Here’s how you can easily freeze your coins for safekeeping.
Also Read: How to Find a Bitcoin Cash Meetup Near You
Simple Hardware Solutions
To move your assets into cold storage using a hardware solution, the easiest way is just to keep the private key to your digital wallet saved as a file on a USB stick. This way the only way to steal your coins is with the USB wallet in hand, as long as you’ve made sure there is no other copy of the private key left on any device connected to the internet of course.
There are also tailored physical solutions for safekeeping coins, known as hardware wallets. These are simply data storage devices that are designed specifically for this task and they usually look like a USB stick but with a small display on them. Most hardware wallets include extra security features and support holding multiple types of coins simultaneously.
When you want to buy one of these devices, the Bitcoin.com Store’s hardware section offers a variety of deals on hardware wallets such as the popular Ledger Nano S and Keepkey.
Easy to Create Paper Wallets
If you want to store your coins offline and don’t need something as fancy as a hardware wallet, you can get a paper wallet for the unbeatable price of $0. As the name suggests these are just private keys printed out on a piece of paper, however, this does not mean they are any less secure. Paper has no USB ports and no wifi etc, so it is unhackble remotely and will keep your coins frozen until the time you want to use them.
There are many cryptocurrency paper wallet generators you can find for any type of cryptocurrency you want – just verify the source you choose is one that can be trusted. For example, Bitcoin.com offers a very popular paper wallet generator for Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and you can even download the software to run offline.
When you want to check up on the paper wallet for balance and transfers, all you have to do is to enter the public key into a blockchain explorer. This can be done with any explorer for your selected cryptocurrency, such as our BCH block explorer.
With any option you choose to keep your funds offline, remember to store the wallet in a safe place, possibly also laminated or inside a ziplock bag to prevent water damage, where you won’t forget it or throw it away by mistake. Treat it just as you would a physical briefcase full of dollars.
What do you think about keeping your cryptocurrency in cold storage? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Bitcoin.com Markets, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com.