Posts Tagged ‘Crypto Assets’

6 Ways to Store Crypto Assets, Which One’s The Best?

Wednesday, September 30th, 2020

These days the world is quickly transforming, and there has been a rise in cryptocurrency users and owners. More and more businesses are accepting payment via cryptocurrency. So if you are new to this method of trade, you’re probably wondering how and where you can store your cryptocurrency. Well, the answer to this question entirely depends on where you are, how many assets you own, and what method is more convenient for where you are in the world.

So let’s start the countdown:

Store on Exchanges:

 

People can buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies via centralized exchanges here, you have to send your coins and tokens to the exchange. These coins/tokens are held under the agreement of IOU, which means you do not have control over your coins. This is related more to the traditional style of banking.

For now, these exchanges are said to be the least safe places to store your crypto assets. If you do a little research on search engines, you’ll see hundreds of stories about crypto hacks and how crypto owners have lost coins worth billions of dollars. So maybe think twice before using exchanges, if you have no other choice than do some research and take precautions.

 

Store on Third-Party Custody Services:

 

This is a third-party solution that provides security and storage of cryptocurrencies. Institutional investors usually use services as such, who have large hedge funds, who hold large amounts of cryptocurrencies. This service uses a combo of hot and cold storage.

In simple terms, this means they use online and offline storage techniques. Both have drawbacks and benefits. Online storage is more susceptible to hackers due to online exposure but makes liquidating cash easy. Offline storage is safer in terms of hacking but makes liquidating money a timely task.

But again, here you give control of your cryptocurrency to a third-party. So if you use this service, make sure they have insurance over the hacking of your accounts. Furthermore, do background research of the company, see if they have any legal problems.

 

Store on Smartphone and Laptops:

 

This is the most common and easiest way to store your cryptocurrencies. The only drawbacks are Trojans, malware, and other hidden viruses that can steal your data. You need to have an excellent security system with constant updates. Hackers are a different breed these days. Many people can learn ethical hacking online for as low as 10dollars and then use it unethically.

If you do an online search, you’ll find countless stories on how many people have been a victim to hackers and have lost millions of dollars’ worth of crypto assets. There are so many backdoors installed third-party apps that are near impossible to detect. If you think you control your device? Then think again!

 

Store on paper, steel, wood, etc.:

 

This is one of the safest ways of storing your mnemonics or private keys. However, this is not a foolproof method. To generate private keys, we need to access our funds through a laptop of a mobile device. This leaves your cryptocurrency vulnerable to malware, viruses, and Trojans.

So again, you have the same problem as you did storing this data on the computer. However, it’s still safer as you can regularly clean your computer from viruses before doing this. The method is suitable but it’s still very impractical.

 

Store on a Cloud Server:

Cloud-Storage-Hardware-Wallet

You can store the mnemonics on your servers, but this is connected to the internet and is susceptible to viruses and hackers. Clouds are always online and are one of the riskiest ways of storing your crypto assets.

 

Store on a Hardware Wallet

 

An ideal modern solution, with the best security, are hardware wallets. Most hardware wallets are virtually completely offline; they do not have internet connections, Bluetooth, or anything that can connect them to the web. They are used through pass keys and USB port connections. So far, these have been the best options.

The hard part about using hardware wallets is choosing the right one. There are a few perimeters on which you can judge which wallet is better. Such perimeters include how many integrated currencies and tokens does the device support, the size of the screen, the level of EAL security, which is rated out of 7, does the wallet support coin exchanges, how long and secure is your passkey/mnemonics.

 

Why Choose OPOLO Cosmos?

 

OPOLO cosmos are miles ahead of the competition, and here’s why;

⦁ There’s only one app that needs to be downloaded to your Mac, Windows, Android, or Linux system.
⦁ Over 108 supported coins and thousands of tokens.
⦁ You can transfer, send, and receive almost all your cryptocurrencies on one platform. F
⦁ You can also exchange coins from this platform, for example, Bitcoin to Ethereum.