Countless amounts of people have lost countless amounts of crypto assets because they were careless or unlucky. Some lost access to their wallets. Others had their coins on centralized exchanges that got hacked or were scams. Some lost their coins by falling for scams. A minimal amount of knowledge in the field helps reducing the risks.
Not all eggs in one basket
No matter the efforts, some risks remain. It is recommended to not hold all crypto assets in the same place.
Not your keys, not your coins.
Parts of the crypto scene believe that only self custody is the right way to hold coins. Self custody means that you and only you are in possession of your coins, in a wallet on your computer (software wallet) or on an external device (hardware wallet).
If you keep Bitcoin at your bank, or broker, you are at the risk of them losing your assets, or having them seized.
Self custody is the answer, but with power comes responsibility. If you lose access to your coins, there is no one to sue, no one will refund you.
The seed phrase is used for your wallet where you keep your coins in self custody. If someone has access to your seed phrase, he can and most probably will take all your coins. It is the same as giving someone your wallet. Repeat after me: “I will never share my seed phrase with anyone.”
Shhhht
Don’t talk about your holdings, don’t brag about your crypto. This is for your safety. It is easy for gangsters to steal your gold watch, and as easy to steal your crypto wallet.
Devices and Software
On the computer, Metamask is a well trusted wallet as a browser extension. Use a separate browser for this task.
If you order a hardware wallet (recommended by experts), Ledger and Trezor are recognized brands. Only order from official places, never through a redistributor, and never second hand, since such wallets could have been manipulated, and you could lose all your coins.
Recognize and avoid crypto scams
Scams are lurking everywhere. As Google and Facebook ads, as Twitter tweets and comments, as YouTube live streams, as phishing mails. Using faces of prominent people including Elon Musk and Vitalik Buterin. The scams are not going away for a reason: they work, people fall for them. Don’t be a victim.
The giveaway: send your coins to an address with the promise to receive twice as many back. Learn: if you send coins, they are gone. All transfers are irreversible.
The fake crypto site: connect your wallet to the wrong site and have all your coins taken. Learn: don’t connect your wallet to anything, or almost anything.
The helpful support personnel: just need the seed phrase to your wallet to verify you. Learn: if someone contacts you to help, they are mostly a scammer, no matter what title they have or whom they impersonate. Never share your seed phrase with anyone, or else you lose all your coins.
If it sounds too good, it probably is: although massive returns in crypto are possible, use your brain. Promises of guaranteed returns are a big red flag.
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