It’s the Wild West out here in the cryptocurrency space!
The bad guys are always on the lookout for a wallet to drain. There are even services that help with this!
This further tells you how important it is for you to take the security of your wallet seriously.
In this post, I will be listing different ways that you can keep your crypto safe.
Read about the steps below.
9 Ways To Keep Your Cryptocurrency Wallet Safe
1. Low Social Media Presence
This is not what you expect to see as the first way to keep your crypto safe but trust me, it’s a legit tip.
Nowadays, people share virtually everything they do online.
Protect your crypto wallet details from being displayed online.
It's crucial that you keep a low profile because you never know who might be watching.
2. Hardware Wallet Usage
Cold wallets, particularly hardware wallets, play a crucial role in securing your cryptocurrency assets.
Due to their offline operation, they are considered the safest type of crypto wallet.
You can choose from a variety of hardware wallets, such as Ledger, Trezor, Ellipal Titan, and others. But then, remember to keep your wallet safe and secure.
3. Back Up Your Wallet Data
When I refer to wallet data, I am talking about your private keys and passwords. It is highly recommended to store such information offline in a secure location.
By doing so, this vital information is kept off the internet, making it inaccessible to hackers.
However, storing your wallet data in a secure location is not enough. It is equally important to back up this data to prevent the loss of your funds.
This backup becomes extremely helpful in cases where you misplace your physical device or experience technical problems with your wallet.
4. Whitelist Crypto Wallet Addresses
Most crypto wallets provide the whitelisting feature. This feature helps you to add specific wallet addresses that you interact with.
This way, unauthorized withdrawals will be curbed to a large extent.
5. Resist Public WiFi
There’s always this urge to connect to a free WiFi network when you see one.
For your safety, dear reader, resist that urge… especially when carrying out a crypto transaction or accessing your wallet.
It’s not rocket science to know that these free WiFis are unsafe.
But... if you must use one, do well to connect to a secure virtual private network (VPN) to be sure your wallet is safe.
6. Have Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Enabled
Enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) gives your wallet this extra layer of security.
So, each time you access your wallet, you need to confirm that you are the one accessing the wallet.
It can be a code sent to your email address or phone number or by using Google Authenticator.
Be sure to enable 2FA for all your crypto wallets.
7. Never Use Generic Passwords
By generic passwords, I mean using simple passwords like ‘Password’, ‘0000’, or ‘1234.’
If you are to create a password, I advise you to make it a combination of numbers, letters, and symbols.
You can even play around with the upper and lower cases.
Alternatively, you can employ the services of a legit password manager to help create and store your passwords.
8. Diversify Your Holdings
For security's sake, make use of multiple wallets.
There’s this saying about not putting all your eggs in one basket. That’s precisely what I am saying here.
Do not have all your funds in one wallet; distribute your crypto holdings to different wallets.
I will suggest up to two or three wallets.
This is to cushion the effect of losing one’s holdings in a particular wallet should a hack occur.
9. Be Informed About Crypto Matters
Here, I am not talking about just learning about projects, their teams, and their purposes.
Security goes way beyond this.
Keep up-to-date with the news and trends in the crypto space. Know which exchange got hacked and which is embroiled in the SEC saga. Take note of emerging technologies and wallets.
Learn about the latest threats and scams happening in the crypto space and the security updates.
For the latest updates in crypto, sign up on Hackernoon and have this information at your fingertips.
Conclusion
This is the end of today’s post. I hope you gained value reading through this.
As it is said: ‘Safety does not happen by accident.’
It’s something you have to be intentional about.
For the safety of your crypto holdings, be intentional!