How to safeguard your cryptocurrencies
There is a growing part of the population that is investing in cryptocurrencies. Some investment advisors are suggesting that the average investor allocates a small single digit percentage of their portfolio to something like Bitcoin. However, you need to be careful, because much like cash, once someone gets a hold of your coins, it is gone for good. Here are some ways you should safeguard your coins:
Private keys
Your private keys are the gateway to your wallet and your coins. Make sure not to store or place your keys in any public storage space. For example, don’t store your address and keys in a text file on your computer. If you do, make sure to encrypt the document with a password. There is malware that exists just to capture and transmit the wallet address and private keys.
Two-factor
You should use two-factor authentication on every service that you use online. When buying and trading cryptocurrencies, make sure that there is two-factor on every part of your transaction. In most cases, the services you want protection on would be where you buy the coin, your email account, and any exchanges you use for trading.
Offline storage
Some people use something called a paper wallet. Basically, you generate a new address and transfer all your funds to that address. However, you don’t create a digital wallet of that address. Instead you have the details on paper or stored encrypted so that you can create wallet when you want to withdraw or transfer.
