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Cryptocurrency Trading / Re: Tips for Trading Efficiently in Bitcoins & Altcoins
« on: April 09, 2018, 01:31:46 PM »
How To Protect Your Crypto Holdings With A Private Wallet:
With Bitcoin, Litecoin, and other cryptocurrencies hogging the headlines almost every day, crypto security has never been more important. At this rate, it is extremely vital for cryptocurrency investors (many of them testing the waters for the first time), merchants and users to learn and protect their holdings with a private wallet.
Unfortunately, many seem to be unaware of the concept, since most exchanges tend to hold your coins for you, instead of giving you complete access. Let’s understand a private wallet better first.
What is a private cryptocurrency wallet?
A private wallet is one that you get to control your funds, unlike the wallets of exchanges where you transact. A private wallet works like any other cryptocurrency wallet — it is used to store, send and accept cryptocurrencies.
Fundamentally, every cryptocurrency wallet contains (and lets you access) a public and private keys, which are used to send and receive your coins.
What’s a public key, you ask?
A public key can be thought of as an equivalent to your bank account number. A public key is the address by which others can transfer funds to your wallet. It’s also the address by which others can see the source of the funds they receive. It’s perfectly safe to share your public key with others — as it’s essential to complete a transaction.
(Source: 99bitcoins.com)
On the other hand, a private key is different. Think of it like your banking PIN. It is used along with the public key to create a permanent unique message signature when executing transactions. The private key must be kept secret; otherwise, anyone can access the money in your wallet. These public and private keys are mathematically linked when creating identities, signing messages, and validating signatures. Losing the private key can lead to loss of funds, access to unauthorized hacking and many other mishaps.
Ever noticed how you don’t need to enter a private key when transacting on exchanges? It’s because they hold the private key to these wallets, not you. The wallet belongs to them, and so do the funds in it.
Exchange wallets are of two types: hot wallets and cold wallets. Think of hot storage as carrying money in your wallet everyday, whereas cold storage refers to your savings in your bank account. Hot wallets are therefore faster and easier for exchanges to access — like taking out notes from your wallet. Cold storage would involve additional steps before moving your funds.
Exchanges keep a certain portion of their (i.e their users’) coins in hot storage for quick transfers and withdrawals. These wallets are connected to the internet and can be used to move funds quickly. On the other hand, a cold storage is meant for long term holdings. They are the most secure forms of crypto storage and include wallets like hardware wallets and paper wallets.
The Importance of private wallets
With all the hype building up around cryptocurrencies, there’s real danger building up around illegal hacking and thievery on wallets. Many exchanges across the globe have been victims to stolen funds — some as high as $400 million only recently.
Why does this happen? Because you’re never truly owning your coins when you leave them at the exchange. The security here is only as strong as the exchange’s best practice.
Let’s understand this with an example. Say you move 1 BTC to an exchange, to sell it and buy another cryptocurrency of your choice — such as Monero, or Ripple. Once you’ve completed the trade — your coins rely on the exchange’s wallet. If this exchange were to be hacked or shut down, you’d lose your coins with it. There’s no recourse in such scenarios.
It is therefore extremely important to ensure that your money is safe, secure and avoids falling into the wrong hands — and an exchange — where you do not have access to your private key — isn’t the best place.
Opting for offline methods of storage (cold storage: hardware wallets, paper wallets etc.) can serve to be more useful when it comes to cryptocurrency safety. You can get a hold of a private wallet depending on the cryptocurrency you hold. For many — a hardware wallet like Trezor or Ledger is ideal, as it can hold a large number of cryptocurrencies in one unit. For software wallets — it is best to locate them from their official websites — such as Bitcoin’s or Ethereum’s. Here are a few reasons why you must own a private wallets for your cryptocurrencies:
Only you have the control over the private keys.
They provide you access to your money, anytime and anywhere.
Cold storage wallets prevent illegal hacks into your currencies.
They are user-friendly and even portable.
Introducing CoinSwitch
While cryptocurrency exchanges offer users the option to move coins to their own wallets, security is best achieved when it isn’t optional. This is where CoinSwitch comes in. CoinSwitch mandates that all transactions users perform on its platform involve a their own wallet address. This ensures that your coins are in your wallet at the end of every transaction. It’s mandatory security with no workaround to it.
Additionally, with the increasing number of cryptocurrencies hitting the markets, many are understandably interested in coins that may not be traded directly on their preferred exchanges. There is then a need for a tool like CoinSwitch, which allows users to trade multiple cryptocurrencies for another in a reliable way.
CoinSwitch is an aggregator for cryptocurrency exchanges. It aggregates and lists more than 250 cryptocurrencies trading across the best exchanges. Of course, this includes Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and more. And it solves multiple user problems at once:
Security: At CoinSwitch, you can complete your trade by sending coins from one wallet and receiving them back in your own wallet. At no point do you have to leave your coins on the exchange. Instead, you get to keep them in your own private wallet.
Rates: With access to multiple exchanges across the world — include major ones such as Shapeshift and Changelly, Cryptopia, Bittrex you’re guaranteed the best rates at any given point of time. Forget having to check multiple exchanges to get the best deal.
The best part is that your funds do not suffer any kind of custodial risks because you don’t need to keep the coins at the exchange.
These trades can be done in easy, simple steps. All you will have to do is:
Enter your wallet address
Enter the exact amount of cryptocurrency to convert
Select the exchange type
Convert
Track your conversion
Here is the step by step guide to exchange coins from CoinSwitch: https://blog[dot]coinswitch [dot] co/coin switch-exchange-tutorial-274acaca10a9
You’re not only converting your cryptocurrencies easily, but also moving them into your own wallet — even those that aren’t available on your exchanges.
Protect your coins with the right wallets and avoid situations of money losses and its misfortunes.
With Bitcoin, Litecoin, and other cryptocurrencies hogging the headlines almost every day, crypto security has never been more important. At this rate, it is extremely vital for cryptocurrency investors (many of them testing the waters for the first time), merchants and users to learn and protect their holdings with a private wallet.
Unfortunately, many seem to be unaware of the concept, since most exchanges tend to hold your coins for you, instead of giving you complete access. Let’s understand a private wallet better first.
What is a private cryptocurrency wallet?
A private wallet is one that you get to control your funds, unlike the wallets of exchanges where you transact. A private wallet works like any other cryptocurrency wallet — it is used to store, send and accept cryptocurrencies.
Fundamentally, every cryptocurrency wallet contains (and lets you access) a public and private keys, which are used to send and receive your coins.
What’s a public key, you ask?
A public key can be thought of as an equivalent to your bank account number. A public key is the address by which others can transfer funds to your wallet. It’s also the address by which others can see the source of the funds they receive. It’s perfectly safe to share your public key with others — as it’s essential to complete a transaction.
(Source: 99bitcoins.com)
On the other hand, a private key is different. Think of it like your banking PIN. It is used along with the public key to create a permanent unique message signature when executing transactions. The private key must be kept secret; otherwise, anyone can access the money in your wallet. These public and private keys are mathematically linked when creating identities, signing messages, and validating signatures. Losing the private key can lead to loss of funds, access to unauthorized hacking and many other mishaps.
Ever noticed how you don’t need to enter a private key when transacting on exchanges? It’s because they hold the private key to these wallets, not you. The wallet belongs to them, and so do the funds in it.
Exchange wallets are of two types: hot wallets and cold wallets. Think of hot storage as carrying money in your wallet everyday, whereas cold storage refers to your savings in your bank account. Hot wallets are therefore faster and easier for exchanges to access — like taking out notes from your wallet. Cold storage would involve additional steps before moving your funds.
Exchanges keep a certain portion of their (i.e their users’) coins in hot storage for quick transfers and withdrawals. These wallets are connected to the internet and can be used to move funds quickly. On the other hand, a cold storage is meant for long term holdings. They are the most secure forms of crypto storage and include wallets like hardware wallets and paper wallets.
The Importance of private wallets
With all the hype building up around cryptocurrencies, there’s real danger building up around illegal hacking and thievery on wallets. Many exchanges across the globe have been victims to stolen funds — some as high as $400 million only recently.
Why does this happen? Because you’re never truly owning your coins when you leave them at the exchange. The security here is only as strong as the exchange’s best practice.
Let’s understand this with an example. Say you move 1 BTC to an exchange, to sell it and buy another cryptocurrency of your choice — such as Monero, or Ripple. Once you’ve completed the trade — your coins rely on the exchange’s wallet. If this exchange were to be hacked or shut down, you’d lose your coins with it. There’s no recourse in such scenarios.
It is therefore extremely important to ensure that your money is safe, secure and avoids falling into the wrong hands — and an exchange — where you do not have access to your private key — isn’t the best place.
Opting for offline methods of storage (cold storage: hardware wallets, paper wallets etc.) can serve to be more useful when it comes to cryptocurrency safety. You can get a hold of a private wallet depending on the cryptocurrency you hold. For many — a hardware wallet like Trezor or Ledger is ideal, as it can hold a large number of cryptocurrencies in one unit. For software wallets — it is best to locate them from their official websites — such as Bitcoin’s or Ethereum’s. Here are a few reasons why you must own a private wallets for your cryptocurrencies:
Only you have the control over the private keys.
They provide you access to your money, anytime and anywhere.
Cold storage wallets prevent illegal hacks into your currencies.
They are user-friendly and even portable.
Introducing CoinSwitch
While cryptocurrency exchanges offer users the option to move coins to their own wallets, security is best achieved when it isn’t optional. This is where CoinSwitch comes in. CoinSwitch mandates that all transactions users perform on its platform involve a their own wallet address. This ensures that your coins are in your wallet at the end of every transaction. It’s mandatory security with no workaround to it.
Additionally, with the increasing number of cryptocurrencies hitting the markets, many are understandably interested in coins that may not be traded directly on their preferred exchanges. There is then a need for a tool like CoinSwitch, which allows users to trade multiple cryptocurrencies for another in a reliable way.
CoinSwitch is an aggregator for cryptocurrency exchanges. It aggregates and lists more than 250 cryptocurrencies trading across the best exchanges. Of course, this includes Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and more. And it solves multiple user problems at once:
Security: At CoinSwitch, you can complete your trade by sending coins from one wallet and receiving them back in your own wallet. At no point do you have to leave your coins on the exchange. Instead, you get to keep them in your own private wallet.
Rates: With access to multiple exchanges across the world — include major ones such as Shapeshift and Changelly, Cryptopia, Bittrex you’re guaranteed the best rates at any given point of time. Forget having to check multiple exchanges to get the best deal.
The best part is that your funds do not suffer any kind of custodial risks because you don’t need to keep the coins at the exchange.
These trades can be done in easy, simple steps. All you will have to do is:
Enter your wallet address
Enter the exact amount of cryptocurrency to convert
Select the exchange type
Convert
Track your conversion
Here is the step by step guide to exchange coins from CoinSwitch: https://blog[dot]coinswitch [dot] co/coin switch-exchange-tutorial-274acaca10a9
You’re not only converting your cryptocurrencies easily, but also moving them into your own wallet — even those that aren’t available on your exchanges.
Protect your coins with the right wallets and avoid situations of money losses and its misfortunes.
