What’s the safest option to hold BTC ?

[Mr. Magkaisa]

Following the recent situation surrounding some exchanges, it seems BTC is not safe to be held in CEXs wallet anymore. Take for instance, the recent Bybit hack which happened unexpectedly, billions of Ethereum was moved even though it was able to recover it through reserves and institutional loans.

This would have been another story entirely if the hack had been done to a Bitcoin reserve but in order to avoid future losses, i’ve been curious to know what the safest option to store BTC could be.

The safest place is to hold them in wallets to which you also own the keys, as if you don't own the keys the funds are not in your custody anymore, its like you are giving the ownership to someone else who own the keys (like exchanges) therefore we should hold our funds in exchange only when we want to trade them or sell them, but if we want to hold it for longer period of time then we should prefer non custodial wallets.

Speaking of exchanges, we can still prefer tier 1 good exchanges for long term holdings but taxation can be a big hurdle there too so non custodial wallets should be our first choice.

          -     I think it's still fine for non-custodial wallets, because it seems like just last week I discovered that there is also a segwit btc address in the phantom wallet,
and I tried it too and it seems to be okay. At least if I used to only use electrum, now the phantom wallet has been added.

As for Metamask, it seems like it doesn't exist yet if I'm not mistaken, so the phantom wallet is ahead of metamask in this regard, although all onchain networks are available in metamask except for bitcoin, right?

[snowpega]

I am also holding my funds on exchanges but the best practice is to not hold all of our funds on just single centralized exchange because if one goes down then you won't be fully rekt and you will have some funds left with to start again but if you stored all of your funds in one exchange and it goes down then you won't be left with anything to start again.

Its been a very long time since some centralized exchange which is famous and scammed people, as nowadays the rules and regulations are too strict that even Binance or some tier 3 exchange (centralized) can not scam people.

Yeah, I have a kind of idea that regulation on these exchanges got more strict since the day FTX scammed its users if I am not wrong here. But still, wallets are more advisable for holding funds for long-term investment rather than dividing them into different exchanges. Why to risk even one part of your portfolio by holding it in any exchange? And then thinking to start your way again to make your portfolio again as it was before you lost it. Haha, Well, dear, this is just a part of suggestion from my side other than that, i am also the still one who is holding on exchanges 

[Jacksonalve]

You're absolutely right to be cautious about storing Bitcoin (BTC) on centralized exchanges (CEXs) given the recent hacks and the risks associated with them, like the one you mentioned involving Bybit. The cryptocurrency space, especially with high-value assets like Bitcoin, has seen its fair share of security breaches, and exchanges holding funds are often attractive targets for hackers.

[doc]

When it comes to the safest one to save the assets, CEX or DEX, or online wallets, are definitely not the choice. The best is offline or hardware wallet, non-custodial wallets. The point is, there is a price, there is a form. and not your keys, not your assets. That is the principle that we must apply.

If we choose to go long term, it is better not to exchange or online wallet, it is really risky, from various cyber crimes that sometimes we ourselves are not aware of.

And if we still choose exchange, well, we accept it along with the various risks and pluses and minuses.

For long term holding we should choose The best is offline or hardware wallet, non-custodial wallet. because it is safer. but for short term and trading we can choose CEX or DEX wallet because we often make transactions. We also have to choose a trusted and safe exchange, because this is also a big risk if we choose the wrong exchange. and I prefer the top exchange.

[dave_strider]

For long term holding we should choose The best is offline or hardware wallet, non-custodial wallet. because it is safer. but for short term and trading we can choose CEX or DEX wallet because we often make transactions. We also have to choose a trusted and safe exchange, because this is also a big risk if we choose the wrong exchange. and I prefer the top exchange.

Cold wallet + an exchange to trade / change to fiat if needed through P2P

[snowpega]

You are right tier 1 exchanges just don't restrict accounts out of the blue, there must be some illicit activity or bad transaction (means a transaction with bad AML) that has been made to your account, which tier 1 exchanges prohibit, and you (snowpega) should talk to their support and ask for help or at least some guidance on what is ongoing.

If you made a transaction or received a bad transaction, then record it to the exchange and tell them the reality otherwise as Omori said there are many possibilities for this.

Yes, Dear, I contacted the Exchange support that time; they said there will be nothing wrong with your account health, but when I received the recent payment, they opened another RFI request. In the first one, they just asked me from what services I am receiving the payments, but in this one, they are asking for the owner's name of the service provider and the owner's name of the address. Well, while replying to your post, I just noticed one more thing while checking the transaction history: both addresses are different, which is making it more complex for me to understand. Now, mate, what it is, haha, two different addresses from where I received the payment.

Other than that, I have PM'd the manager for this, but I did not mention in the PM that I am receiving the payments from two different addresses because I just came to know about it now while writing the post. Well, till then I am waiting for a response from the manager.

[dave_strider]

You are right tier 1 exchanges just don't restrict accounts out of the blue, there must be some illicit activity or bad transaction (means a transaction with bad AML) that has been made to your account, which tier 1 exchanges prohibit, and you (snowpega) should talk to their support and ask for help or at least some guidance on what is ongoing.

If you made a transaction or received a bad transaction, then record it to the exchange and tell them the reality otherwise as Omori said there are many possibilities for this.

Yes, Dear, I contacted the Exchange support that time; they said there will be nothing wrong with your account health, but when I received the recent payment, they opened another RFI request. In the first one, they just asked me from what services I am receiving the payments, but in this one, they are asking for the owner's name of the service provider and the owner's name of the address. Well, while replying to your post, I just noticed one more thing while checking the transaction history: both addresses are different, which is making it more complex for me to understand. Now, mate, what it is, haha, two different addresses from where I received the payment.

Other than that, I have PM'd the manager for this, but I did not mention in the PM that I am receiving the payments from two different addresses because I just came to know about it now while writing the post. Well, till then I am waiting for a response from the manager.

I am interested in where they are headed and what will be the summary of their "check" on you. Keep us updated, many thanks for such a case! I, for one, never experienced such an interest from any exchange.

[pawel7777]

For long term holding we should choose The best is offline or hardware wallet, non-custodial wallet. because it is safer. but for short term and trading we can choose CEX or DEX wallet because we often make transactions. We also have to choose a trusted and safe exchange, because this is also a big risk if we choose the wrong exchange. and I prefer the top exchange.

I like the concept of hardware wallets, and do own one myself, they are generally much safer than software wallets, but they are not risk-free. What puts me off the most is the risk of supply chain attacks. Even if you purchase from reliable source, you still have to trust that manufacturer is honest and that it has proper procedures in place (including controlling employees). There's also a risk of the device getting intercepted and tampered with during the transport.

[Stuart]

If the amount of Bitcoin is not very large, then if someone holds their Bitcoin in a CEX wallet, then there is no problem. But if the amount of Bitcoin is large and there is a plan to hold it for a long time, then it is better to take maximum security measures. It is not that an investor's money will be stolen by keeping money in CEX wallets, but in the long run, it is recommended to use a non-custodial wallet to avoid any accidents. Although it is relatively easy to deposit Bitcoin in CEX wallets, anyone who has the opportunity to easily deposit and withdraw money should definitely avoid them when considering security issues.

When the money or asset is on a large scale, like a whole Bitcoin, leaving it in an exchange is not the best action to take, except it is for trading and other stuff carried out on exchanges like staking and participating in some exchange contest/competition, if otherwise, for long run holding, it should be stored in a wallet, where the safe keeping of everything related to that wallet is controlled and managed by the owner.

Saving your coins on exchange is never actually a good way to go about this and believe me even if it's a small amount of Bitcoin it's somehow risky although most person used CEX to actually steadily buy and gather their Bitcoin till it gets to some certain amount and then they send it out of the exchange when the value is quite big which is also a good way to gather up but the big question is actually where are you sending those coins to for safety? Some would say a non custodial wallet of which you have full control over your keys while other might even prefer hardware storage like wallet inclined.

A non-custodial wallet or a hardware wallet are both the same thing, though one has no need for internet connectivity except when needed or prompted to. Both wallets are like store houses, where valuable things are kept, with you having the keys, and for the safety of your properties, you need to keep the keys safe, while the spare keys are to be in some strategic places in case of emergency or necessity.

It is not 99% wrong to have some funds in exchanges, as big traders could have up to or more than 1 Bitcoin in the market, cause the need to jump into some contests that might be favourable or some quick market moves that could be profiting.

The safest I will say is non-custodial wallet, as everything related to it is own, controlled and managed by the wallet owner.

[tequilla_sunset]

I like the concept of hardware wallets, and do own one myself, they are generally much safer than software wallets, but they are not risk-free. What puts me off the most is the risk of supply chain attacks. Even if you purchase from reliable source, you still have to trust that manufacturer is honest and that it has proper procedures in place (including controlling employees). There's also a risk of the device getting intercepted and tampered with during the transport.

Still less risks than with any other wallet around available

[SmartGold01]

I like the concept of hardware wallets, and do own one myself, they are generally much safer than software wallets, but they are not risk-free. What puts me off the most is the risk of supply chain attacks. Even if you purchase from reliable source, you still have to trust that manufacturer is honest and that it has proper procedures in place (including controlling employees). There's also a risk of the device getting intercepted and tampered with during the transport.

Still less risks than with any other wallet around available

I have been using software wallet for years now had no problems and even hardware wallet people still uses them depending no how they control their wallets. I have been using Electrum wallet for the past 3 years now if I am not mistakenly and there are no incidence recorded for this period of usage.

[milewilda]

I like the concept of hardware wallets, and do own one myself, they are generally much safer than software wallets, but they are not risk-free. What puts me off the most is the risk of supply chain attacks. Even if you purchase from reliable source, you still have to trust that manufacturer is honest and that it has proper procedures in place (including controlling employees). There's also a risk of the device getting intercepted and tampered with during the transport.

Still less risks than with any other wallet around available

I have been using software wallet for years now had no problems and even hardware wallet people still uses them depending no how they control their wallets. I have been using Electrum wallet for the past 3 years now if I am not mistakenly and there are no incidence recorded for this period of usage.

Using up electrum wallet since 2016 and just like you said that i didnt have any problems nor having any issues in regarding about vulnerability or some sort. When it comes to personal security in regarding about on keeping your seed phrase safe then this will be the safest thing to do and this is what im doing. I dont have any hardware wallet and i dont have any other things on storing up my Bitcoin but rather i do only have that 3 flash drives on which it is that been stored up into different place but of course those are encrypted. So far after all the years that had been spending then i didnt have any issues or problems about getting hacked or losing up some coins. So i would be sticking into the way on which i do make myself that safer.

[gunhell16]

Until then, it's probably better to just store bitcoin in non-custodial wallets like phantom, electrum and unstoppable wallets if you don't have a hardware wallet.
It's really hard to store bitcoin in centralized exchange site platforms.

Now if you have any plans to store bitcoin little by little because you're going to do spot trading activity with it, that's up to you and there's no problem if you do it like this. Now if you're long-term holders, just put it in electrum.

[Makus]

Following the recent situation surrounding some exchanges, it seems BTC is not safe to be held in CEXs wallet anymore. Take for instance, the recent Bybit hack which happened unexpectedly, billions of Ethereum was moved even though it was able to recover it through reserves and institutional loans.

This would have been another story entirely if the hack had been done to a Bitcoin reserve but in order to avoid future losses, i’ve been curious to know what the safest option to store BTC could be.

Bitcojn was never intended to be stored on exchanges, the best practice is holding your coin on a noncustodial wallet like electric where you own full possession of your mnemonic seed and access to your coins unlike on exchanges where you are not the holder of the seed phrase. There is a general saying that " not your key not your coin" which means if you're not in full possession of your seed phrase and then you're not the owner of the coin. Just as the name implies exchange, it should be used for that purpose only and not for holding your coins. Some persons even make mistakes of staking their coin in exchanges for a long duration. Without considering the risk you are risking more than you can.

[MUGNIA]

You're absolutely right to be cautious about storing Bitcoin (BTC) on centralized exchanges (CEXs) given the recent hacks and the risks associated with them, like the one you mentioned involving Bybit. The cryptocurrency space, especially with high-value assets like Bitcoin, has seen its fair share of security breaches, and exchanges holding funds are often attractive targets for hackers.

should not store large amounts of Btc on the exchange, if there are people who store on the exchange they do not think about their assets, indeed storing sets on the exchange makes it easier for us to transact without any more shipping costs but the risk of loss can reach 75% if you are unlucky