What’s the best way to do cold storage? Any advice? Or link me to a legit video guide on doing it properly? #asknostr #help #coldstorage #bitcoin #crypto
Discussion
I'd recommend a Coldcard or Bitkey. Coldcard is sort of the "industry standard". I have never used Bitkey, but from everything I read, it seems that their target market seems to be those non technical people. Here's a Coldcard tutorial.
If you're not going to skimp on price Cold card would be option number 1, but if you can't get one of those id say Jade is a good starter option or Bitbox
Here's a list of hardware signing devices
Def going to get a cold card for my bitcoin
Seedwords plus a passphrase (BIP39) in Sparrow wallet. No need for a hardware wallet. Keep the two separate and never stored on a computer.
Sparrow is the best non cold wallet ?
Sparrow can be both a cold wallet and a hot wallet. That is the nice thing about it. Also, it is open source and there is no company behind it. Truly what a Bitcoin wallet should be. It is the best bitcoin wallet out there.
Sparrow only is NOT a good idea.
Most people will say this. Understandable. However, a BIP 39 passphrase on your 24 words, makes it so you don't have to trust Sparrow, as the BIP 39 is universal to the Bitcoin protocol not just Sparrow wallet.
But it requires generating the seed and typing it into a computer. What about keyloggers? Malware?
Good question. Never use Windows when managing Bitcoin! Or Mac for that matter. Use a clean install of a good well maintained Linux OS. I use NixOS. If you are super paranoid, then use QubesOS.
Good point. I was not aware of this website. As most noobs will use Window or Mac to manage their bitcoin, thus would need a hardware wallet to prevent those attacks from happening on their computer.
At that same time, if one knows how to use Linux well, has good computer practices, copy and pastes their passphrases and seed words, and keeps their seed words and passphrases off their computers, they will be fine. After all, you still do have to trust the hardware manufacture a bit (even though the hardware and software is open source). Also, a hardware wallet does add a bit more complexity to keeping your coins safe. But, yes, having a hardware wallet cuts down on many vulnerability points as compared to a computer.
It’s a good idea to stick with companies and products that are “BTC-only”. So for hardware, I’d recommend Coinkite and their products (cold card, etc). And I second Derek’s recommendation of watching BTC Sessions tutorials on YouTube. He’s covered just about everything and is a great resource.
Thank you ❤️
I do multisig with a few Coldcards (although best practice is to mix up hardware wallets). Im good with sticking with the best.
People will say "Oh get this hardware wallet or that one."
What they don't tell you is that, eventually, you will need to replace your hardware wallet. That is because the special component (the security element) that makes your hardware wallet secure will eventually become obsolete and hackable. Cold Card is on Mark 4. Care to guess why Marks 1-3 are obsolete?
My practical advice is to, yes, get a hardware wallet. But practuce using it. Practice wiping it. Practice recovering it from a written or steel backup.
Also look into hardware wallets that can support recovering from a SeedQR code. I think blockstrem's Jade wallet is an interesting alternative to the security-element-oriented approach. And the Jade can be used in a "stateless" mode, where NO INFORMATION is stored on the ddvixe or a remote server -- you just recover from a hand-made SeedQR.
*ddvixe = device
I really appreciate the advice. I am still kind of a newb. Is the Jade beginner friendly ?
I find it easier to use than a ColdCard. But it has its clunkiness.
The ColdCard is like a fat ass Swiss Army knife full of utility bits you will never use. The navigation is clunky. The input mechanism is dumb in the way you would expect an engineer to design it. It's not impossible to use and its core function as a hardware wallet is solid, but there is no user experience joy to be found in it.
The advantage the the ColdCard is that every noob has been bullied into buying one foe street cred, so there are tons of people who can help you survive its shit user experience ethos.