Crypto Corner: Keep your crypto safe

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THIS week’s Crypto Corner looks at ways to secure your crypto. As a growing alternative asset class, it is imperative that your crypto is protected.

A lesson from the early days

Once upon a time, in crypto’s early days, people mined Bitcoin and stored thousands of coins on flash drives. Back then, Bitcoin mining and crypto were seen as novel, not a viable investment.

This led to many Bitcoin stashes being lost when their value was tiny or, more famously, spent on a couple of pizzas. One bloke dropped a hefty 10,000 Bitcoins, valued at $0.0041 each, on two pizzas. Today, that haul would be worth over £400 million. Given this, it’s not surprising we have not always prioritised the security of our cryptocurrencies.

Securing your crypto today

As the value of cryptocurrencies soars and a new form of digital money takes root, we must consider how we store our crypto. Here are the options, with pros and cons:

Cold wallets

If you hold tens, or even hundreds, of Bitcoins, storing them in a cold wallet off-line is the most popular option. As long as you have the correct technical know-how, this gives you the “not your keys, not your crypto” piece of mind. Since cryptocurrencies are just 0s and 1s, this method is straightforward.

Pro: Invulnerable to cyberattacks, often stored in a vault or safe.
Con: Not liquid and tricky to divest or diversify, which can be crucial in the crypto market.

Centralised exchanges

A centralised exchange like Moneybrain offers greater protections than a decentralised one, providing a secure, viable solution for the average consumer.

Pros: Keeps your money liquid and links to fiat liquidity with professional management and oversight.
Cons: Curated to avoid riskier new investments, limiting early rewards from $Trump coin or memecoins.

Custodians

Using a crypto custodian adds further safeguards.

Pro: Offers corporate investment strategies and professional oversight, keeping crypto liquid through the Moneybrain corporate division for high-value holdings.
Con: A middleman introduces discussion around risky diversification, sacrificing some dynamism.

We hope this list helps you make the best-informed decisions on keeping your crypto safe. Explore Moneybrain’s curated cryptocurrencies, which are secure, beginner-friendly and your ticket to the crypto seafront. Grab the Moneybrain app at moneybrain.com on Apple or Android and start your digital asset adventure now.