The online environment is very vulnerable to hacking and we have many examples of proving that every day. This is the main reason why people who have cryptos started thinking about the best way to secure them. They understand the importance of private keys and their keeping offline, away from the internet. Undoubtedly, the best way to store your cryptocurrencies safely is something called cold storage. Before you read about it, maybe you want to check out the best ways to secure Bitcoin wallet.
Cold storage simply means storing your crypto offline to reduce access to hackers. We know that if you hold your private keys then only you own your crypto coins. However, exchanges and third-party wallets hold your private keys on your behalf. This is a big risk because if something goes wrong with their servers, or if they decide to shut down, then your coins are gone forever. To avoid that risk more and more people use cold storage to secure cryptos. They can do this using several options for “freezing” coins.
Offline Hardware Wallet
It is the easiest way of storing cryptocurrencies offline. It is a small device designed like USB with a minimal digital interface capable of storing private keys. Most hardware wallets include extra security features and support holding multiple types of coins simultaneously.
Paper Wallet
If you are old-school type, maybe the paper wallet for cold storage of cryptos will be the right for you. As the name suggests it is a private key printed out on a piece of paper. This doesn’t mean that it is any less secure. Paper has no USB ports and no wifi because of that it is unhackable. It will store your coins safely and frozen until the time you want to use them.
Physical Coins
This is the one more way of cold storing cryptos. On physical coins “private key” is on a card embedded inside the coin and is protected by a tamper-evident hologram. It leaves behind a honeycomb if it is peeled. If the hologram is intact, the cryptocurrency is good.
Laptop or Desktop Wallet
These wallets only exist on your computer and because of that, they are one more safe way to cold storage of your cryptos. They can be used to export files of encrypted private keys in an offline environment. But, you must know that while receiving or sending fund through them, you are online.