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Ask HN: What are best practices for buying / storing cryptocurrencies

46 points by xwvvvvwx 9y ago

- Which exchanges are the best - How should I secure my coins once I've bought them?

psyc 9y ago
Steer clear of Kraken. Their software/infrastructure is more inept than anything I've seen in recent memory. Coinbase and Bitstamp seem fine. Put your coins in cold storage or a hardware wallet such as Trezor.
- itake 9y ago
  Coinbase has horrible support. if you are out of the USA, there is not support. In the USA, it can take at least a week before they will respond. I would not recommend.
rubycowgames 9y ago
My setup: BTC/ETH/USD Exchange: Coinbase --> GDAX Other Coins: Bittrex/Poloniex Hardware Wallet: Ledger Nano S
tunetine 9y ago
Is there any way to exchange your money for bitcoin and just put it in a 'personal wallet' if you don't want to store it on somewhere like coinbase, etc?
- celticninja 9y ago
  Yes there are a huge variety of wallets like this, hardware and software. Storing your coins on one is best practice, don't rely on an exchange.
  - jordiburgos 9y ago
    Transfering the coins from and to the exchange... Would that cost a fee?
    - celticninja 9y ago
      Yes, miners fees make the system go round.
ars 9y ago
1: Don't keep your coins at an exchange. Only keep at an exchange what you are going to trade soon. 2: Backups, lots and lots of backups. And update the backups EVERY time you do a transaction!!!! 3: Keep your coins in multiple "batches", so if you lose one, you don't lose all. 4: Keep most of your coins offline. A bootable USB key is a good idea to reduce hack surface. Divide up the coins on multiple removable USB keys that you normally keep removed. (And USB keys can and do fail, so don't forget those backups.) 5: If you encrypt your wallet write the password down!! Your attack vector is hackers on the internet - they can't see the postit on your wall (if they are in your house you have bigger problems). But your family will appreciate the ability to have the money in case of problems. (Or if you decide to not do anything with coins for a year or two, then want to get back into it - you'll probably not remember the password. There are far too many people who lost their coins because of encryption.)
- wc23 9y ago
  #2 is overkill. Back up once and forget about it, there is no news to backup after transactions.
  - ars 9y ago
    That is absolutely not true. If you send coins your wallet generates a new key for the remaining coins. At that point your old backup is useless - it has a key that no longer works. And yes, people have lost coins because of not knowing this.
    - rrobukef 9y ago
      This should be a solved problem with HD wallets.
      - j_s 9y ago
        https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11693631 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11693631 (May 2016) > droffel: Hardware wallets use the BIP32[1] spec to implement "Hierarchical Deterministic" (HD) addresses. Using a single seed phrase (stored internally on the device, and also written down external to the device, neither copy should ever be online), you can generate an infinite number of addresses for your wallet. Every time you request a payment, you get a different address to send to, there is no address reuse (unless you or someone else chooses to send funds to an address that has already been spent from).
pointsphere 9y ago
Do not leave coins on an exchange. Any digital currency is only yours if you control the private keys. All recommendations are for Bitcoin. Most secure: A hardware wallet like the "Trezor" or "Ledger". Good balance of security and usability. Gives you a backup phrase in case the device is lost. Backup phrase fits on a piece of paper, can be made as secure as required. Keep backup phrase in multiple locations. Cheap and secure: (encrypted) paper wallets generated from https://www.bitaddress.org https://www.bitaddress.org , with backups stored in multiple locations. Bad usability, but can be made as secure as you want/require. Easy, reasonably secure, not for large amounts: "breadwallet" for iOS/Android. OSS, user friendly, but not recommended for long-term storage. As most modern wallets do, this one also gives you a backup phrase to be stored on paper. As for exchanges, I'm in Europe and trust bitcoin.de. On Reddit there have generally been no major complaints about Bitstamp, a few about Coinbase, and a lot about Kraken.
- j_s 9y ago
  Trezor - https://amzn.com/dp/B00R6MKDDE/ https://amzn.com/dp/B00R6MKDDE/ $99.93 | referral: http://amzn.to/2wsH6WM http://amzn.to/2wsH6WM Ledger Nano S - https://amzn.com/dp/B01J66NF46/ https://amzn.com/dp/B01J66NF46/ $146.50 | referral: http://amzn.to/2eYkJSQ http://amzn.to/2eYkJSQ You may find better prices (back ordered) on their respective sites linked elsewhere on this thread.
tmlee 9y ago
Which exchanges are the best? --- Depending on where you are located, best exchanges probably means an exchange that has high liquidity and smoothly facilitates withdrawal and deposit. In this case consider Gdax, Bitfinex, Coincheck, etc. How should I secure my coins once I've bought them? --- Really securing coins is hard and requires up most attention. The easiest way to get started is to purchase a hardware wallet. I recommend Trezor but you may also use a Ledger. These wallets supports a few other coins aside from Bitcoin such as Litecoin, Dash, Ethereum. As for Ethereum, the Trezor wallet works well with Myetherwallet, a web wallet for Ethereum which you can secure your own private keys. This private key can reside in your hardware wallet in which you use to sign transactions. This very same wallet is also used to store all ERC20 tokens.
- nitin_flanker 9y ago
  What if I can't/don't want to buy a hardware wallet? (Since the amount that I want to store isn't worth buying an expensive wallet) I've heard that paper wallets are good too but I have no idea how to use them. It would be great if you (or anyone) can help me with the process of using them.
  - jrruethe 9y ago
    I wrote a guide a while back that may be of some help: http://jrruethe.github.io/blog/2015/04/23/bitcoin-paper-wallets/ http://jrruethe.github.io/blog/2015/04/23/bitcoin-paper-wall...
tonyztan 9y ago
In the U.S., GDAX (by Coinbase) is a good exchange with a fee of 0% - 0.25% depending on whether you are a "taker" or a "maker."[1] This is a lot less than Coinbase itself, which charges 1.49%.[2] (Assuming you fund with a bank account.) Do NOT store your coins on an exchange. You do not actually own the coins unless you control the private key. Use a hardware wallet. Some options include the Trezor[3], Ledger[4], and KeepKey[5]. Also, ShapeShift[6] is a good exchange for converting between various cryptocurrencies. [1]: https://www.gdax.com/fees/BTC-USD https://www.gdax.com/fees/BTC-USD [2]: https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/2109597-buy-sell-bank-transfer-fees https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/210959... [3]: https://trezor.io/ https://trezor.io/ [4]: https://www.ledgerwallet.com/ https://www.ledgerwallet.com/ [5]: https://www.keepkey.com/ https://www.keepkey.com/ [6]: https://shapeshift.io/#/coins https://shapeshift.io/#/coins
eastindiacowboy 9y ago
If you're in Australia, your options are pretty much Coinbase, BTC Markets, Coinspot, or LocalBitcoins Source: http://howtobuybitcoininaustralia.com http://howtobuybitcoininaustralia.com
- SyneRyder 9y ago
  There's also CoinJar for buying & selling Bitcoin. They don't work with any other cryptocurrencies though. (And their main focus seems to be their Bitcoin Debit / ATM card.) https://www.coinjar.com.au/ https://www.coinjar.com.au/
1ba9115454 9y ago
Shapeshift or Changelly for exchange, your cois are only at risk during the trade which will last 10 minutes or so in my expereince. The ideal destination for your coins post trade in order... 1. Hardware wallet if supported. 2. Carbon Wallet for multi signature bitcoin, https://carbonwallet.com https://carbonwallet.com 3. A non custodial wallet such as blockchain or strongcoin wallet.
richardknop 9y ago
Few bitcoins I bought I did it on Gemini. They seem legit.
itamarst 9y ago
Best exchange: none. Best way to secure them: don't buy them.
- quickthrower2 9y ago
  Reads like the Tao!
j_s 9y ago
Coinbase is still using MongoDB (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14902743 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14902743) but seems to have worked through the growing pains they had getting started. Ask HN: Does anyone know what's going on at Coinbase? | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5427985 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5427985 (March 2013)
carvelo447 9y ago
Xapo is one of the most reliable wallets to store your Bitcoins. Another great advantage is that it has a debit card so you can shop and withdraw money at ATMs and Coinbase is another of the recommended Wallets to store Bitcoins, for its simplicity and power. In addition, it allows you to store Ethereum and Litecoin. Another advantage is that you can buy Bitcoins from most countries in Latin America by credit card. If you invite a friend to buy at least US $ 100 in one of the criptomonedas they give you $ 10 in Bitcoins to you and your friend. They are the best to store and I recommend them since they are the ones I use.
hackermailman 9y ago
I keep an old thinkpad laying around offline and do the following Create unsigned transaction(online). Sign it (offline). Broadcast it (online). There will be instructions for any wallet software how to do this on bitcointalk or their own documentation. After each txn backup the wallets to some other offline/cold storage in case the thinkpad dies. If you had millions of coins you wouldn't want to do this obviously due to usb attacks but for my <$1k wallet good enough. There's also QubesOS, can keep wallets running in different VMs

46 points by xwvvvvwx 9y ago

- Which exchanges are the best - How should I secure my coins once I've bought them?

psyc 9y ago

Steer clear of Kraken. Their software/infrastructure is more inept than anything I've seen in recent memory. Coinbase and Bitstamp seem fine. Put your coins in cold storage or a hardware wallet such as Trezor.

itake 9y ago
Coinbase has horrible support. if you are out of the USA, there is not support. In the USA, it can take at least a week before they will respond. I would not recommend.

rubycowgames 9y ago

My setup: BTC/ETH/USD Exchange: Coinbase --> GDAX Other Coins: Bittrex/Poloniex Hardware Wallet: Ledger Nano S

tunetine 9y ago

Is there any way to exchange your money for bitcoin and just put it in a 'personal wallet' if you don't want to store it on somewhere like coinbase, etc?

celticninja 9y ago
Yes there are a huge variety of wallets like this, hardware and software. Storing your coins on one is best practice, don't rely on an exchange.
- jordiburgos 9y ago
  Transfering the coins from and to the exchange... Would that cost a fee?
  - celticninja 9y ago
    Yes, miners fees make the system go round.

ars 9y ago

1: Don't keep your coins at an exchange. Only keep at an exchange what you are going to trade soon. 2: Backups, lots and lots of backups. And update the backups EVERY time you do a transaction!!!! 3: Keep your coins in multiple "batches", so if you lose one, you don't lose all. 4: Keep most of your coins offline. A bootable USB key is a good idea to reduce hack surface. Divide up the coins on multiple removable USB keys that you normally keep removed. (And USB keys can and do fail, so don't forget those backups.) 5: If you encrypt your wallet write the password down!! Your attack vector is hackers on the internet - they can't see the postit on your wall (if they are in your house you have bigger problems). But your family will appreciate the ability to have the money in case of problems. (Or if you decide to not do anything with coins for a year or two, then want to get back into it - you'll probably not remember the password. There are far too many people who lost their coins because of encryption.)

wc23 9y ago
#2 is overkill. Back up once and forget about it, there is no news to backup after transactions.
- ars 9y ago
  That is absolutely not true. If you send coins your wallet generates a new key for the remaining coins. At that point your old backup is useless - it has a key that no longer works. And yes, people have lost coins because of not knowing this.
  - rrobukef 9y ago
    This should be a solved problem with HD wallets.
    - j_s 9y ago
      https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11693631 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11693631 (May 2016) > droffel: Hardware wallets use the BIP32[1] spec to implement "Hierarchical Deterministic" (HD) addresses. Using a single seed phrase (stored internally on the device, and also written down external to the device, neither copy should ever be online), you can generate an infinite number of addresses for your wallet. Every time you request a payment, you get a different address to send to, there is no address reuse (unless you or someone else chooses to send funds to an address that has already been spent from).

pointsphere 9y ago

Do not leave coins on an exchange. Any digital currency is only yours if you control the private keys. All recommendations are for Bitcoin. Most secure: A hardware wallet like the "Trezor" or "Ledger". Good balance of security and usability. Gives you a backup phrase in case the device is lost. Backup phrase fits on a piece of paper, can be made as secure as required. Keep backup phrase in multiple locations. Cheap and secure: (encrypted) paper wallets generated from https://www.bitaddress.org https://www.bitaddress.org , with backups stored in multiple locations. Bad usability, but can be made as secure as you want/require. Easy, reasonably secure, not for large amounts: "breadwallet" for iOS/Android. OSS, user friendly, but not recommended for long-term storage. As most modern wallets do, this one also gives you a backup phrase to be stored on paper. As for exchanges, I'm in Europe and trust bitcoin.de. On Reddit there have generally been no major complaints about Bitstamp, a few about Coinbase, and a lot about Kraken.

j_s 9y ago
Trezor - https://amzn.com/dp/B00R6MKDDE/ https://amzn.com/dp/B00R6MKDDE/ $99.93 | referral: http://amzn.to/2wsH6WM http://amzn.to/2wsH6WM Ledger Nano S - https://amzn.com/dp/B01J66NF46/ https://amzn.com/dp/B01J66NF46/ $146.50 | referral: http://amzn.to/2eYkJSQ http://amzn.to/2eYkJSQ You may find better prices (back ordered) on their respective sites linked elsewhere on this thread.

tmlee 9y ago

Which exchanges are the best? --- Depending on where you are located, best exchanges probably means an exchange that has high liquidity and smoothly facilitates withdrawal and deposit. In this case consider Gdax, Bitfinex, Coincheck, etc. How should I secure my coins once I've bought them? --- Really securing coins is hard and requires up most attention. The easiest way to get started is to purchase a hardware wallet. I recommend Trezor but you may also use a Ledger. These wallets supports a few other coins aside from Bitcoin such as Litecoin, Dash, Ethereum. As for Ethereum, the Trezor wallet works well with Myetherwallet, a web wallet for Ethereum which you can secure your own private keys. This private key can reside in your hardware wallet in which you use to sign transactions. This very same wallet is also used to store all ERC20 tokens.

nitin_flanker 9y ago
What if I can't/don't want to buy a hardware wallet? (Since the amount that I want to store isn't worth buying an expensive wallet) I've heard that paper wallets are good too but I have no idea how to use them. It would be great if you (or anyone) can help me with the process of using them.
- jrruethe 9y ago
  I wrote a guide a while back that may be of some help: http://jrruethe.github.io/blog/2015/04/23/bitcoin-paper-wallets/ http://jrruethe.github.io/blog/2015/04/23/bitcoin-paper-wall...

tonyztan 9y ago

In the U.S., GDAX (by Coinbase) is a good exchange with a fee of 0% - 0.25% depending on whether you are a "taker" or a "maker."[1] This is a lot less than Coinbase itself, which charges 1.49%.[2] (Assuming you fund with a bank account.) Do NOT store your coins on an exchange. You do not actually own the coins unless you control the private key. Use a hardware wallet. Some options include the Trezor[3], Ledger[4], and KeepKey[5]. Also, ShapeShift[6] is a good exchange for converting between various cryptocurrencies. [1]: https://www.gdax.com/fees/BTC-USD https://www.gdax.com/fees/BTC-USD [2]: https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/2109597-buy-sell-bank-transfer-fees https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/210959... [3]: https://trezor.io/ https://trezor.io/ [4]: https://www.ledgerwallet.com/ https://www.ledgerwallet.com/ [5]: https://www.keepkey.com/ https://www.keepkey.com/ [6]: https://shapeshift.io/#/coins https://shapeshift.io/#/coins

eastindiacowboy 9y ago

If you're in Australia, your options are pretty much Coinbase, BTC Markets, Coinspot, or LocalBitcoins Source: http://howtobuybitcoininaustralia.com http://howtobuybitcoininaustralia.com

SyneRyder 9y ago
There's also CoinJar for buying & selling Bitcoin. They don't work with any other cryptocurrencies though. (And their main focus seems to be their Bitcoin Debit / ATM card.) https://www.coinjar.com.au/ https://www.coinjar.com.au/

1ba9115454 9y ago

Shapeshift or Changelly for exchange, your cois are only at risk during the trade which will last 10 minutes or so in my expereince. The ideal destination for your coins post trade in order... 1. Hardware wallet if supported. 2. Carbon Wallet for multi signature bitcoin, https://carbonwallet.com https://carbonwallet.com 3. A non custodial wallet such as blockchain or strongcoin wallet.

richardknop 9y ago

Few bitcoins I bought I did it on Gemini. They seem legit.

itamarst 9y ago

Best exchange: none. Best way to secure them: don't buy them.

quickthrower2 9y ago
Reads like the Tao!

j_s 9y ago

Coinbase is still using MongoDB (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14902743 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14902743) but seems to have worked through the growing pains they had getting started. Ask HN: Does anyone know what's going on at Coinbase? | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5427985 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5427985 (March 2013)

carvelo447 9y ago

Xapo is one of the most reliable wallets to store your Bitcoins. Another great advantage is that it has a debit card so you can shop and withdraw money at ATMs and Coinbase is another of the recommended Wallets to store Bitcoins, for its simplicity and power. In addition, it allows you to store Ethereum and Litecoin. Another advantage is that you can buy Bitcoins from most countries in Latin America by credit card. If you invite a friend to buy at least US $ 100 in one of the criptomonedas they give you $ 10 in Bitcoins to you and your friend. They are the best to store and I recommend them since they are the ones I use.

hackermailman 9y ago

I keep an old thinkpad laying around offline and do the following Create unsigned transaction(online). Sign it (offline). Broadcast it (online). There will be instructions for any wallet software how to do this on bitcointalk or their own documentation. After each txn backup the wallets to some other offline/cold storage in case the thinkpad dies. If you had millions of coins you wouldn't want to do this obviously due to usb attacks but for my <$1k wallet good enough. There's also QubesOS, can keep wallets running in different VMs