If you are in possession of cryptocurrencies, then hopefully you have been thinking about how to keep these cryptocurrencies safe for the long term. There are several ways to achieve this goal, one of the most popular will probably be to purchase a hard wallet like Ledger or Trezor.
These days, when the exchange rate is looking good again, more old acquaintances than usual are coming forward. Some are happy to still be around and just want to talk for a bit. The others are and were not willing to learn and now regret that they made (among others several at once) wrong decisions. But especially for those who are still invested, the question arises at the latest now;
How do I secure my cryptos properly?
Many of my acquaintances are quite capable of informing themselves independently and ultimately come up with the question of whether a ledger would be a good idea to get their own cryptos in the dry. My answer is yes and no. In principle, I would also recommend a Ledger, but I would make sure to buy it from Amazon (via the official Ledger channel), because I hope for a bit more data security. Only, when I hold my Ledger in my hands, is my goal really achieved?
Why? You still have your ledger key. You know, those 12 or 24 words that you had to write down. Those words, as you know, are all it takes to access the cryptos that were stashed using your ledger. So you should think this one step further, first applies:
You have a ledger, fine, but you're not done yet.
It is imperative in my opinion to secure the seed of the ledger in such a way that it can survive in the long run and protected from external influences. I looked into this matter quite some time ago and came to the conclusion that a simple heat and water resistant metal plate is not enough for me, but I would like to have a variant that is more sophisticated and offers more security than a simple metal plate.
My search brought my attention mainly to two products from the company Cryptosteel.
One is a capsule and the other is a more "complex" metal plate or case in which small metal letters can be arranged and secured. I won't go into a direct comparison of the two products here, I'll leave that up to you. For me, it was clear after a few moments that the capsule offers more advantages. The biggest advantage is the way the seed is stored and the fact that it is not visible at first glance. For example, it would not be possible to quickly take a photo of the seed or the like.
The picture shows you how the seed is finally stored. As with the metal case, letters, numbers and some special characters are embossed on small metal plates. With the help of these plates, the user's own seed is "rebuilt" and then placed on the pen in the correct order and with separator sheets and closed with the help of a locking plate so that the key can no longer slip. The pen including the small plate is then "put into the capsule" and closed.
Congratulations, now your seed is secured. But are we at the end?
No. Because now the final step begins - how do you store this metal capsule? Here is another advantage of the capsule. This one is very easy to hide because of its shape, if you compare it with the alternative shown above, the metal case. Picture frames, speakers, lamps - I'm sure you can think of all sorts of places where you can safely store the capsule. Only when your capsule is safely stored and you know that you can recover your Ledger / Trezor, i.e. all your cryptocurrencies, with the seed inside it, you are in a safe position in my opinion.
So now you can proudly claim: My cryptos are safely stored.
But last but not least, I want to make you aware of a rather unpleasant issue. This is the case of your demise. What happens in the event that you die unexpectedly? Certainly, this question can be a downer, but in the end, none of us is safe from death, not even in lockdown. So at this point I additionally recommend you to think about if and how you want to pass on your cryptos to your loved ones in case of an accident or something like that. It doesn't even have to be death. Imagine you have an accident and suffer severe memory loss as a result. Maybe you don't know what cryptos are, nor that you have any, let alone how to access them. Think through these options, even if their occurrence in the current situation seems more than unlikely.
In my opinion, only after this last question has been resolved is the chapter closed. At this point, there are certainly many possibilities and scenarios of how this passing on could look like after death. That is why there is no advice on this at this point. However, you should find an answer for you and your respective scenario while you still can.
If you know someone who backs up their cryptos on a ledger and hasn't thought about backing up the seed, send them this post. Contribute a piece to deal responsibly with this issue.
If you have any questions about securing your cryptocurrencies, feel free to ask. I have experience with various software and hardware wallets and have already dealt with this topic very intensively. If I can help somewhere, I will try.
Author's comment:
The author knows you are reading this right now. You, someone who owns cryptocurrencies but hasn't thought about how to secure them for the long term. Or, you've already thought about it and have remained inactive until now. I can kind of hear the voice in your head saying "yeah, that's true, but I'm already dealing with it, just not today.". You know exactly what I mean. But you're not doing yourself any favors. You're putting off the issue until one day it's too late. I can already hear you saying "would have, would be, could have..." - and only losers say that. Don't be a loser.
Image-Sources: Ledger.com & Cryptosteel.com
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