Yesterday, a friend asked me, 'My wallet was stolen, and assets worth 300,000 are gone!' When I asked him what happened, he said he had saved his mnemonic phrase in his phone's notes, and as a result, his phone was hacked. As a senior analyst, I must emphasize: wallet security is the top priority for trading cryptocurrencies, and 90% of retail investors make mistakes in choosing and using wallets. Today, I will share the most practical wallet selection guide, teaching you how to pair hot and cold wallets to protect your assets well.
First, we need to distinguish between a 'trading account' and a 'wallet'. Many retail investors believe that a trading account is a wallet, but that is not the case. The assets in a trading account are held by a centralized institution and may be frozen or misappropriated; whereas the assets in a wallet are completely controlled by private keys, providing higher security. However, wallets are also divided into hot wallets and cold wallets, which have different use cases and security levels.
Hot wallets: Suitable for storing small assets, convenient for daily transactions. Hot wallets are wallets that are connected to the internet, such as MetaMask, Trust Wallet, etc. They are very convenient to use and allow for transfers and transactions at any time. However, due to their connection to the internet, hot wallets are at risk of being attacked by hackers, so they are not suitable for storing large assets. My approach is: only store no more than 10% of total assets in a hot wallet for daily small transactions.
Cold wallets: Suitable for storing large assets, with extremely high security. Cold wallets are wallets that are not connected to the internet, such as Ledger, Trezor, etc. The private keys are stored on offline devices, and hackers cannot obtain them through network attacks. The only risk of a cold wallet is physical loss or damage, so it is essential to make backups. My approach is: store large assets in a cold wallet, record the mnemonic phrase on a metal plate, and store it in multiple places to avoid a single point of failure.
Combination strategy for cold and hot wallets: My current configuration is "1 cold wallet + 2 hot wallets". The cold wallet stores 70% of core assets, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum; one hot wallet stores 20% of assets for DeFi and NFT trading; another hot wallet stores 10% of assets for daily small transfers. This configuration ensures the security of assets while meeting daily trading needs.
Several precautions for using wallets: First, never take screenshots, photos, or store private keys or mnemonic phrases on your phone, and do not tell anyone. Second, when downloading a wallet, make sure to download it from official channels to avoid downloading counterfeit phishing wallets. Third, always confirm the correctness of the receiving address when transacting to avoid sending to the wrong address. Fourth, regularly update wallet software to patch security vulnerabilities.
Many people ask me, "Which cold wallet is the best to use?" My answer is: there is no best, only what is most suitable for you. Both Ledger and Trezor are excellent choices, and their security is very high. I will explain in detail how to use each wallet and safety tips later; follow me @链上标哥 so you don't get lost! Protect your crypto assets.
