Cold Storage Advice in 2024

[<john>]

Quick History:
I dismissed crypto currencies as a scam for nearly 10 years.
Then about 2 years ago I decided to buy a small amount, which I new would force me to get interested and learn more.
Since then I've watched loads of youtube videos, read online articles, but once I read the book "The Bitcoin Standard" I was absolutely convinced that bitcoin and ONLY bitcoin would and should be a bigger part of my portfolio.
I am absolutely a believer in using bitcoin as a hedge against inflation / currency debasement by money printing politicians.

Purchases:
I have been slowing buying more bitcoin via my Coinbase and Kraken accounts. My intention is to hold long-term 3-10 years, maybe longer.

Protection?
I now realize that one of the risks in all of this is the fact that my bitcoin resides in these marketplaces which could get compromised by many sources (governments, hackers, etc.)

Cold Storage:
To protect my investment it is now very clear that I need to move my bitcoin into one of these self custody wallets.
(forgive me if I get some of the terms wrong)

This is where I don't fully trust the information I read/watch online. Because the space is littered with affiliate marketers I don't fully trust anybody's recommendation. How could I?

Storage Advice?

• What are you long-term holders of bitcoin doing to safely hold on to your investment?
• What wallets do you use and recommend?
• Do I still have to buy through an exchange even if I have a wallet?

I'm getting exceedingly concerned with coinbase...they seem like a government shill at this point.

 

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[Jobless]

Do some research. Here's a guide: Choose your wallet - Bitcoin

Beware if you buy a physical wallet off Amazon for example, it may not be 100% secure. It is possible someone has tampered with it. It is also possible for your purchase address to leak. This happened with ledger hardware wallet in July 2020. All criminals, hackers, scammers, and governments, have access to the names and addresses of the people who ordered a ledger wallet, globally. Would you want to be in their shoes?

Look into open-source wallets you can keep on a local disconnected device, and you can also keep secret key on a physical medium, like a notebook, written down and stored in a second location.

You don't have to buy through an exchange, you can trade P2P or in-person. There are P2P exchanges, BTC ATMs, cryptocurrency meetups, etc. It's advisable not to make a huge purchase, but to split into parts, so if you get screwed, you don't take a massive loss.

There's also exhcange-traded crypto companies you can invest in, and ETFs. That is one way to get some exposure without dealing with any hassle.

 

[<john>]

Do some research. Here's a guide: Choose your wallet - Bitcoin

Beware if you buy a physical wallet off Amazon for example, it may not be 100% secure. It is possible someone has tampered with it. It is also possible for your purchase address to leak. This happened with ledger hardware wallet in July 2020. All criminals, hackers, scammers, and governments, have access to the names and addresses of the people who ordered a ledger wallet, globally. Would you want to be in their shoes?

Look into open-source wallets you can keep on a local disconnected device, and you can also keep secret key on a physical medium, like a notebook, written down and stored in a second location.

You don't have to buy through an exchange, you can trade P2P or in-person. There are P2P exchanges, BTC ATMs, cryptocurrency meetups, etc. It's advisable not to make a huge purchase, but to split into parts, so if you get screwed, you don't take a massive loss.

There's also exhcange-traded crypto companies you can invest in, and ETFs. That is one way to get some exposure without dealing with any hassle.

This is good information, thank you. I have no interest in ETFs (like most bitcoin believers I think).
That wallet choosing link is cool and you have given me some better questions to ask moving forward.
I'm sure I will ask more later, but for now I have a bunch more stuff to learn.
Thank you.