Should I buy a Hardware Wallet or Keep $4k in Coinbase?

[DeadShot]

I started recently with crypto (before few months) and until now invested about $4k in Bitcoin.

Would like to hear from experienced crypto guys here, should I keep my Bitcoin in hardware wallet like Ledger (need to buy it first) or do you think it's safe to keep it all in Coinbase?

And also, second question, in case I buy a hardware wallet, do you know how much I will need to pay of transaction fee for this $4k to transfer from Coinbase to hardware wallet?
Are there any tricks to avoid / pay less for these fees?
I was reading something of opening "Coinbase Pro" account and transfer it from there to hardware wallet. Do you know if this still works?
And is the "Coinbase Pro" free to open account on it?


Thanks in advance & Best regards,
Deadshot

 

[TheRumBaron]

Depends on your use really....

My preference is always for a hardware wallet - if you are only making big purchases of bitcoin for investment or dont plan to spend your bitcoin frequently then this is the best option by far.

Software wallet - entirely up to you and your accepted risk levels. If you transact in bitcoin often then keep both a hardware and software version and move money between them accordingly...think of it this way....

hardware wallet = DeadShots Banks - Long term storage of your capital
Software wallet = Deadshots Armani Wallet he keeps in his pocket - day to day spending, frequent transactions etc etc

 

[onlinemarketer12]

If you plan to buy more, you can consider buying a hardware wallet.

 

[NirvanaWolf]

You'll be just fine with a desktop wallet like Electrum. Better than storing it on an exchange.
If your investment goes beyond 10k, consider getting a hardware wallet.

 

[DeadShot]

Depends on your use really....

My preference is always for a hardware wallet - if you are only making big purchases of bitcoin for investment or dont plan to spend your bitcoin frequently then this is the best option by far.

Software wallet - entirely up to you and your accepted risk levels. If you transact in bitcoin often then keep both a hardware and software version and move money between them accordingly...think of it this way....

hardware wallet = DeadShots Banks - Long term storage of your capital
Software wallet = Deadshots Armani Wallet he keeps in his pocket - day to day spending, frequent transactions etc etc

If you plan to buy more, you can consider buying a hardware wallet.

You'll be just fine with a desktop wallet like Electrum. Better than storing it on an exchange.
If your investment goes beyond 10k, consider getting a hardware wallet.

My plan is to hold this for let's say 6-12 months to see will the price rise after halving in May, then hopefully sell it to earn double or more money from this.

So desktop wallet you think is good for this?

And what about the transferring fees from Coinbase to other wallet? Any tricks/tips to avoid/lower it?
If I transfer from Coinbase directly to another wallet this $4k in Bitcoin, how much my fees will be?


Thanks

 

[Gogol]

Use hardware wallet, because it is a substantial sum. You don't want to lose the private key, neither do you want hackers to steal it/lock it with ransomware. Hardware wallets are very cheap anyway.

Are there any tricks to avoid / pay less for these fees?

Pay the minimum fee required to get the transaction verified, may be? It will take longer, but you will get it ultimately.

do you think it's safe to keep it all in Coinbase?

If it's all you have, then no it's not safe. Especially after what happened to other platforms like mtgox.

 

[CaptainCrypto]

Would like to hear from experienced crypto guys here, should I keep my Bitcoin in hardware wallet like Ledger (need to buy it first) or do you think it's safe to keep it all in Coinbase?

Hardware wallets are the safest ones, then desktop wallets, then mobile, then web wallets.
Coinbase is an exchange and also a web wallet. The most important thing is you don't have control over your coins - you don't control your private key. There is a saying "not your keys, not your coins".

And also, second question, in case I buy a hardware wallet, do you know how much I will need to pay of transaction fee for this $4k to transfer from Coinbase to hardware wallet?

Bitcoin fees go ups and downs, so there is no way to tell a specific fee. You can always decide how much fee you'd like to pay for a specific transaction of yours.
But remember, if you do not know what you are doing then do not touch that fee adjustment section because if you set too low fee then the transaction may need months to confirm.
I'd have given you some sites to check for the current fees and the time needed to confirm - so that you can set your fees but I'm not allowed to post links here.

Are there any tricks to avoid / pay less for these fees?

Always use the Segwit address instead of Legacy address.

I was reading something of opening "Coinbase Pro" account and transfer it from there to hardware wallet. Do you know if this still works?
And is the "Coinbase Pro" free to open account on it?

I don't know much about it because I don't like coinbase and I don't use it. I like to control my coins myself.

 

[DeadShot]

Use hardware wallet, because it is a substantial sum. You don't want to lose the private key, neither do you want hackers to steal it/lock it with ransomware. Hardware wallets are very cheap anyway.


Pay the minimum fee required to get the transaction verified, may be? It will take longer, but you will get it ultimately.


If it's all you have, then no it's not safe. Especially after what happened to other platforms like mtgox.

Hardware wallets are the safest ones, then desktop wallets, then mobile, then web wallets.
Coinbase is an exchange and also a web wallet. The most important thing is you don't have control over your coins - you don't control your private key. There is a saying "not your keys, not your coins".



Bitcoin fees go ups and downs, so there is no way to tell a specific fee. You can always decide how much fee you'd like to pay for a specific transaction of yours.
But remember, if you do not know what you are doing then do not touch that fee adjustment section because if you set too low fee then the transaction may need months to confirm.
I'd have given you some sites to check for the current fees and the time needed to confirm - so that you can set your fees but I'm not allowed to post links here.



Always use the Segwit address instead of Legacy address.



I don't know much about it because I don't like coinbase and I don't use it. I like to control my coins myself.

Thanks for valuable information

 

[Mr Positive]

I would not keep money in an exchange

 

[Adam718]

I would not keep money in an exchange

But if you trading? I mean, if you want to be in fiat, buy btc if needed and sell if needed.
If you store in hardware, you must be in BTC and you won't be able to sell to fiat, only if you transfer the btc to exchange, sell it and you will be in fiat, but on exchanger.

What is the best solution for the trader?

 

[CaptainCrypto]

If you don't want to buy a hardware wallet than a desktop wallet is also fine...

As NirvanaWolf suggested, Electrum
It is one of the best desktop wallets - you'll have control over your private key and you can also create Segwit Address there
Just make sure you download it from the right site, just not from a phishing site.

For regular small transactions, you can use Coinbase wallet or Blockchain wallet

I hope it will help you decide. Good Luck Mate!

 

[ynot]

Isn't it there risk with the desktop wallets in case something happens to your HDD? They have the bad habit sometimes to burn...

 

[onlinemarketer12]

I would not keep money in an exchange

Yes, sometimes hacking incidents do occur.

 

[DeadShot]

Just purchased hardware wallet Ledger Nano S.
Better to be safe then sorry if something happens.

Then I'll transfer BTC to it and leave it there to hibernate until BTC price skyrocket one day (hopefully) then sell it and profit xD

 

[Gogol]

Isn't it there risk with the desktop wallets in case something happens to your HDD? They have the bad habit sometimes to burn...

Yeah. That's why it is a good idea to write the private key down on a paper.

 

[xDefalt]

Anything that is not on an exchange is better.

Hardware wallets are nice if you know how to work with them.

Otherwise something like Electrum or Exodus, Desktop Wallets are more than fine for storing small and bigger amounts of coins.

Just make sure that you make sure that your seeds are safely stored as well when using something like a software wallet. You loose that and your money is pretty much gone, there is really no support that will save you at the point compared to losing your password on Coinbase etc.

 

[Followlix]

Isn't it there risk with the desktop wallets in case something happens to your HDD? They have the bad habit sometimes to burn...

Not really.

As long as you keep your private key onto a piece of paper you can recover it later from any PC.

 

[CaptainCrypto]

Isn't it there risk with the desktop wallets in case something happens to your HDD? They have the bad habit sometimes to burn...

As long as you have Private Key, Recovery Seeds then there is nothing to worry about. You can recover your wallet at any time.

That's why it is important to keep the private key and seeds at a safe place. If you lose these things, then you won't be able to recover your wallet, never.

 

[CaptainCrypto]

Not really.

As long as you keep your private key onto a piece of paper you can recover it later from any PC.

If someone uses a paper to write down the sensitive data, then I'd like to suggest them to laminate the paper in case of the accidental water drop, and/or folding issue over the time.
If a character goes missing then it will be the same as if someone has lost his private key, seeds etc....

 

[Gogol]

If someone uses a paper to write down the sensitive data, then I'd like to suggest them to laminate the paper in case of the accidental water drop, and/or folding issue over the time.
If a character goes missing then it will be the same as if someone has lost his private key, seeds etc....

If only 1 character goes missing he can brute force it

But yeah, you are right about laminating/keeping it in a safe.

 

[Followlix]

If someone uses a paper to write down the sensitive data, then I'd like to suggest them to laminate the paper in case of the accidental water drop, and/or folding issue over the time.
If a character goes missing then it will be the same as if someone has lost his private key, seeds etc....

Yeah, better safe than sorry.

The part with the character going missing is a bit too much, since the seeds are made from random regular words.