Crypto Journey

I recently read an article by the Washington Post in which they had a link explaining what a hardware wallet is. The article does a fantastic job of explaining the benefits and vulnerabilities of a hardware wallet to newbies. Many newbies buy a hardware wallet not knowing how to use it, and worse still, think they're protected simply by virtue of owning one without realizing the vulnerabilities ("with great powers, come great responsibilities").

I think storing a minimal amount on an online exchange is fine, but if you are planning to hold for a while then a hardware wallet is a must buy. What makes a hardware wallet superior? Unlike an online wallet that is connected 24/7 and anyone can access it from anywhere (including a hacker), a hardware wallet only works when the physical device is connected to the computer. The most important thing to remember about a hardware wallet is to NEVER GIVE OUT YOUR SEED PHRASE. 

The victims in the article purchased a hardware wallet only to lose all their bitcoins because they gave our their seed phrase to a fake iOS app. Trezor, a popular hardware wallet, does not and has no plans to develop a mobile app. My heart broke when I read that one victim lost $600,000 in bitcoins. That's an expensive lesson and I hope you don't make the same mistake.

I created my first online wallet using Gemini and purchased some Bitcoin, Ethereum and Basic Attention Token over the course of two weeks. The process of creating an online wallet was simple and quick: all I needed was my U.S. driver license and a bank account. 

A month ago I purchased a Trezor hardware wallet (referral link here). After reading about basic security, I felt that the $55 was well worth the peace of mind knowing my coins are stored safely. I also use an YubiKey for added security. 

In order to familiarize myself with the basic functionality of cryptocurrency, I embarked on a simple "to do list" which consisted of:

1. Updating the Trezor firmware (this is a default step when you use the device for the first time)
2. Performed a dry run of recovering the wallet using the recovery seed
3. Purchased and transferred BTC, ETH and BAT to my hardware wallet
4. Formatted the Trezor
5. Recovered the wallet using the seed and confirmed I could still see my balance

I'm not sure how Gemini processes withdrawal fees because in my experience so far, none of my transactions seem to incur any network or transaction related fees. 

If you are new to Gemini, my suggestion is to use the default web layout for your first purchase. Once you feel confident about what you're doing, go to Settings and change your layout to Active Trader. By doing so, you'll save a lot on purchasing fees. I'm not sure why Gemini charges such a high rate for a different frontend, but I was disappointed to find out that I had paid 3%+ for my earlier purchases using the simple layout vs. changing to Active Trader I paid only 0.25%! 

With this, I have taken my first steps into my crypto journey. I can't wait to see what the next ten years has for cryptocurrency.