Crypto Holdings Etiquette - For Newcomers in Cryptocurrency

I am by no means a crypto OG. I wasn't in the space from the beginning but close enough. I've had my piece of success but that also came with a lot of trial and error, failure and many lessons learned. One of the biggest was dealing with exchanges which we all do on a regular basis. When things are going well, there's nothing to consider but the minute something goes awry, you'll quickly realize how little movement you have.

When you want to see true colours appear in any situation, experience a challenging time to get a handle on how well it's dealt with. Of course things are bright and rosy when all is going well.

I've had accounts on many exchanges and one by one, the number is dwindling. I never thought Binance would be one that ends up on the wrong side. They're highly regarded in the space and I liked the fact that Changpeng Zhao is a Canadian like me. But in hindsight, that means absolutely nothing now.

If you're a newcomer to crypto, I'm sure you have read posts like this before but for good reason, to safeguard your crypto. You and you alone are responsible for it. And here are some valuable tips to NEVER forget.

1. DON'T LEAVE YOUR CRYPTO ON EXCHANGESIn the past, I've always been told this for the simple reason that an exchange can get hacked (MT GOX), exit scam (BITSANE) or collapse, fraud, whatever you want to call it (QUADRIGA). In any of these cases, had you been holding funds on there, likely consider it gone as thousands of users have. There are many cases like this, a simple Google will reveal that clearly. But in my personal experience, there's another reason. Customer support. Put simply, things go wrong easily. Incorrect addresses when transferring funds. FIAT wires not arriving. Login problems. I could go on and on. I've had my fair share and let me tell you, getting a resolution is NOT quick. We're talking weeks. This is nothing like calling your bank and getting to communicate with a live person. Exchanges don't have phone numbers and online support is usually a bot directing you to FAQ articles. Should you be lucky enough to get through a real person on online chat, they'll tell you to open a ticket with your issue. They're not able to help much other than answer common questions. My latest experience with Binance was exactly that. Waiting in queue of 400+ ahead of me, being kicked off twice for inactivity which totally didn't make sense as I was waiting for them, then 5 hours before finally getting a hold of them. Their answer about my issue was nothing different from what I already knew. Submit a ticket and wait 48 hours for a response. I'm expecting this to be a lot longer. To conclude, leave only what your trading. Stack your stash elsewhere.

2. IF POSSIBLE, KEEP YOUR CRYPTO ON A HARDWARE WALLETI personally use Ledger Nano X. They support many different currencies and the list keeps growing. This in my opinion is by far the safest method and have been using it for years without any issue whatsoever. Choose the X version over the S if you hold many coins. It has a larger memory capability so it's well worth it for the extra money with much less wallet hassle.

3. IF A HARDWARE WALLET DOESN'T SUPPORT YOUR COINIt's quite possible that your coin isn't supported. Maybe it's new, maybe it's not popular. Whatever the reason, there are still options to protect your funds. My first recommendation would be to use that coin's native wallet, most likely available on their website. This can take form as a desktop or mobile app. Just remember the vital information provided when setting it up, login, password with mnemonic phrase being super important. Follow the link for more info.

4. OTHER WALLET OPTIONSThere are cloud wallets (METAMASK), software wallets (EXODUS) and paper wallets (MYCRYPTO) to name a few that are available. The key is to find a REPUTABLE one that supports your coin.

5. KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFEAny option above comes with information that you NEED to protect. Logins. Passwords. Mnemonic Phrases. Falling into the wrong hands and you could lose any funds without a way to get it back. Remember, you are responsible for it and this is not something to take lightly. Make a paper copy of your information and store it somewhere safe, like a safe. Make another copy and store it in an entirely different safe location for backup. Some engrave it onto metal to keep it fireproof. Should something happen where you need to restore your wallet, not having the proper information will also result in a loss of your funds.

6. AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST?This is one most don't consider but anyone holding crypto should. What if something happened to you? What would happen to your holdings? Would they be gone because no one has the information you possess on accessing your crypto? It's not something that most like to think about but anything can happen. This can take forms in a few ways. Share your vital information with someone you TRUST. A family member, spouse or an extremely close person in your inner circle that would bail you out of jail in another country at 3am. If that makes you uncomfortable, it should. Anyone with that info would have the same access you have and could potentially wipe you out so choose WISELY. Another option would be to devise a system where a loved one would get access in the event something happens to you. Maybe the key to your safe that's left in your will with full instructions. Providing instruction would be a nice thing to do especially if this person hasn't the slightest clue about how complicated crypto can be.

Crypto veterans, if you have something to share about this, please do! It will only help the newcomers which we all were at some point.