When you imagine a wallet, you probably think about a heavy, square piece of leather that fits into your pocket, holds all of your cards, identification, paper money, coins, and receipts. Crypto wallets can be physical, but they are not like leather wallets.

A crypto wallet is just a public address on the blockchain that is assigned to your private key. Private keys can be protected with passwords that are usually 12 or 24 words long. The public addresses attached to the private key can exist on paper, online, through an app or plug-in, or on a hardware key that looks like a USB key.

Hot Storage Versus Cold Storage

The beautiful thing about blockchain technology is that a blockchain cannot be hacked. That said, any website existing on a centralized server can be hacked.

Hosting a crypto wallet online is very convenient, and most crypto exchanges will allow you to do that just by registering your name and email address and completing Know Your Client verification on their website.

Just because it’s convenient though, doesn’t mean it’s what you should do. If the crypto exchanges storing your cryptocurrency on centralized servers that you don’t have access to, it means you don’t own your private keys. There’s a saying in cryptocurrency: “Not your keys, not your crypto”.

Trusting another entity with your private keys is referred to as keeping your crypto in hot storage. It’s convenient and you don’t have to think about it, but it’s not the most secure way to do things.

That’s why at Coin Nerds, we’ll help you set up your cold storage solution via a hardware wallet, or paper wallet, whatever works for you. If you want to hold and transact with your crypto via a mobile wallet app, we can help you with that too!

Trezor and Nano Ledger S: The Two Most Popular Hardware Wallets in Crypto

The Trezor and Nano Ledger S allow you to password protect your cryptocurrency using a PIN number and a randomly assigned 12 or 24-word phrase. You can log into each using an application that can be easily installed on any personal computer.

You can plug both a Trezor or Nano Ledger S into any standard USB slot, and send and receive your crypto, all without being compromised by a hacker.

As long as you don’t share your private keys or passwords, and you use a hardware wallet, your crypto belongs to you and you alone.

Let Coin Nerds Help You Set Up Your Crypto Wallet

Setting up your first hardware crypto wallet can be an intimidating task, particularly if you’re new to crypto investing. Not to worry!

At Coin Nerds, we’re committed to making your first experience with crypto wallets as secure, informative, and easy as possible. We’ll help you choose the right device for you and send you home with your crypto in the palm of your hands where it belongs.

No need to spend an afternoon watching tutorials and wondering if you did it all right.

Come set up your Trezor or Nano Ledger S hardware crypto wallet today. We’re happy to help!