Cryptocurrency adoption has increased in the past few years - with people, investors, and companies looking for ways to key into the train. Nobody wants to be left behind, especially now that more and more trends keep coming up year in and year out.
Investors from all walks of life have shown interest in different crypto assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the trending meme coins. This interest has increased the vulnerability of the industry with hackers, cyberattackers, and bugs stealing millions of dollars in DeFi protocols and blockchains with little or no proper contract audit.
As this post is all about safeguarding your crypto assets, it is essential to know the tools and strategies that will help keep your funds in check and in the best possible way.
So, what are the best ways to safeguard crypto assets?
Best Strategies for Safeguarding Crypto Assets
Enabling 2-Factor Authentication
A great way to safeguard your assets from getting hacked or stolen is to enable 2-factor Authentication (otherwise known as 2FA). It's the most cost-effective way to protect your wallets as it serves as an additional layer of security to safeguard not just crypto assets but also every important file you store online.
Setting up 2FA is straightforward, just head over to the wallet settings and locate the advanced settings, From there you can enable it in case you want to send or receive funds in the future.
Additionally, you can search if there are VPNs that support crypto wallets, if there are, simply install the VPN, sync it with the wallet, and enable the 2FA feature in the app. I haven't seen a VPN that supports crypto wallets yet - but you can check this list of VPNs to find out.
Take Advantage of Multiple Wallets
While keeping your funds in CEX is good, unexpected circumstances can still occur - which may lead to loss of funds and assets. For instance, look at what happened to a leading crypto exchange FTX - when it crashed about 1 year ago. This is why it is better to use multiple wallets instead to safeguard your funds, preferably hot or cold wallets.
Hot wallets are online software or app crypto wallets that store crypto assets. Their level of security is good but still couldn't match that of cold wallets. Cold wallets are offline-based wallets that can't be accessible on the internet, they are generally physical hardware or device. For example, a USB Drive with custom security settings.
On the contrary, it is a wise decision to store most of your assets in a cold wallet and keep a few in a hot wallet. This will ensure safety during unfortunate times.
Use Secure Connection
Log out from any website, device, or app when you want to access your wallet, and ensure that you are using a secure connection and that no third-party app has access to your account. Enabling additional security features on the wallet before trading is a core trait to keep your assets safe. You can check if your internet connection is secure by auditing the firewall.
To enhance your security, try a proxy server - a proxy server will hide your IP address and provide additional security making it difficult for anyone to monitor your internet access. Top VPN apps like Express and SurfShark offer this service as part of their free and paid plans.
Use Strong Passwords and Keys
Using a strong password that contains both numbers, letters, and symbols is the first step in keeping and safeguarding your wallet account. A tip, Never use passwords that you have used for other wallets. This will make it difficult for hackers to breach your password hash and pass it through cracking software.
People also make the mistake of saving passwords in plaintext inside a web browser. In addition to using strong passwords, take advantage of the many quality VPNs that come with a password manager or look for a secure password management app that comes with a password-generating feature.
Using a strong password is not enough as hackers deploy many skills to steal or extract your encrypted data from RAM, logins, browsing, and web activities. But you can make it safer by changing the password frequently with the password manager of your choice.
DYOR
DYOR means 'do your own research. It's a crypto term that incentivizes investors to embark on their research before investing in a particular project. Crypto, nowadays, is full of scams and pump-and-dump projects promising high returns. Be alert of people promising airdrops that cannot be fulfilled but only to steal from investors. They can also use these promises and tactics to compromise your wallet when you grant them access.
To stay safe, never use or open websites and dapps with the crypto account you are using to store your assets. In addition, never share sensitive information with a site/scheme without any proper research. Don't install software without proper research.
Use The Right Wallet Addresses
Transferring funds to wallet addresses is a very important component in crypto, you should always verify the address you are sending funds to before proceeding to avoid loss of funds. Knowing the different types of blockchains and their networks will save you stress and regret later because once the transaction is completed, there's no going back - irreversible.
Best Tools for Safeguarding Crypto Assets
While the strategies above can help in saving funds and safeguarding crypto assets, investors can take further advantage of the numerous apps on the internet to safeguard their assets. Here's a list of recommended tools:
Crypto Wallets
Crypto wallets are one of the convenient tools to store assets, but never rely on using a single wallet due to many factors that have existed, and, of course, we hear news every day about assets being lost due to compromised wallet activities.
If you feel that using multiple wallets is stressful, and you don't have the time to manage different wallets at the same time, we suggest a reputable custodian wallet for your trading needs. There are many on the internet, however, you should be familiar with the wallet before using it.
A combination of both custodian and noncustodial wallets will ensure that your assets are in safe hands and that you can still carry out transactions regularly. However, keep in mind that you can lose the majority of your assets if something happens to your custodian wallets.
NordVPN - Excellent VPN for High-Performance Servers
NordVPN is part of our top list of VPNs and one of the leading products in the security market. The product has also won the TIME's Best Invention Award, reaching the milestone in 2022 as the most popular brand in the VPN industry. What's more? It encrypts your internet connection and virtually changes your location, giving you anonymous protection when using the internet.
NordVPN offers many services including dedicated IP options, slip tunneling, a kill switch, great VPN protocol, AES-256 encryption, and other excellent features that include threat protection.
First, make sure NordVPN is compatible with wallets, and if so, you can use its services to safeguard your wallet password and passkeys for easy access and to provide an added layer of security for your funds.
Bitwarden - Open Source Password Manager
Bitwarden is an open-source password management app that is part of the leading password managers on the internet with great functionalities and easy-to-use features that support Android devices. It comes with great features such as cross-platform accessibility, password sharing, generator, biometric login, end-to-end encryption, and easy-to-integrate with other services. This makes Bitwarden a great option for crypto investors who want a tool for password management and to safeguard their accounts.
Users can use its password-generating feature to create and store an unlimited number of passwords without any restrictions. Since it's an open-source app, users can safely share passwords with robust encryption.
Conclusion
The crypto industry keeps getting bigger and better as more and more people are joining the space for various reasons and of course, to improve their knowledge and experience that the industry has gotten over the years. From crypto mining apps to trading assets on some of the best blockchains, one can take advantage of this opportunity at little or no cost. For instance, you can start mining cryptos with your smartphone without investment and still make a good impression.
Pi network has revolutionized the way crypto mining operates. Trading is also an option. However, the rise of these activities has also led to an increase of hackers and people with bad intentions to take advantage of the new faces in the industry. If you have been following this blog for a while you will understand why we always teach about security and staying safe is our core perspectives.
The abovementioned strategies and tools will help you protect your assets and certainly reduce the risk associated with the crypto and blockchain industry.
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