USB flash drives are a great way to store crypto. They are safe and secure. This form of cold storage (offline) involves a wallet that’s highly unlikely to be hacked because it’s not connected to the internet. These wallets are also known as hardware wallets. They store a private key and address and usually come with software that works in parallel so that the user can view their portfolio without their private key being at risk.
USB drives have the additional advantage of not being affected by viruses as the keys don’t come in contact with vulnerable software or network-connected computers. They tend to be open-source, letting the actual users decide how safe they are instead of a company declaring that it is safe to use.
One downside of cold wallets is that they require a bit more knowledge to set up. You need to learn about staying safe and about cold and hot wallet technology in general if you’re interested in owning and holding cryptocurrency.
Holding cryptocurrency on an USB safely
Flash drives, Electrum, and other cold storage methods are the safest way to store cryptocurrencies. This is the case for a number of reasons. It’s harder for viruses and hackers to infiltrate your data and assets because of their secured storage offline. Users make transactions with them offline. USBs provide storage as a portable device that’s separate from the public networks used to access cryptocurrencies. USB drives are more affordable options for keeping crypto safe and making it portable.
To recover or access your coins, you can encrypt them with a seed phrase so they don’t get lost or stolen. These phrases are comprised of several words and are what actually contains your assets. You should remember it and it should be absolutely unique.
Storage and quality options
Typically, USB flash drives with standard storage options and quality don’t cost much. There are different categories of items. Usually, they cost in the range of $55-500 or more depending on the make and model. Two recommendable options are Trezor One and Ledger Nano S. According to expert reviewers, they’re both worth their price in convenience.
The hardware wallets offered by Trezor feature strict security measures, including two-factor authentication and required passwords to gain access. You can use these devices to store Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies and buy them from any technology retailer. The other quality manufacturer of hardware wallet devices used for storing cryptocurrencies in Ledger. If you don’t want to pay so much, these are a better option.
Storing Bitcoin on a USB
While all coins can be stored on a USB safely, Bitcoin is especially suitable because it offers its own special hardware wallet. This section of the article will explain how to store Bitcoin on a USB safely.
Electrum is the most commonly used Bitcoin hardware wallet. It was created with the purpose of storing BTC. Make sure you don’t download Electrum software from anywhere other than the official Electrum website.
To get started, disconnect your device or computer from the internet. Either turn it off manually or unplug it. Then, download Electrum from the official website. Make sure you read the relevant information about different procedures for macOS and Windows users and version history.
After that, connect the USB to your device or computer. We advise you to use a clean flash drive without any other files on it. It should be for storing cryptocurrencies only. After downloading and saving the program onto it, eject it and restart your device.
That’s it: you’ve set up your cold storage wallet. Now, you can make a safe and free Bitcoin transaction online. Before you do that, however, keep the program disconnected from the internet after it has been downloaded onto your device. You can generate the transaction from the key file or encrypted seed phrase on your connected flash drive. After you’ve completed it, disconnect the USB flash drive and get back online. You need access to the Internet to make Bitcoin transactions. However, you don’t have to have it to store Bitcoins or any other coin.
Security measures
It’s important to provide early and frequent backup for your entire Bitcoin wallet. If your computer fails for some reason, having a history of regular backups could be your only hope to recover your assets. All .dat files in the wallet have to be backed up. Then, you need to store the backup on different secure places, like CDs and the hard drive apart from on the USB. The backup must be protected with a strong password.
It’s also very important to keep your software up to date. Cybercriminals will have no problem hacking a wallet running on non-updated bitcoin software. Always have the latest wallet software version to ensure optimal security so your assets can be as safe as possible. If you update your software with the most current security protocols and fixes, you’ll avoid major issues down the line. Update your computer OS, software, and/or mobile device.
Finally and to be extra safe, you might take an interest in something known as multi-signature approval. This is a process where several people need to approve a transaction in order for it to transpire. Since a single server or controller can’t perform the transaction, this limits the risk of theft. By transaction, we mean withdrawing Bitcoins without permission or sending them to an unauthorized address. The parties of the transaction are established right at the start. When one of them wants to send or spend Bitcoins, the remaining members of the group have to approve the transaction.
