Getting Started Securing Your BTC

Welcome to My Two Sats. In this space, you’ll discover effective ways to secure your bitcoin. More importantly, you’ll learn about emerging threats—hacks, vulnerabilities, and scams—that have left others checking their wallet balances, only to find their bitcoin gone. While no strategy offers 100% security, the insights you gain here will significantly reduce your chances of becoming the next victim. But remember, we do not claim to be the single source of knowledge for bitcoin security practices, nor should we be seen as such.  Any information that you deem valuable, should be cross-referenced with other sources so that you remain as informed as possible. Let’s get started.

So now that all but your most trusted friends/family believes that you are no longer invested in bitcoin;  time to self-custody your bitcoin.  Without a doubt, this is the most crucial aspect of securing your current and future wealth, and it’s what this blog is dedicated to.  That’s right, not just this week’s entry, but the entirety of this blog, will be dedicated to securing your bitcoin.  There is an abundance of ways to self custody, with no way being particularly right or wrong. However, the most suitable method for you will depend on how you plan to use your bitcoin.  Your storage methods might differ depending on whether you see Bitcoin as a store of value, a source of collateral, or a medium of exchange. Each of these use-cases demands a unique approach to storage. Whatever your intended use case, some form of self custody is a must, anything short of that, and you do not own your bitcoin, you own an I.O.U., because bitcoin on an exchange is just a promise to the account holder that said exchange is holding your bitcoin for you. You don’t own the bitcoin if it’s on an exchange, you own the promise that the exchange will transfer that bitcoin to you if you request it. One only needs to research most recent crypto exchange collapse, FTX(The FTX Collapse, Explained | WSJ What Went Wrong , FTX – Wikipedia) to understand why one cannot leave their bitcoin in the hands of a third party, not until proper legal and institutional protections are in place, which, as of right now, definitely aren’t in place. 

Where to start with self custody?

Self custody means transferring your bitcoin, to your own bitcoin wallet. In order to do so, you need a trusted wallet to transfer, or self-custody, your bitcoin to.There are more bitcoin wallets than anyone can count, and new ones are popping up everyday.  My two sats, the electrum bitcoin wallet(https://electrum.org/#home) is by and large one of the best, if not the best, bitcoin wallets you can use to self custody your bitcoin, and offers several levels in terms of depth towards securing your sats.  However, you may not like Electrum; Blue wallet is another very popular bitcoin wallet, but again, there are many perfectly fine bitcoin wallet options. Whichever wallet option you choose, there are a few absolutely non negotiable features that your wallet should have, listed below.

Non-negotiable features:

1. Uses open source software

2. Only offers bitcoin support and no support for other cryptocurrencies(bitcoin only)

3.  Has several years of use as a track record (my general minimum is at least 5 years)

Nice-to-have features include:

1. Multisignature support (will cover in depth in a future blog)

2. Lightning Network support  (will cover in depth in a future blog)

Whichever wallet you use, the wallet software should be open source.  This means that the software that the wallet uses is openly accessible to be viewed/edited/updated by anyone, be they a professional developer or casual user with some coding knowledge.  Having the wallet software be open source helps to ensure that any potential vulnerabilities that the wallet software may have, will be found and patched relatively quickly, since the software is publicly available.  Think of open source software as a community garden: anyone can visit, plant a seed (add code), or pick a weed (fix a bug). It’s a collaborative space where people work together to grow and maintain something beneficial for everyone. Because many eyes are watching the garden, problems like weeds (security vulnerabilities) or unhealthy plants (bugs) are more likely to be noticed and addressed quickly. This makes the garden more robust, diverse, and healthier over time, just as open-source software becomes more reliable and secure with collaborative oversight.

Your wallet should also be “bitcoin only” as in, the only cryptocurrency it supports is bitcoin. A wallet that supports multiple cryptocurrencies increases the chances of vulnerabilities and exploits due to its inherent complexity. Simply put, it’s better that your wallet does one thing great(secures your bitcoin), than do several things at only an okay level.

To my third point, with new wallets popping up everyday, they have not yet had the test of time to show that they are robust against hacks and vulnerabilities.  The electrum wallet was created in 2011, and that is very encouraging, seeing as bitcoin only came into existence in 2009.

The additional features such as multisig and lightning network support offer additional deeper levels of support and security that though not necessary, are definitely good to have.

Continue To Research

Do your research, look at several wallet options, and if you found one that you like and think I should consider, leave a message. Always remember one of Bitcoin’s most important mottos: don’t trust, verify.

In keeping with one of the most important Bitcoin mottoes—’Don’t trust, verify’—it’s crucial to apply this principle in your research as well. This phrase encapsulates the idea that you should always verify information for yourself, rather than blindly trusting sources. With Bitcoin, transactions and ownership can be independently verified without relying on third parties, and this level of scrutiny should be applied to all aspects of your Bitcoin use, including the choice of a wallet.

Why verification is crucial

In the spirit of “don’t trust, verify,” be cautious even when using links from sources you think are reliable. This includes links I’ve provided.

How to safely verify Information

• Go Beyond Clicking Links: Don’t just click the links that I’ve provided; after all, my site could have been hacked. Use them as a reference check.

• Type URLs Manually: Type the URL into the address bar; don’t just click it. This ensures you aren’t redirected to a scam site designed to look like the real one but set up by hackers to steal your bitcoin.

• Cross-Check Information: If something sounds far-fetched, it probably is. Scams and hacks happen every day. Always verify information from multiple trusted sources.

Setting Up Your Wallet

In the next blog post, we’ll delve into the different setup options for your wallet, including security features you should consider and how to make the most out of your Bitcoin wallet.