How to Keep your Crypto Safe
Making sure your crypto is safe will save you more than just a headache!
The cryptocurrency industry is always evolving and it is your sole responsibility to protect your digital funds by securing your wallet with essential safety precautions. The irreversible and pseudonymous nature of crypto means that it is rare to recover any lost or stolen funds. We have listed a few simple tips on how you can protect yourself.
Once transactions are confirmed on the Cardano blockchain they are irreversible.
After setting up a Cardano wallet for the first time to store assets such as WMT, you will receive your seed words. The order in which these seed words are given to you is critical, as they generate your private key, so keep them saved in the right order. These seed words can be used to recover your Cardano wallet on a new or existing device. Without them, you are essentially blocked from recovering your assets if you no longer have access to your wallet.
It is wise to keep these seed words somewhere safe. What if the device that stores your seed words breaks or is no longer accessible? How would you recover your wallet? A good idea would be to keep your seed words written down on a non-digital format, such as a piece of paper, that only you have access to. This should also be done for your Vault seed words and passphrase.
There is an increasing number of bad actors trying to take your crypto assets from you. Always be vigilant and never give your seed words, private key or recovery phrase to anyone! Anyone who has or knows this private information can access your funds and potentially steal them.
Keep in mind: if you take a picture of your seed words on a digital device such as a mobile phone - what would happen if it gets lost or stolen? Bad actors could easily find these pictures and use your seed words to steal your crypto assets. Be cautious of how and where you store your seed words.
If someone is offering you something that seems too good to be true in exchange for your seed words, private keys or recovery phrase, they are trying to scam you.
Bad actors can try to imitate legitimate websites and communications channels. Therefore always double-check the links you are clicking on and the website URL. Do not blindly click on links from others, as it is crucial to only rely on official websites and channels. If you are unsure then a Google search and cross-referencing should reveal legitimate communication channels.
There are advantages and disadvantages associated with storing crypto on a centralised exchange and you should fully understand them before continuing your crypto journey.
Centralised exchanges act as custodians for your crypto - they show your crypto asset balance in the account on their platform. This means they own the crypto and store it in their own wallets that, in theory, they can only access. This removes the risks associated with holding crypto in your own wallet. However, exchanges are not perfect and can be susceptible to hacks and scams too. While they are the most convenient way to buy crypto for the majority of people, it may not be the best idea to use centralised exchanges to store crypto for long periods of time.
If you store your WMT on a centralised exchange then it is not possible to benefit from staking your tokens in the World Mobile Token Vault. To find out what Cardano wallets you can use to store your WMT check out the supported wallets page.
Last modified 8mo ago