It seems as though the euphoric state of everyone rushing in to get some bitcoin has come to a screeching halt. The price recently dropped from 20k all the way down to 11k on some exchanges. As a result, there were multiple high volume exchanges that were shut down or unable to perform basic functions like buy and sell due to the high volume of traffic of people trying to panic sell.

This type of event is the EXACT reason why being your own bank is so important. When you leave money on an exchange, they write the rules on when/how you can access it. If everyone is rushing to sell due to a massive dump in price, what is the likelihood that they wont just pull the plug on the site to ensure all that money isn’t running out the door? I’d say pretty high.

Using a Ledger Nano S, Trezor, or Keepkey, to keep your crypto safe isn’t just smart for that reason alone, it allows you to go to any exchange you want, at any time you want to sell (or buy) because you hold the private keys, literally. You can then choose the best option for you and the right time to make some exchanges or trades without being at the whim of a large corporation.

Most people in the United States don’t realize that there are multiple “trusted” exchanges, backed with regulatory assets and other VC money that you can cash out at anytime. 24/7. Knowing your options and the pros and cons of each is half the battle. The other half is keeping possession of your coins on a physical, secure hardware wallet to gain access at a moments notice.

If you are new, please refer to the FAQ page or simply send us a message at [email protected] to discuss your crypto security needs, or simply submit an inquiry through our contact form. We try to answer all messages in 6 hours or less, or in some cases, 24 hours or less depending on volume.

Each situation and specific needs of individuals are different and we offer everything you need to be able to meet those demands at the best price on the internet. Guaranteed or we’ll beat the best price by 10%, that’s our promise.

I have been spending a great deal of time helping people understand how the bitcoin protocol and blockchain protocol work and why it was brought into existence. There is a lot of FOMO (fear of missing out) going around and the first thing people do is panic when they see $2,000-$3,000 price swings in bitcoin as of late and their emotions get the best of them. It happens to everyone.

It helped me realize that most people unfortunately have no idea what they have bought and how normal market cycles work. It is no different from the traditional Wall Street markets. At any rate, we have been seeing an exceeding number of cases in the news indicating several growing pains for Coinbase, and other U.S. exchanges. People’s money is held in limbo for several days at a time and they are treating it like a bank account. Let me be perfectly clear. Cryptocurrency is NOT like the traditional banking system.

With a bank such as Wells Fargo or Chase, you are protected with the money you deposit under FDIC insurance. If there is fraud, or any error with your accounts, you can go to a local branch or call the 800 number on the back of your card to get it sorted out. You (in most cases) will be made whole again because it is regulated by the government.

Cryptocurrency is the exact opposite. If you lose your money, it gets stolen, or you lose your private keys, that’s it! It’s gone, and there is no getting it back. There is no central authority you can call or a branch you can go to and get your money back in your control. That’s why it is CRUCIAL to take responsibility of your bitcoin and other crypto assets and maintain control. So how do I do that?

In the event that bitcoin crashes or there is a record number of people that try and “Panic Sell”, say for instance, on Coinbase. The likelihood of a company of that size seeing all that money run out the door is unlikely. It’s their website, they can shut it down whenever they want and THEY are in control of your crypto, not you.

One of my friends has been having several issues with gaining access, getting help, and trying to understand how to manage his assets using Coinbase. That’s terrifying for me. There currently is no panic or negative market sentiment for Bitcoin as of this writing. If Coinbase is having issues now….I don’t want to be one of the people who get stuck in the herd trying to withdraw their money.

You need to take control of your own money, your own Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, etc… With a trusted hardware wallet (such as the ones we offer through this website), you take your funds and store it on a piece of secure hardware that is offline and physically in your possession. Because it is offline, it has ZERO chance of getting hacked, stolen, or shut down from a central authority.

People always ask me, “When should I get a hardware wallet?” The moment you spend any amount of money on crypto that you cannot afford to lose, you need a hardware wallet. That can mean different things to different people, depending on your risk threshold, but understanding that leaving your funds anywhere online is not in your control, is the point I am trying to get across. Most people do not understand that until it is explained to them.

I encourage any crypto investors, traders, or speculators to take control of your cryptocurrency and get a hardware wallet to make sure you are protected and secured. With so much in this life that is outside of our control, it’s good to know that you have the ability to make sure your financials are secured in your own tiny bank.

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, you can fill out the contact form linked above, or send an email directly to our team at [email protected]. I would love to hear any feedback you may have.

Cheers,

Zach.

We are officially in uncharted territory now with bitcoin hitting an all-time high of over $19,000 as of earlier today. I remember when I first got into bitcoin and people were saying it would never go above $5,000. At any rate, most people are hearing about bitcoin from either word of mouth, family who have already invested, or various news outlets. This is an unprecedented time as BTC has never been this high and currently, there is no end in sight.

Some of you may be wondering “Now that I have bitcoin, what do I do with it?”. Well, you can obviously hold it on your online account, likely at Coinbase. You can spend it on some popular websites like overstock.com for a new pillow or expedia.com for vacation packages. You can also send it to family overseas or as a Christmas or holiday gift.

But how secure is your bitcoin really? As you may have heard, there is a very tumultuous history with bitcoin being used for a wide array of nefarious activity and even being used to launder dirty money in some cases. In my opinion, this only validated its utility, as bitcoin does not care who you are, where you live, or what financial or social status that you have.

Below are 3 major reasons why you need a cryptocurrency hardware wallet, and quick:

1.) MULTIPLE BITCOIN EXCHANGES HAVE BEEN HACKED –  You may have heard in the news that exchanges such as Poloniex, Bitfloor, and the infamous Mt. Gox (in 2011) have all had issues with bitcoins being hacked and online wallet accounts stolen and being drained to ZERO. The issue with leaving your coins sitting on an exchange is that THEY (the exchange you bought it from) control the private keys and therefore are in complete control of your cryptocurrency. Once it’s purchased, you can transfer your coins to various wallets either on your desktop, another website, or preferably offline onto a bitcoin hardware wallet, where it has zero chance of being hacked. This is the smartest way to hold your money. You wouldn’t buy an investment property and give the bank the only copy of your keys would you? I didn’t think so.

2.) BITCOINS ONLY HAVE ONE PRIVATE KEY – The private key is the holy grail to your bitcoin. Without it, you don’t have control of your coins. Period. The way the protocol works is you have a public key (Your wallet address), and your private key (your bitcoin itself). Together they form a digital signature that authorize the control and ownership of bitcoin and their transactions. I don’t know about you, but if I am investing in something valuable, I want to retain control of it and protect it, not trust a 3rd party to do so. You can review an article here where a man “accidentally” threw away a hard drive with over 7,500 bitcoin on it (currently valued at over 125 million dollars as of this writing)

3.) TAX REASONS – Now this is a bit controversial, as this topic is still not perfectly clear in terms of how bitcoins are taxed. Because they are not issued by a bank or a government agency, the IRS cannot subpoena any other organization for your spending habits and overall holdings. Because it is decentralized, they don’t have a single point of failure to intimidate to hand over your personal information. Except for the recent incident where the IRS requested all user data from Coinbase containing user transactions that exceed $20,000 (You can read more about it here). As it currently stands, if you hold your cryptocurrency offline, how can the government subpoena your hardware wallet if they don’t know where it is stored? It would be like if you had 30 bricks of gold buried in a secret place and the IRS knocked on your door and told you to hand it over. You have plausible deniability as they have no way to confirm it unless you handed it over to them voluntarily.

We specialize in offering the industry’s most trusted hardware wallets offline, and believe in having the intangible, tangible. Feel free to contact us through the contact form if you have any comments or questions regarding this. I would be happy to assist and clarify any questions you may have. Happy wallet shopping!

New blog coming soon.