What are Cold Wallets?

Cold wallets are one of the best ways to safely store our cryptocurrencies. It is a type of wallet that offers great security to protect our funds from theft and hacking.

Chen we talk about security for our investment funds, cryptocurrencies, , the best option is to choose between the cold wallets o cold purses. Are the perfect union between functionality and safety at all times and allow you to have peace of mind that the funds can hardly be stolen.

What are Cold Wallets?

The concept of wallets or cryptocurrency wallet surely you already know it. They are digital wallets or wallets where you can store and manage your money, in this case, cryptocurrencies.

In summary, the cold wallets are those that use keys generated by a source that is not connected to the blockchain and therefore, neither to the Internet. That is why they are called cold wallets.

This type of wallet offers a huge advantage over the others, since they play the role of a savings bank account. Where we can save money that we will not use for some time. They are the most used by users to deposit and safeguard large amounts of cryptocurrencies, since they offer an unbeatable level of security.

Not being in constant connection to the Internet are not prone to hacking attacks or key theft as it is the case of the hot wallets.

However, there is still a risk of losing money if the hardware or paper containing the keys is lost. To better understand this, let's see the types of cold wallets that exist today.

Characteristics of cold wallets

1. By not staying in line with blockchain networks and the Internet, they offer protection and security against malwares and other malicious software.
2. They allow us to store large amounts of money safely and efficiently.
3. They do not require third parties to handle the keys and manage the cryptocurrencies; as it happens with online wallets.
4. They have limited means of communication to maximize the security they offer.
5. Generally, they allow you to add an extra security layer through the PIN configuration of your choice, preventing a third party from using the device.
6. The keys are generated and kept within the same device in which the wallet is used. They never leave the device, so they stay safe and secure.
7. They are compatible with most of the available operating systems.
8. They have the ability to generate a seed that allows us to restore the keys and recover the funds.
9. Brianda paper wallet, are not feasible to breakdown or damage to the equipment as it happens with other types of cold wallets, such as hardware wallets.

Recommendations for use

1. As we have mentioned, we strongly recommend make a written backup of the seed or keywords. Which are generated when starting the configuration of the hardware devices. This backup must be kept in a safe and protected place, since in case of loss it is the one that will allow us to recover our funds.
2. In the case of paper wallets, they must also be guarded in a safe and protected place out of sight and access of any other person.
3. The endorsements of the seed or the paper wallets they should never be done on the computer or mobile devices such as phones and tablets. Image formats, PDF documents, files sent to email, or cloud services like Drive are prone to hacking and theft.
4. The paper wallet generators they must be downloaded to the computer and must never be run online, that is, connected to the Internet. There are many possibilities of hacking, theft and scams if the necessary precautions are not taken.

Bit2Me Wallet, the security of a cold wallet without so many complications

Cold wallets are certainly the safest to protect your cryptocurrencies. However, they can be very complex to handle for people who are new to the crypto world. In addition, they offer backup options that you may not need if your cryptocurrency funds are quickly used to make small purchases.

In these cases, choosing a wallet with lower benefits and easier to use is completely feasible and Bit2Me Wallet It has everything for these cases.

Bit2Me Wallet is a web wallet (a hot wallet) that offers you a high level of security and ease of use that no cold wallet can offer you. Our development team is focused on offering a safe product with a variety of options to make your life easier.

In addition, Bit2Me Wallet is directly integrated with our entire suite of services, making it easy for you to buy and sell cryptocurrencies that you have available in your portfolio. Simply put, Bit2Me Wallet is your best option if what you want is security, speed and ease of use for day to day.

You can create your account to use Bit2Me Wallet by accessing from this link.

Some examples of cold wallets

There are many companies that offer different options to protect cryptocurrencies, and it is you as a user who has to choose the one that best suits you. Cold wallets are one of the first options when we talk about cryptocurrencies and their security. The first cold wallets were the paper wallets or paper purses.

However, with technological evolution came hardware wallets and software wallets capable of creating cold storage. All this in order to offer the greatest possible security to its users.

Next, we are going to review the most common types of cold wallets:

Hardware

These are physical devices known as hardware wallets. They are very easy to use and are in the form of a portable or USB hard drive. They do not require an Internet connection and therefore are immune to viruses and malware that can attack computers. Among its many qualities, they allow you to add an additional PIN or password so that if they are lost, they cannot be used by third parties.

Among the best known we can mention Trezor y Ledger.

Of paper

These are the wallets they offer greater security in terms of protection from computer attacks. However, they are prone to deterioration, damage or loss of the paper on which they are printed if they are not well cared for and protected.

As its name tells us, they are wallets printed on paper where the public and private keys are contained, and also have a QR code. This in order to facilitate the transactions that we want to carry out later.

Currently there are many websites where you can enter and generate a paper wallet. Among the main options of this type are

1. WalletGenerator.
2. Paper Bitcoin Wallet.

Both with a high level of security that even outperforms hardware wallets (as long as they are used correctly).

Software

In this option we can highlight  Electrum. Electrum is a hot wallet but it has additional functionality and is the ability to create a cold wallet. The Electrum cold wallet is kept offline at all times (the computer must not have Internet at any time). At the same time, through a public key you can use a hot wallet to send and receive funds, since the hot wallet allows you to create unsigned transactions that you can then sign with your cold wallet and thus be able to spend your money.

A rather ingenious method but one that provides a very high level of security if it is well used.