Break
Silver Baronet of the Realm
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What's a good ethereum analog to Bitcoin Core? I want to have the private key in my sole possession.
Bitcoins/Litecoins/Virtual Currencies
- Thread starter Tripamang
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Flobee
Vyemm Raider
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Outside of a hardware wallet? I'm not sure there is anything. You can hold on Metamask which would be you holding the keys, but to the best of my knowledge all ETH wallets rely on infura. This is due to the technical requirements for running an ETH node which is almost never done. As such there isn't a convenient parallel to Bitcoin Core. You would still be holding your keys but you're relying on infura to interact with it. Others may be able to give you a better answer though as I've not messed with ETH much in a year or two.
If you're willing to spring for a hardware wallet I would say Trezor is your best bet as it can secure both BTC and ETH and is, IMO, superior to Ledger. Otherwise Metamask would satisfy getting the coin off exchanges although personally I would suggest offline storage if possible.
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MrHolland420
KRA! KRA!
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The forum doesn't have the world's smallest violin animated reaction, so I figured that the ice burn was the closest reaction.... Defiantly should add a KRA reaction that would make my whole year better, it's been shitty enough already. KRA KRA KRA!
MrHolland420
KRA! KRA!
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Jysin
Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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10:58 Crypto Hedge fund Three Arrows Capital said to be facing insolvency following crypto downturn - press - Source TradeTheNews
Arden
Blackwing Lair Raider
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Oh I got bored of that like a month later. I haven’t done that shit in a year. It was making around $100 a month as I recall not counting power usage.
Arden
Blackwing Lair Raider
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A lot of the people voicing concerns for tether over the last year are very pro-crypto people who gained nothing from producing tether fud.
Flobee
Vyemm Raider
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Sure, I guess. I use FUD because nothing has come from it and people have been beating this drum for years now. I'm not opposed to the idea that Tether could have a backing issue... its just not manifested in any material way as of yet. Thus its FUD
Arden
Blackwing Lair Raider
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It may never manifest either. I'm just not personally prepared to dismiss the fairly convincing evidence I've seen as "just FUD" though. I think there are legitimate concerns with tether. Tether has been the elephant in the room that keeps getting larger every year. Hopefully the concerns can be addressed without requiring a collapse of tether and the entire crypto market.
Flobee
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Aldarion
Egg Nazi
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IRS launches 'Operation Hidden Treasure' to clamp down on crypto non-taxpayers
As crypto becomes more popular, countries are seeking ways to regulate and tax them, as well as punish those who avoid paying their dues.
finbold.com
1. lol, ygwyfd
2. Considering the huge fall in crypto prices recently arent crypto investors taking a huge loss this year, and thus wouldnt they *want* to report their crypto for tax purposes? Is there something I'm missing?
Arden
Blackwing Lair Raider
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two thoughts:IRS launches 'Operation Hidden Treasure' to clamp down on crypto non-taxpayers
As crypto becomes more popular, countries are seeking ways to regulate and tax them, as well as punish those who avoid paying their dues.
1. lol, ygwyfd
2. Considering the huge fall in crypto prices recently arent crypto investors taking a huge loss this year, and thus wouldnt they *want* to report their crypto for tax purposes? Is there something I'm missing?
A lot of people in crypto made a LOT of money in 2020, and I'm sure this is partially a reaction to that. Also, I'm sure the IRS realizes like most of us that crypto isn't going anywhere, and eventually it's going to be headed back up in value.
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LiquidDeath
Magnus Deadlift the Fucktiger
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Tmac
Adventurer
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two thoughts:IRS launches 'Operation Hidden Treasure' to clamp down on crypto non-taxpayers
As crypto becomes more popular, countries are seeking ways to regulate and tax them, as well as punish those who avoid paying their dues.
1. lol, ygwyfd
2. Considering the huge fall in crypto prices recently arent crypto investors taking a huge loss this year, and thus wouldnt they *want* to report their crypto for tax purposes? Is there something I'm missing?
Crypto isn't a stock though it's an unregulated currency. If anything the government will probably look to set the tax rate on whatever the high was for that year as a double fuck you.
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Flobee
Vyemm Raider
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That would depend on what you're holding. I would suggest a hardware wallet first and foremost for anything. If you want a hotwallet/app then for Bitcoin I've heard that Muunwallet (for easy LN access+mobile), Bluewallet(mobile), Sparrow (PC wallet), and Samouri are all good products. Samouri also gives you access to coinjoin if you're looking to improve privacy, but I would suggest taking the time to learn what that entails before jumping in.
For Ethereum/ERC-20 tokens I don't really know of anything outside of Metamask for hotwallets.
Whatever you're using I would suggest making certain that -you- hold they keys and its not just a front-end for a custodial service. You should be getting prompted to generate seed words and creating an offline copy of those, as they allow the generation of the private key for signing transactions. I made a post on this a while back... will spoiler it below.
So this subject can be very technical if you go deep into the weeds. I'll try to keep it as simple as possible though.
You get two main choices when it comes to self-custody:
Software wallets
Hardware wallets
First lets define wallet. In this space the term wallet is a misnomer. What the device/software really does is sign for transactions. Think of it as a key to your coins because thats exactly what it is. It is the private key to your UTXOs (unspent transactions). It gets called a wallet because its a bit easier for people to think about it as a device that actually holds the coins, but thats not how it really works.
Right now, Coinbase holds your keys. Until you withdrawal your coins from the exchange (create the UTXO that you will hold the private key for) you don't actually own the coins. Not legally, and not in any effective way.
Now on to specifics, please note that I won't really speak to non-Bitcoin coins as I don't mess with them.
Software Wallet:
Pros:
Easy to set up
Free
Can install on computer or mobile phone
Cons:
'hot' wallet - which is to say it is always online (unless you setup a dedicated offline PC) and available thus reachable by attackers
Private key is held on your phone/PC which you are presumably going to be using thus higher loss/steal risk
I would suggest something like BlueWallet - Bitcoin wallet and Lightning wallet for iOS and Android or Sparrow Bitcoin Wallet if you're setting up on a PC
Hardware wallet:
Pros:
As secure as you make it. You can air-gap, validate with your own node, bury it and scatter your seed words around the planet, etc.
Device is required to sign for any transactions and is offline. Makes it very difficult for your funds to be compromised outside physically taking it or coercing you
Devices generally come with security features like a panic wipe pin number if you're under duress (Coldcard moreso than the others)
PIN is required in addition to physically holding the device to authenticate transactions
Cons:
$$$ Investment up front
Generally easy to visually identify as a HW wallet to those that know
Since I believe you said you hold ETH I would suggest Trezor Hardware Wallet | The original & most secure bitcoin wallet. over the Ledger suggested earlier. Personal preference but I don't like how Ledger does some things and while Trezor isn't perfect they're at least open source. I would also suggest using COLDCARD – The Most Trusted and Secure Signing Device (aka. Hardware Wallet) over both as it is vastly superior from a functionality standpoint , but it is BTC only.
Both types of wallets function in a very similar fashion. You will create a new wallet from the private key stored on the device/software and will be given a seed recovery phrase. Generally 12 or 24 words. -VERY IMPORTANT- this seed phase in a sense IS your wallet. Anyone with this list of words can recover your wallet and funds without access to your physical device. DO NOT store this on a digital device. Physically only. Paper is fine, or there are products that you can etch the phrase into steel if you really want. You can also just memorize it and thus be able to carry your coins anywhere in the world without the possibility of having them confiscated. You can leave your hardware wallet on the coffee table if you want (don't do this) but you cannot leave your seed phrase sitting out for anyone to see.
I'll drop some resources below for you to read more if you want. While I am very adamant that all crypto holders should control their own keys, I would suggest caution as you're learning how this all works. There are mistakes you can make that will cause you to lose everything. There is no customer support, your exchange can't reverse the transaction, if you screw up its up to you to fix it if its possible, or take responsibility for losing your funds. Freedom is like that though. From my perspective we've gotten far too used to daddy government protecting us from ourselves while he loots us.
EDIT: Adding Bullbitcoin link as they do provide a full self-custody support process. As I understand it they'll go through the whole thing with you via phone if you want. Bull Bitcoin
Blue wallet setup. This guy's channel is very newbie friendly
Bitcoin setup, focused on privacy/security
Get your coins off exchange! – TEACH ME BITCOIN, SON.
www.teach-me-bitcoin-son.com
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