TL,DR: If you have any assets in Crypto.com
(or any other centralized exchange), get them out right now.
Learn how below.
| Dear , I’m forwarding the action steps that I sent to my free Bombthrower list a couple of days ago. (My assumption is if you’ve been reading The Crypto Capitalist for any amount of time, you’ve already internalized the mantra “Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins”) Since I sent it out, another crypto exchange, Crypto.com, appears poised for a bank run, while another lesser known exchange out of Hong Kong, called “AAX” has already suspended withdrawals. For awhile there it also looked like KuCoin was teetering.All assets on any centralized exchanges should be removed – see the message below for recommendations on self-custody wallets you can download right now. Please take care of this today if you have anything in any exchanges (yes, even Coinbase or Bitbuy – we own these companies, but we never leave any of our crypto there, we always self-custody).I’m putting together the mid-month update right now, but the situation is fluid. Some bullet points from the forthcoming issue: * The companies in our portfolio have minimal exposure to FTX (BITF has some loans from them, and FTX was an investor in WonderFi) * Those that do either owe FTX money, or have received investments from FTX. They don’t have assets trapped within FTX * Overall, this is a healthy (and possibly the final) clean-out of the pond scum from the crypto-economy. This is yet another microcosmic example of what would be playing out within the fiat currency system if it weren’t for central banks holding the entire thing together with spit and twist-ties.Action steps of original message follows: |
Steps to Take RIGHT NOW
I personally use hardware wallets like a Ledger Nano to custody my Bitcoin and other digital assets.
But even if you ordered one tonight (and would highly recommend you do), it’ll still take some time for it to arrive.
So here are a few options for self-custody you can take right now, today.
Pull down one of these software wallets and then withdraw any coins you have on any centralized exchange out, and put them in one of these wallets.
Then when your hardware wallet arrives you can transfer them to there.
Here are some choices:
- Coinbase wallet: this used to be the BRD (Bread) wallet before they were acquired. You do not need to have Coinbase account to use it, your private keys are not accessible to them.
This is a mobile app, so one thing you can do is to put it on an old smartphone with no SIM card. Move your assets to it and then just power off the phone. Lock it away in your safe. You can even leave it powered off and future withdrawals to it will still work (like via an automated Dollar Cost Average program.
⟹ Download Coinbase Wallet here
- Electrum: Tried and true, runs on Windows, Linux and OSX – this Bitcoin only wallet has Lightning support built in and is solid.
⟹ Download Electrum Wallet here - Atomic: Similar to Coinbase in that it’s tied to an exchange, but you don’t need an exchange account to use it, self-custody, supports a wide number of coins (I have my GPU miners sending Ravencoin and Zilliqa straight to my Atomic wallet)
⟹ Download Atomic here
If you have assets on the exchanges, then get one of these tonight, right now – and then withdraw any Bitcoin, or other assets into it.
Remember two things:
- Safely record and store your twelve word seed phrase that you’ll generate when you set up your wallet.
- Never give this seed phrase to anybody. Whoever is asking for it is trying to scam you.
Finally:
When you have your coins safely out of the exchange, you’ve bought yourself some time to set up a more permanent self-custody.
Head over to Ledger and get yourself a Nano, and once you have it – transfer your coins there. Then lock it away some place safe.
— End Excerpt.
