Reducing exposure.
WHAT TO SEPARATE
Holdings held long term, in cold storage Small amounts for active use, in a hot wallet
WHY
It limits what any compromise can take.
WHAT TO USE FOR ANY SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT
A hardware wallet.
WHAT TO VERIFY WHEN BUYING ONE
That it comes from the manufacturer or an authorised seller That packaging is intact That it generates a new phrase itself
WHAT A PRE-SUPPLIED PHRASE MEANS
The device is compromised, certainly.
WHAT TO BE CAREFUL WITH IN SOFTWARE WALLETS
Downloading from unofficial sources Browser extensions impersonating wallets Applications with similar names
WHAT TO VERIFY
The official source, from the project's own site.
WHAT WALLET CONNECTIONS TO APPLICATIONS GRANT
Permission to request transactions, and sometimes broad spending approval.
WHAT BROAD APPROVAL RISKS
An application draining holdings later.
WHAT TO DO
Approve limited amounts Review and revoke approvals periodically
WHAT TO NEVER SIGN
A message or transaction you do not understand.
WHY
Signatures can authorise transfers without an obvious transaction.
WHAT TO CHECK REGULARLY
Active approvals, using a tool that lists them.
