Crypto: What To Do Before Buying Bitcoin

Crypto Course 1: Outline

What exactly is Money?
What is inflation?
Why banks & crypto exchanges can’t protect your crypto?
Why do you need to protect your crypto?
Five things to do before buying Bitcoin

WHAT IS MONEY?

So before we talk about Bitcoin, let’s talk about money. What is money exactly? Money at its core represents a store of value. It’s a medium of exchange. It’s the primary way we communicate value.

Take for instance, you visit a local grocery shop to buy some apples. So, in order to express your interest in buying some apples, you offer the seller some money in exchange for the apples. Because the apples are valuable to you, you exchange your cash for apples.

FORMS OF MONEY:

Over the years, money has taken different shapes and forms. Notable examples ranging from cowries, salt, leather, wheat, cattle, shells, gold and many more. As you can imagine, carrying bars of gold or cowries is quite cumbersome. It’s impractical to buy a cup of coffee with bars of gold. So paper money was invented.

As paper money became commonplace, money printing by governments around the world got much easier. However, when any government prints money, over time the value of the currency starts depreciating, thus becoming less valuable.

When excess money is printed, this causes the price of assets to inflate, thereby reducing your purchasing power and causing inflation.

WHAT IS INFLATION? Inflation is a general increase in the price of goods and service. So, the more money any government prints, the less valuable the currency.

MONEY & BANKS: Over time, we deposit our money at the bank. Money deposited at the bank is safe, secure and insured by the government. So when you deposit your money at the bank, you are rest assured that it’s safe. Simply put, your wealth is insured by the government. For instance, if you discover fraudulent or suspicious activities in your bank account, you can simply call your bank to resolve the issue.

WHY BANKS & CRYPTO EXCHANGES CAN’T PROTECT YOUR CRYPTO: However, investing in Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies is a completely different beast of its own. This is because the government does not protect any money invested in any cryptocurrency. Unfortunately, if you notice a suspicious activity or an unauthorized transaction in your crypto account, there are no customer service lines to call to resolve it. There is no one you can call or that could come to your aid if you lose your funds due to error, hacks, bank runs or malicious threats.

So you’re technically your own bank.

In crypto, you are your own bank. Your first priority is to protect your crypto investments.

Now that we’ve established the need to protect your crypto, let’s look at 5 things to do before buying Bitcoin or any crypto.

5 Things To Do Before Buying Bitcoin

Step 1: Get A Crypto Hardware Wallet 🔒

Step 2: Get Paper Notebooks 📚

Step 3: Secure Your Devices💻📱

Step 4: Create A New Encrypted Email 📧

Step 5: Set-Up 2 Factor Authentication 🔐

Step 1: Get A Crypto Hardware Wallet 🔒

To protect your Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, it’s important you get a crypto hardware wallet.

What is a crypto hardware wallet? A crypto hardware wallet also known as a cold wallet or cold storage is an encrypted device that allows you to store, manage and protect your Bitcoin, crypto, & NFTs offline safely and securely. So before you buy your first Bitcoin or crypto, the first thing to do is to purchase a crypto hardware wallet.

So where can you buy a crypto hardware wallet?

It’s important to buy your crypto hardware wallet directly from the manufacturer and not on any third party websites such as Amazon, eBay, Costco, BestBuy, Facebook etc. This is to ensure the authenticity of your device and to prevent storing your crypto on a compromised device.

There are several crypto cold hardware wallets and the best are the Ledger Nano X or the Ledger Nano S Plus.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR LEDGER NANO X

Step 2: Get Paper Notebooks 📚

Next, you’ll need to get paper notepads/books. You will need at least 3. You’ll use your paper notebooks to record and store all your passwords, username, recovery codes, login credentials and other sensitive information about your crypto-wallets, exchanges, emails, and detailed instructions on how to access or retrieve your cryptocurrencies. Make it simple and easy to understand. Ensure your handwriting is legible and easy to read.

Step 2a: Never Store Your Password & Username Online

It’s important to never store your passwords, username, or login credentials online with a password manager on your phone, laptop, tablet, computer or any device connected to the internet. You need to go super duper old school here.

Remember you’re your own bank and you need to put adequate safe measures in place to prevent hackers gaining access to your digital wealth.

Step 2b: Store Notepads in Different Locations

Store your paper notepads in different locations in case your house or one of the locations is affected by water, flood, fire, hurricane or natural disaster.

You can have at least one of the notepads stored in a safety deposit box at your local bank. It’s usually less than $100 annually.

Step 2c: Fill Out Your Contact Details

Remember to fill out the first page of the notebook with your full name, address, email, essentially your contact details in case you lose the notepad.

Also fill out the “in case of loss: please return to. Ensure to fill in the reward part to incentivize someone to return to you.

Step 3: Secure Your Devices💻📱

Before you start setting up your crypto exchange accounts, emails, username, password and hardware wallet, you need to ensure that your devices – such as your phone, laptop, tablet or any connected devices you will be using to buy crypto is safe, secure, and free of any malware.

Step 3a: Password Your Devices

First, require a long, complex, hard-to-get password for your laptop. Make sure you use upper case, lower case, numbers and special characters. I recommend 16 to 24 character passwords.

Now, document this long password for your laptop into your notepad. Make sure you title it. For example, password for laptop. You have to keep the instructions in your notepad easy to read and understand, legible and detailed that a 5-year old will understand.

Next make sure your phone, tablet and any other connected devices for crypto investing are passworded and document these details in your notepad. Alternatively, ensure your phone can only be accessed using your fingerprint or facial recognition.

Step 3b: Scan & Protect Your Devices

Next, you need to do a full and complete malware scan of your laptop, phone and tablets. I use Malwarebytes to scan, clean and protect my laptop and phone.

To download Malwarebyte, click here

Make sure you do a complete scan and once the scan is complete and your laptop is clean. Congratulations! If threats were discovered, click on the quarantine tab and click clear quarantine.

Malwarebyte has both the free and premium version as needed.

Step 3c: Encrypt Everything You Type

Next, download KeyScrambler. This is free to use. This prevents your computer or hackers from recording your username, password or email to hack into your account. So the way KeyScambler works is that it encrypts everything you type on your computer real time. I recommend Keyscrambler by QFX

Alternatively, if your computer has an on-screen keyboard, you can also type out your password and any sensitive data using only the on-screen keyboard. This also prevents keystroke loggers from recording and storing any of your vital and sensitive information such as password and username.

Step 3d: Never Publish Your Cell Phone Number Online

Never publish your cell phone number online. Remove it from public websites and forums as with your phone number, you can gain access to a lot of sensitive and private information. We use our phone numbers to access our banking, investments, school and a host of information.

Hackers can steal your phone identity by what is called SIM Card Theft. Hackers can call your cell phone provider and request a new SIM card. With this new sim card, they can have access to your banking and investment accounts and drain your hard-earned money and investments.

Most times, you won’t realize this until you discover you aren’t receiving any calls or text or notifications on your phone. It’s advisable to set up a strong passcode with your cell phone provider that anyone requesting for any information about your account needs to provide before gaining access or activating any sim card.

Once you set up the passcode with your cell phone provider, document it in your notepads. You can also change the passphrase as often as needed.

Step 4: Create A New Encrypted Email 📧

Now, it’s time to create a brand new, strong and encrypted email. When creating the email, create a username that is completely anonymous. Use a handle that isn’t connected to you in any shape or form. Don’t use your name, nickname, common phrases, or any username that you’ve ever used online or anywhere else.

Here’s an example: hsdgst57dfhxy5u7fzset54kghkg@protonmail.com

You see that it contains random numbers and letters and it’s difficult to guess. Remember you are your own bank and your goal in crypto investing is to secure your digital assets and wealth.

This is an email that you will use exclusively for crypto investing only. No other purpose. Not online subscriptions like newsletters, discount codes, shopping, banking or school. Never reveal this email to anyone.

I recommend using ProtonMail as they prioritize privacy and security. No adverts and spammy contents. You can set up a free account below using the link below.

CLICK HERE TO OPEN A FREE PROTON MAIL

Step 5: Set-Up 2 Factor Authentication 🔐

Setting up two-factor authentication is an extra layer of security that ensures that no one can log into your accounts even if they have access to your email and password. For example, when logging into your account, you input your complex username and password, then as an added layer of security, you’ll also be required to enter a code generated by the Authenticator. These codes change every 20 to 30 secs.

There are so many authenticators out there. The most popular ones are Google Authenticator and Authy. Personally, I use Authy.

To download Twilio Authy, go to your IOS or Google Play Store and download the app Twilio Authy.

Once you’ve completed these steps, you’re ready to buy your first Bitcoin or crypto.

Crypto Quiz🤔

Next, take a few moments to take the quiz associated with this course to test your understanding on what to do before buying Bitcoin or crypto. Start Now