April 4, 2019, | AtoZ Markets - Keeping your bitcoin in an exchange can present a risk of you losing them all. Its simply because you do not technically own the coins you buy in exchange. Cryptocurrency exchanges work as a bank. It is a third-party service provider that you trust to keep your bitcoins safe. However, there is always a risk of the cryptocurrency exchange shutting down or being hacked. It results in a loss of coins. The best way to keep your bitcoin safe is to have total control of it. Having true ownership of your bitcoin means that you control your private keys. Thus, the only way to control your private keys is by owning your bitcoin wallet.
A Bitcoin wallet is a digital space where you can store, receive, and send bitcoins from. It is like having your own bank account. All the wallets have a Bitcoin address, which is also known as a public key. A bitcoin address is a string of random characters. And It is represented in QR code format also, which makes make it easy to scan and copy them.
Before moving to how to open a bitcoin wallet, first, you need to know that there are three different types of bitcoin wallets. They are hardware, software, and exchange wallet from which the hardware wallet is considered to be the safest one. Also, there are various kinds of wallets depending on your preferred device, which is web-based, mobile apps, or desktop applications.
How to open a Bitcoin wallet?
In this article, we’ll take blockchain.com as an example to show you how to open a bitcoin wallet from the start. Here, is the step-by-step process to proceed further to open a new bitcoin wallet.
Step 1: Go to Blockchain.com’s Wallet Website
To open your bitcoin wallet, go to the blockchain.com website first. Make sure to bookmark the page. As there have been many cases of phishing attempts that mirror Blockchain.com’s site, which will lead you to lose your bitcoin. Also, on the top of the address bar, make sure to check the URL of the site. And look for an SSL certificate to authenticate that this is the original site.
Step 2: Complete the Sign-Up Process
Create a new bitcoin wallet by entering your email and a secure password. It’s always good to have a strong password with multiple alphabets, numbers, and symbols to secure your wallet. Click on the “Continue” button to proceed, and you’ll receive a confirmation via your email.
Step 3: Backup Your Paraphrase
Once you have to go to the “Security Center” tab on the left side of your dashboard of the website and click “Backup Phrase.” This is the first level in securing your bitcoin wallet or if you lost your key it could be recovered using Bitcoin wallet recovery services.
It’s recommended to take a print of the “Recovery Sheet” and write down your 12-word recovery phrase somewhere. Store the Recovery Sheet in a safe location.
Step 4: Link Mobile Number & Enable 2FA
The next step you must follow is to link your mobile and enable 2FA, which will add an extra layer to your security.
Step 5: Block TOR-linked Addresses
At last, you should secure the final level in your “Security Center”. To do that you have to block the IP addresses from the TOR network.
Step 6: Request Bitcoin
You can now start to receive Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies in your wallet from an exchange. Or you can import a paper wallet to start trading. To continue with receiving bitcoin into your wallet, go to your dashboard and click on “Request” to gain access to your Bitcoin address.
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