Should you hold your coins in a web-based wallet provided by an exchange, or your own wallet? Theres no right answer for everyone, but its important to understand the trade-offs if you hold coins. Beacuse When you rely on an exchange, you have a more convenient experience. You dont have to worry about securing, backing up, or otherwise managing your own wallet. The exchanges website will be more secure than many peoples computers. However Youre placing a lot of trust in the exchange if you store your coins there. For example, you could lose your Bitcoin if the exchange were hacked, a rogue employee stole your private keys, or if the owners of the exchange took the money and ran.