Hackers and thieves are always looking for their next victim; you certainly don't want to be in their line of vision. In fact, it's probably safer to just stay unassuming and keep your investment a secret.
The easiest way for you to lose your coins is if you just keep them on an unsecured and unsafe digital wallet. This includes leaving your crypto on your exchange wallets.
There have been many instances of trading platforms getting hacked. The most famous example is the Japanbased Mt Gox bitcoin exchange which was hacked in 2014. At the time, Mt Gox was the world's leading bitcoin exchange. Approximately 850,000 bitcoins were declared missing, and these totaled almost $450 million in 2014 dollars which, quite obviously, was already a significant
amount. In today's dollars, 850,000 bitcoins would be worth billions. Many people lost their fortunes in an instant, simply because they trusted the platform and didnt move their bitcoins to more secure storage.
After the Mt Gox fiasco, bitcoin owners started being more careful with their cryptocurrencies, and paper wallets, and hardware wallets rose in popularity.
In terms of convenience, digital wallets are far more superior to paper or hardware wallets. All you need is an Internet connection, and youd have access to your crypto. You could log in to any web browser or your mobile wallet, and
you can easily make purchases anytime you want. While storing small amounts of crypto in online wallets is perfectly fine, it's best if you move the bulk of your crypto-wealth to offline storage.
Yes, offline or cold storage is less convenient, but it's definitely safer for you and your cryptocurrencies. This is why hardware wallets are selling like hotcakes right now. It's the best of both worlds basically. You're storing your crypto
offline, but if you need to make a transaction, say, you want to transfer a few coins to your online wallet, you can do so quickly just by plugging it into your computer.
Hardware wallets are very secure, and so far, we haven't read any
reports of hardware wallets getting hacked. You do need to shell out some cash though, but when you consider what youre electronically protecting, you can easily look beyond the price.
Like most things tech, the realm of cryptocurrency can be a bit complex to master and is still new to many. But the advantage of purchasing this currency is surely worth your investment in both time and money.