NEW to Cold Wallets? (Watch This First)

I got my first cold wallet over 5 years

ago. Since then, I've tested and

reviewed over 30 wallets from 20

different brands. I never set out to be

the cold wallet guy, but here we are.

So, in this video, I'm going to show you

the six biggest mistakes people make

when choosing a cold wallet, along with

some mistakes you need to avoid when you

actually start using one. So, the first

biggest mistake I see people make with

cold wallets is thinking that it holds

your crypto. It doesn't. One of the most

common questions I get asked is, "What

happens if my wallet breaks or I lose

it? do I lose my crypto? And the simple

answer is no, you don't. Crypto only

exists in one place, the blockchain.

Without the blockchain, there's no

crypto. So apps like Robin Hood,

exchanges like Coinbase, and wallets

like MetaMask don't actually hold any

crypto. They're more like tools that you

use to access your crypto. When you set

up a crypto wallet, you get a seed

phrase. That seed phrase is the master

key to all of your crypto on the

blockchain. That also means if someone

gets a hold of your seed phrase, then

they can also access all of your crypto.

So, if your goal is to protect your

crypto, what you really need to keep

secure is a seed phrase. And as long as

you have your seed phrase, you'll always

be able to access your crypto by

importing it into another wallet. So,

then what's the point of a cold wallet?

Well, here's a difference. On a crypto

exchange, the company owns the seed

phrase, which means they own and control

your crypto. With a hot wallet or a

software wallet, your seed phrase is

stored in the software, exposed to the

internet, malware, and spyware and all

the other online threats. On a cold

wallet, your seed phrase is stored

offline in a secure hackproof

environment. That's the difference. But

it doesn't stop there. A cold wallet is

the only way that you can actually

securely sign transactions in an offline

environment. You can't do that on a

crypto exchange and you can't do that

with a hot wallet. Okay, the next

mistake is believing that your crypto is

100% safe just because you're using a

cold wallet. A cold wallet will protect

your seed phrase from hackers and

malware and scammers, but it won't

protect you from yourself. Here's what I

mean. A lot of people believe if your

seed phrase is safe, then your crypto is

untouchable, which is true unless you

sign a bad transaction. And this is one

of the most common ways people lose

money in crypto. On blockchains like

Ethereum, many actions like swapping

crypto, buying an NFT, claiming an

airdrop requires you to sign a digital

contract. That contract is just an

agreement between your wallet and the

platform that you're using. If the

platform is safe, then the contract is

generally considered safe. But scammers

will build fake websites to trick you.

And if you approve their contract,

you're not just letting them take a

small amount of crypto from your wallet.

you're giving them full access to the

account in your wallet so that they can

steal all of your crypto. It's called a

malicious contract approval. So, how do

you protect yourself? Well, you need to

treat your coal wallet like a savings

account. It's where you keep the bulk of

your crypto. So, you can safely send and

receive crypto using your co wallet. And

you can also use the wallet's native app

to do things like buy, sell, and swap

crypto. That's completely safe. But you

never want to connect it to external

websites and transact on those. So, if

you want to use a decentralized

exchange, visit an NFT marketplace or

claim airdrops, just use a hot wallet

for that or even a separate cold wallet,

but always keep your main cold wallet

completely separate from these risky

transactions. If you do that, your

crypto will be safe and it will be

untouchable. Okay, the next mistake is

thinking that cold wallets are only for

people who have a lot of money in

crypto. I hear it all the time. I don't

have enough crypto yet. I'll get a cold

wallet later. This is the wrong way to

think about it. A cold wallet isn't just

for people with five, six, or even seven

figures in crypto. It's for anyone who

owns crypto. Period. In fact, you

shouldn't even own crypto until you have

a cold wallet. Why? Because owning a

cold wallet means that you understand

the basic core fundamentals of crypto

and the importance of offline

self-custodial storage, which you should

know before you put money into the

market. Remember, not your keys, not

your crypto. And whether you have $200

or $200,000, you want to protect it. the

same way. And a lot of people don't

realize how quickly that small amount of

crypto can grow much larger. It could

double, triple, even turn into thousands

of dollars. So the question is, will it

still be there when that happens or will

it be gone because you didn't have

enough to keep it safe at the time? And

here's the reality. Hackers and scammers

aren't sitting around saying, "Oh, this

guy only has a few hundred in his

wallet. Let's leave him alone." No. if

they can get access to your crypto,

they're going to and they're going to

take every last penny. So, no, a cold

wallet isn't just for rich people. Kind

of like a retirement account also isn't

just for rich people. It's for people

who want to store their assets in a

secure location while they increase in

value. Okay, this next mistake is huge

and that's believing that there is a

single best coal wallet. I get asked

this question every single day. What's

the best coal wallet? The truth is there

isn't one. None of them are perfect and

best is subjective. But that doesn't

mean that there isn't a best option out

there for you. You just have to know how

to find it. So, how do you figure out

which wallet is best for you? Well, the

first thing I always check is what I

call the two deal breakers. By checking

off these two things, you can quickly

eliminate a lot of options. The first

deal breaker is coin support. Does the

wallet support the cryptocurrencies that

you want to secure with it? If it

doesn't, it doesn't matter how good that

wallet is because you won't be able to

use it. Always check this first. Second

deal breaker, device compatibility. Does

it work with your phone, your computer,

both, whatever you prefer and have at

home. Some wallets like Tandem are

mobile only, while other wallets like

Treasure only work plugged into your

computer. So, you need to figure out

which one you prefer and which one works

with your devices. Once you narrow it

down with those two things, then you can

look at the other two important factors,

security and simplicity. After testing

over 30 cold wallets, here's what I've

learned. They all do the same thing.

They all store your key offline and

allow you to sign transactions in a

secure environment. That said, security

is an equal across all the different

options. The most secure wallets use

secure element chips to prevent attacks.

This is the same kind of chip found in

your bank card. They go through

independent security audits to make sure

there are no back doors. They offer a

bug bounty program to incentivize

ethical hackers to find vulnerabilities.

And they have a proven track record from

years of real world use. Also, crypto is

already complicated enough. We don't

need our wallets to make it harder. So,

when it comes to simplicity, a simple

wallet is easy to set up, has a clean

app, and connects to your external

devices through USBC, Bluetooth, or NFC

without any friction. And that's where

best becomes more of a personal

preference. So don't waste time in

online debates about what the best

wallet is. Focus on your needs. Coin

support, device compatibility, security,

and simplicity. Do that and you'll find

the best wallet for you. That said, if

you are new to cold wallets, there is

one wallet that I recommend in

particular that I've been using for the

past 3 years and that I've recommended

to thousands of people here on the

channel who are also happy users, and

that's Tandem. Even if you've never used

a Cobal before, Tandem only takes a

couple minutes to set up using nothing

but your phone and the Tandem card.

There's no cables or firmware updates or

batteries that you have to charge. It

basically eliminates all the confusing

stuff that keeps most beginners away

from cold storage and leaves you with a

wallet that just works. It also supports

more cryptocurrencies and blockchain

networks than most wallets that I've

tested. So, you don't have to stress

about whether or not this will support

the crypto you own. Of course, you

should still check. Security-wise, it

uses the highest grade secure element

chip designed by Samsung. And here's a

cool part. Out of the 6 million cards

Tandem has shipped since 2017, not a

single one has been hacked. But the

Tandem app is the best thing about this

wallet. It feels like you're just using

a bank app. And you can do everything in

the app that you need to. You can buy,

sell, swap, and even stake crypto and

even manage multiple Tangent wallets in

one app. It's perfect if you want to set

up a separate savings account for your

crypto from your spending account. And

it's the only wallet I've seen

subscribers buy for their kids to safely

introduce them into the whole crypto

ecosystem. And I've received comments

from people over 65 saying it's the only

wallet they've been able to set up on

their own without any issues, which is

crazy to me. So, if you're new and you

don't want to sacrifice security for

simplicity, I'll leave a link with a

discount down in the description along

with a step-by-step tutorial for how to

use this wallet. if you're interested.

Okay, this next mistake is what I call

analysis paralysis. I've had several of

you comment on the channel for months

saying that you're still looking for the

perfect wallet all while your crypto is

sitting there at risk. And then there's

the people who buy a cold wallet and

never even take it out of the box.

They're in love with the idea of

securing their crypto, but the fear of

making a mistake paralyzes them from

even setting it up. If you get a wallet

that matches your experience level and

you use the tips from the last section

to choose that wallet, you'll be fine.

The setup process is basically the same

for every wallet. You download the

wallet's app, you connect your wallet,

you create a password, you generate a

seed phrase, and that's it. Even sending

crypto is easier than most people

realize. You copy the receiving address

from your cold wallet. You paste it into

the send address on the crypto exchange

or the hot wallet. You enter the amount

you want to send. You hit send and yeah,

it's super easy. It's like sending an

email. And if you're nervous, just do

what I did when I got my first coal

wallet and start small. You don't have

to send all your crypto at once. You can

do a small test transaction of $20 and

just go at your own pace. And when I

bought my first coal wallet, there was

no one there to hold my hand. There

weren't even any tutorials online

really. I had to figure it all out

myself. And if I can figure it out, you

for sure can figure it out, too. So,

don't let the fear of making a mistake

stop you. The risk isn't making a

mistake. The risk is not taking any

action. Okay, the next mistake is

recording your seed phrase incorrectly.

Almost every coal wallet comes with this

seed phrase sheet where you can write

down your seed phrase. This is fine

temporarily, but to secure something

that you want to keep longterm, you need

something a little more durable. And

let's be honest, it's a piece of paper.

It could burn. You could spill your

coffee on it. Your dog could chew it up.

That's happened before. So, you need

something that will protect your seed

phrase because if you lose your seed

phrase, well, you can't access your

crypto. That's why I always recommend

going back to the basics and upgrading

to a metal seed phrase plate. This is

waterproof, corrosion proof, fireproof.

Um, my favorite one is this one is

called the Keystone Tablet Plus, and

I'll leave a link in discount code in

the description to this, but really, you

can just go to Amazon and order

whichever one you like. You don't have

to get this one. But no matter how you

store your seed phrase, the other and

most important part, even more important

than this, is ensuring that you wrote it

down correctly in the first place. Now,

most wallets will have a section where

you reenter the seed phrase after you

set it up so that you can double check

it, but you just want to double check

while you're writing it down that you

wrote it down in the exact chronological

order. And that way, you'll always have

access to your crypto. And please never

take a screenshot of your seed phrase or

put it in the notes app on your phone or

even in an encrypted file. That's like

the equivalent of putting the key to

your house under the doormat. Everyone

knows it's there. That said, if you're

still unsure whether a co wallet is

right for you or you have questions I

didn't cover, I share everything I've

learned over the last 5 years about coal

wallets in this next video to help make

your decision easier. I'll see you over

there. God bless.