Crypto Wallets: Your Guide to Secure and Smart Storage | Webcast 53 Recap

Michael Angelo Biag of Cryptobilis PH discusses how to choose the right crypto wallet and how to keep it secure. 

One of the first things a beginner in the crypto industry does is create their own web3 wallet. 

• To help us understand more about a crypto wallet, the BitPinas Webcast has invited Michael Angelo Biag of Cryptobilis PH, a crypto commerce in Southeast Asia that offers a comprehensive range of top-tier hardware wallets, a unique line of swag, and vibrant community events.
• Check out the BitPinas Webcast here.

Watch the Webcast:

Basics of Crypto Wallet? 

• As explained by Biag, “your crypto wallet will allow you to buy and sell tokens and interact with applications on chain. And side note, wala sa wallet ang cryptocurrency mo, nasa blockchain siya.”
• There are two keys that are automatically created, and Biag compared them to traditional finance:
  • Public Key: “The public key of your wallet is like your bank account. Using your bank account, the bank can see your transactions, and anyone na may alam ng bank account mo can deposit money to your account. Using your public key, anyone can track your transactions and deposit crypto in your crypto wallet.”
  • Private Key: “The private key, on the other hand, ‘yan ang katumbas ng PIN code. Anyone who knows your PIN code can withdraw money from your account. Anyone who has access to your private key can withdraw crypto from your crypto wallet. And the private key can be interchanged with your seed phrase.”
• What are the types of crypto wallet?
  • Custodial Wallet: “Are wallets na may third-party na may hawak ng keys mo. Ganito usually ang centralized exchanges—sila ang may hawak ng private keys mo so you can buy, sell, and trade within their app.” 
  • Non-Custodial Wallets: “You are responsible for storing and managing your private keys. ‘Yung users na may non-custodial wallets ay parang may sariling bangko.”
    • Hot Wallets: “They usually require connecting to internet, like MetaMask, Phantom, Exodus. Iyan yung kapag gumawa ng wallet, ibibigay sayo yung private keys, pero they constantly connected sa internet.”
    • Cold Wallets: “Are physical devices na parang USB usually. It is disconnected from the internet. Cold wallets are hardware wallets.”

How to choose the best wallet? 

• Biag: “The best path would be, you’ll have an exchange wallet, you’ll have a hot wallet, you’ll have a hardware wallet so you’ll have access to everything, but at the same time an option for security.”
• He then advised that funds for trading should be in custodial wallets but long-term funds should be in non-custodial wallets. 
• Meanwhile, BitPinas EIC Michael Mislos suggested that if a trader is just starting, they can use hot wallets. However, if the funds are already expanding, then they can start transferring the assets to a hardware wallet. 

What are the best practices to secure a wallet?

• On hardware wallets: “Take care of it as how you would take care of your phone. ‘Wag mawawala, ‘wag mababasa, ‘wag mami-misplace.” 
• On private keys: 
  • As per the Cryptobilis PH co-owner, securing the seed phrase of a wallet will help the trader recover their assets even if the hardware wallet has been destroyed for an unexpected moment. 
  • “As best as you can, don’t make a digital footprint ng seed phrase niyo: walang picture, ‘wag niyong ilalagay sa notes, ‘wag niyong ise-send sa email niyo.”
  • “Make several copies para kahit magka-emergency at mawala ‘yung isa mong copy, may iba ka pa.” 
• According to Biag, though the trader’s computer has anti-virus, and the probability of their device getting hacked is low, it is not zero. This means there is still a chance that the data saved on the device might be stolen.
• He explained it after a question from the audience asked Biag if it is okay to save the seed phrase of a hot wallet like MetaMask to Google Docs. 

What are the advantages of using hardware wallets? 

• There are numerous advantages of cold wallets or hardware wallets, as expounded by Biag:
  • Security: “Because of the security and the layers of security that hardware wallets offer. First of all, it’s air gaps, meaning completely disconnected siya to the internet, which avoids possible attacks.”
  • Physical Interaction: “With the hardware wallet, you have to sign physically. So any transactions, you have to have the wallet to sign transactions.”

How to avoid crypto wallet phishing scam?

• According to Biag, phishing and human hacking are the most common frauds that bad actors do to steal funds. 
• Deception is also an active way of being used by these fraudsters. Within this fraud, they copy or mimic ‌legitimate platforms, and there is only one different letter from the name or link. 

This article is published on BitPinas: Crypto Wallets: Your Guide to Secure and Smart Storage | Webcast 53 Recap

What else is happening in Crypto Philippines and beyond?