You need to take Bitcoin security seriously
TL;DR: If you don’t secure your bitcoin it could get stolen. Would-be thieves have become experts at tricking people into giving them access to their Bitcoin wallet. That means they are gone forever.
Read on to learn why securing your Bitcoin is essential.
Bitcoin is different. More Control. More Risk.
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are unlike any electronic financial instrument that existed before they were invented. This is because unlike everything else (dollars, stocks, etc.) Bitcoin does not rely on a third party to process the transaction. This is great for your financial sovereignty, but it also means there are new risks for the user.
In the legacy financial system, if you send dollars using a third party like your bank account, or a payment app, to someone by accident, or if a hacker gains access to your account and tries to send themselves dollars, all is not lost.
That dollar transaction happened on the internal ledgers maintained by one or many companies. So, this means that in theory those companies can see what happened and unwind your transaction. Before Bitcoin, transacting through companies was the only way to send money online. Most of us have come to expect this kind of safety net.
Bitcoin transactions are final.
The magic of Bitcoin and all other cryptocurrencies is that they do not have a company processing the transaction. When you send Bitcoin from your wallet, your transaction is set to a global network of miners, who then add your transaction to the master list of transactions called the Bitcoin blockchain (the namesake of Blockchain.com). You will never know who those miners are and the blockchain is permanent.
What does this mean? Well, for one thing, Bitcoin is the first way to send money online that no one can stop. When you control your private key, you have total control of your money. Blockchain.com gives you the tools to do that with our Private Key Wallet and Exchange Wallet.
If you use your wallet to make a transaction on the Bitcoin network, absolutely no one, not even us, can stop it.
This also means that if someone else gains access to your wallet and makes a transaction, we cannot reverse it. It has been broadcast to the network and will be there for eternity.
This means that ultimately the security of your Wallet — and your crypto — lies in your hands. If someone gains access to your wallet, there is no recourse. We cannot undo the transaction. No one can undo the transaction.
Think of it like cash in your wallet. If you drop the wallet and someone takes the cash, it is gone forever.
Now that you know why you must secure your Bitcoin, read more to learn how to avoid scams & phishing.
You need to take Bitcoin security seriously was originally published in @blockchain on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
