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Protect your coins from fire and flood
Almost anyone buying and storing cryptocurrencies these days understands the importance of a good wallet.
Taking possession of your coins in a wallet you control is crucial.
As they say, “Not your keys, not your coins.”
Less well-known is how to properly backup your wallet. What do you do when your wallet is lost, stolen, or destroyed?
How Backups Work
When you set up your hardware wallet (like a Ledger) or a software wallet (like Jaxx), you will almost always be given a series of 12 to 24 words.
These words are seemingly random but actually come from a list known as BIP39. Your unique set of words essentially translate to your wallet’s private key.
If for any reason you cannot use your wallet anymore, you can input these words into another wallet and get your coins back.
How Most People Backup Their Wallet
In most cases, people quickly jot their words down on a piece of paper.
Sometimes people even write them down on their phone or take a picture of a piece of paper.
This is problematic for several reasons.
- Keeping the words in a picture or a note on your phone means anyone with access to your phone can steal your crypto. All they need to do is hack your phone and get physical access to it. YOU SHOULD NEVER DO THIS!
- Even if you only keep the words on a piece of paper, you have to worry about losing the paper or it being destroyed in a fire or flood.
How You SHOULD Back Up Your Wallet
That’s where a product like the Billfodl comes in.
With Billfodl, you store your seed in something called 316 stainless steel.
This steel is Fireproof and waterproof, which means that if your house burns down or floods, your backup will be protected.
A piece of paper, on the other hand, won’t survive.
And without your wallet or your backup, your funds are lost forever.
How Does Billfodl Work?
Each Billfodl comes with a stainless steel housing unit and several tile sheets.
The tile sheets allow you to punch out pre-engraved tiles to recreate your recovery phrase (also known as a ‘seed phrase’).
After opening the main unit, you slide in each tile one-by-one.
You will notice that there are only four slots for each word. That is OK!
You only need the first four letters of each word because every word on the BIP39 list is unique within four letters.
After sliding in each tile and double-checking that your Billfodl matches your recovery phrase, you close the Billfodl and put it somewhere no one will find it.
Make sure to burn the paper containing your seed phrase so no one finds it in the trash.
Do You Need a Billfodl?
You may be wondering “Do I Really Need This?”
The answer really depends.
If you only have a few dollars in crypto, then it may not justify the price of the Billfodl.
If you are storing a few weeks’ salary in crypto, then it is probably a good idea to have a stainless steel backup like a Billfodl.
All in all though, a quality steel wallet backup is cheap insurance on crypto assets that are worth a lot to you.
Best of all, it gives you peace of mind knowing that even if your wallet is destroyed, your backup is safe.
Conclusion
Just remember that the greatest risk to your funds is you and how you handle your backups. Famed crypto educator Andreas Antounoupoulous put it best:
So do yourself a favor and pick up a Billfodl before it’s too late!
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