What are the safest ways to store Bitcoin?

Many consider exchanges to offer fewer advantages when it comes to storing your Bitcoin, as they can lack desired levels of security and can be expensive to make withdrawals.

But first, let’s discover more about exchanges.

A crypto exchange is an online platform that provides crypto custody services to its customers. To put it simply, customers can deposit and store their Bitcoin and other supported cryptocurrencies in the online wallet provided by the platform and then manage their cryptocurrencies online. 

Storing Bitcoin on an exchange can be convenient. However, it can represent more risks such as hacks or theft. As you don’t own your wallet’s private keys—the equivalent of the password needed to access your funds—you can lose your funds if the platform gets hacked or shuts down, for example.

Luckily, some exchanges are more secure and trustworthy than others and implement better security measures to keep their customers’ Bitcoin safe. This is why you need a thorough understanding of the exchanges you might consider.

We often hear that storing crypto in your own hard wallet is safer than holding it on an exchange.

By holding crypto in your own personal hard wallet, no one else has access to your private keys besides you. This means that you are the only one that can access your crypto which limits the risks of hacks and theft. However, this also means that you should be extremely careful with your private keys and the way you access your hardware wallet. If you lose your keys or someone steals them, it’s most likely that you will never be able to recover your funds. 

There are also risks like damaging your hardware wallet beyond repair, losing it, or having it stolen from you. 

So, is it better to keep crypto on a hard wallet? Well, it depends on how you want to use your crypto. If you value security above all else, have the knowledge of how to handle the risks that come with using this option and are holding your crypto for the long run, then it might be best to keep it in a personal hard wallet.

But there is another way. Xapo Bank makes use of some of the most robust security measures available, storing your Bitcoin with extreme levels of security, while still giving you the freedom and flexibility to access it with ease and whenever you want.

By becoming a Xapo Bank member, you enjoy best-in-class security, as well as transactability with your Bitcoin Wallet. The cherry on top? Get a Bitcoin Savings account and you’ll earn 0.9% annual interest on your BTC deposits, with interest paid out daily*.

Yes, it’s safe to store your Bitcoin with Xapo Bank. We established ourselves as a pioneer of crypto custody in 2013, and since then, we’ve never been hacked or breached.

This is because we have always implemented industry-leading security measures to keep our members' Bitcoin safe and how we’ve been known as the Fort Knox of Bitcoin.

Today, as the first ever fully regulated crypto-native bank, we’re still on the frontier of advanced security, constantly improving our measures. As a licensed bank and VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) in Gibraltar, we adhere to strict regulatory frameworks and implement institutional-grade security. We also offer uncompromised financial protection to our members with one of the world’s largest Bitcoin reverses and a fiat deposit guarantee scheme for eligible deposits up to the USD equivalent of EUR 100,000.

Apply for a Xapo Bank membership today and enjoy unmatched security and protection of your assets.

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*The Annual Interest Rate offered on both USD and Bitcoin deposits is variable and may change at any time. Please see our Interest FAQs for more information. Interest on Bitcoin deposits will only be paid on balances of 5 BTC or less. For more information visit our Help Centre.