5 ms·

Interesting point. I have some BTC at Coinbase. Not sure how I proceed to own the keys?

by kxr 11y ago

usmannk 11y ago
Get another wallet (such as hive) and send the BTC from Coinbase to that.
- bennyg 11y ago
  I recommend https://electrum.org https://electrum.org, even though the website doesn't look super awesome. You'll get a "seed" that generates your keys that is 12 words long. It looks something like this: "help staple correct horse ..." From there, just store that seed somewhere secure and you can use that to generate your keys whenever you want, on any machine you want. Personally I keep my seed in two different safe-deposit boxes and one on (shameless plug) my own encrypted text app I made called Onions - http://onionsapp.github.io http://onionsapp.github.io.
  - StavrosK 11y ago
    Electrum is great, but not very easy to use (since it's desktop). Get Electrum, Mycelium or Breadwallet, depending on your platform. I've heard good things about GreenAddress, and I recommend a ledger hardware wallet. You can use the ledger with Electrum and Mycelium, so you can spend coins from desktop or mobile. I've also imported my Mycelium wallet onto my second ledger, just so I can move coins from the desktop.
    - Advaith 11y ago
      Ledger is pretty good for the price tag it has. It is simlple yet effective. Trezor is a worthy mention since it can be used anywhere(even on an infected computer) whereas you need to setup the ledger on a secure host.
      - StavrosK 11y ago
        > whereas you need to setup the ledger on a secure host Hmm, really? Why? The ledger sets up its own private key as well.
- fonosip 11y ago
  For Mac get the PRO Bitcoin Offline Vault https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pro-bitcoin/id1003923093?ls=1&mt=12 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pro-bitcoin/id1003923093?ls=...
- barmstrong 11y ago
  Coinbase lets you control your own private keys: https://www.coinbase.com/multisig https://www.coinbase.com/multisig
aianus 11y ago
We offer multisig wallets so you can enjoy the convenience of using Coinbase while still maintaining full control over (a majority of) the private keys: https://www.coinbase.com/multisig https://www.coinbase.com/multisig
wmeredith 11y ago
I do as well. What's wrong with leaving it there?
- stonemetal 11y ago
  In general nothing. In specific there is no FDIC for bitcoins so if a MtGox type situation happens then you have no coins.
  - dragonwriter 11y ago
    There's no FDIC providing government backed insurance for most commodities, or for non-bank accounts in fiat currency (e.g., those you'd have with a typical brokerage), so I'm not sure bitcoin is really fundamentally different than most commodities as a speculative investment So for a speculative trader, I dont e that holding keys if any more essential than physically holding goods is for physical commodities; you obviously have to account for trust/security of the entity serving as your agent/broker, but that's typical. Now, holding the keys may be essential to realizing some of the benefits of bitcoin which drive is value to some users, but for people investing in bitcoin, that may be peripheral to the purpose.
    - gohrt 11y ago
      There's a qualitative difference between "I own stock that might become worthless" and "I own a security that someone could just take from me because they notice my deed just sitting somewhere unprotected." If someone steals my Schwab account contents for Schwab's servers, I can call on the government for help; and the stock market bookkeeping system has the technical ability restore my shares to me. If someone gets a copy of my wallet key, I've got no recourse unless (unlikely) someone can track down the obfuscated thief.
      - dragonwriter 11y ago
        > If someone steals my Schwab account contents for Schwab's servers, I can call on the government for help If someone steals your bitcoin from an exchange, you can call on the government for help, too. If the exchange itself is completely insolvent, that may not be effective recourse, and that risk is certainly greater for the kind of firms people have been dealing with in the bitcoin space, which often aren't held by their customers to the same standards that customers of similar services for commodities other than bitcoin would hold companies to. That's my point: the lack of recourse isn't essential to bitcoin (yes, holding the keys is like holding cash, and not holding the keys is giving something up just like not holding cash is -- but we deal with other businesses with accounts denominated in national currencies without holding all the cash ourselves all the time, and have recourse available for losses.) The lack of accountability is because the firms people choose to do business with are, compared to the firms that people do other financial business with, shady fly-by-night operators.
bdcravens 11y ago
Short answer: get your own wallet (software/paper/hardware) and transfer BTC from Coinbase to that address.

Interesting point. I have some BTC at Coinbase. Not sure how I proceed to own the keys?

by kxr 11y ago

Interesting point. I have some BTC at Coinbase. Not sure how I proceed to own the keys?

usmannk 11y ago

Get another wallet (such as hive) and send the BTC from Coinbase to that.

bennyg 11y ago
I recommend https://electrum.org https://electrum.org, even though the website doesn't look super awesome. You'll get a "seed" that generates your keys that is 12 words long. It looks something like this: "help staple correct horse ..." From there, just store that seed somewhere secure and you can use that to generate your keys whenever you want, on any machine you want. Personally I keep my seed in two different safe-deposit boxes and one on (shameless plug) my own encrypted text app I made called Onions - http://onionsapp.github.io http://onionsapp.github.io.
- StavrosK 11y ago
  Electrum is great, but not very easy to use (since it's desktop). Get Electrum, Mycelium or Breadwallet, depending on your platform. I've heard good things about GreenAddress, and I recommend a ledger hardware wallet. You can use the ledger with Electrum and Mycelium, so you can spend coins from desktop or mobile. I've also imported my Mycelium wallet onto my second ledger, just so I can move coins from the desktop.
  - Advaith 11y ago
    Ledger is pretty good for the price tag it has. It is simlple yet effective. Trezor is a worthy mention since it can be used anywhere(even on an infected computer) whereas you need to setup the ledger on a secure host.
    - StavrosK 11y ago
      > whereas you need to setup the ledger on a secure host Hmm, really? Why? The ledger sets up its own private key as well.
fonosip 11y ago
For Mac get the PRO Bitcoin Offline Vault https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pro-bitcoin/id1003923093?ls=1&mt=12 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pro-bitcoin/id1003923093?ls=...
barmstrong 11y ago
Coinbase lets you control your own private keys: https://www.coinbase.com/multisig https://www.coinbase.com/multisig

aianus 11y ago

We offer multisig wallets so you can enjoy the convenience of using Coinbase while still maintaining full control over (a majority of) the private keys: https://www.coinbase.com/multisig https://www.coinbase.com/multisig

wmeredith 11y ago

I do as well. What's wrong with leaving it there?

stonemetal 11y ago
In general nothing. In specific there is no FDIC for bitcoins so if a MtGox type situation happens then you have no coins.
- dragonwriter 11y ago
  There's no FDIC providing government backed insurance for most commodities, or for non-bank accounts in fiat currency (e.g., those you'd have with a typical brokerage), so I'm not sure bitcoin is really fundamentally different than most commodities as a speculative investment So for a speculative trader, I dont e that holding keys if any more essential than physically holding goods is for physical commodities; you obviously have to account for trust/security of the entity serving as your agent/broker, but that's typical. Now, holding the keys may be essential to realizing some of the benefits of bitcoin which drive is value to some users, but for people investing in bitcoin, that may be peripheral to the purpose.
  - gohrt 11y ago
    There's a qualitative difference between "I own stock that might become worthless" and "I own a security that someone could just take from me because they notice my deed just sitting somewhere unprotected." If someone steals my Schwab account contents for Schwab's servers, I can call on the government for help; and the stock market bookkeeping system has the technical ability restore my shares to me. If someone gets a copy of my wallet key, I've got no recourse unless (unlikely) someone can track down the obfuscated thief.
    - dragonwriter 11y ago
      > If someone steals my Schwab account contents for Schwab's servers, I can call on the government for help If someone steals your bitcoin from an exchange, you can call on the government for help, too. If the exchange itself is completely insolvent, that may not be effective recourse, and that risk is certainly greater for the kind of firms people have been dealing with in the bitcoin space, which often aren't held by their customers to the same standards that customers of similar services for commodities other than bitcoin would hold companies to. That's my point: the lack of recourse isn't essential to bitcoin (yes, holding the keys is like holding cash, and not holding the keys is giving something up just like not holding cash is -- but we deal with other businesses with accounts denominated in national currencies without holding all the cash ourselves all the time, and have recourse available for losses.) The lack of accountability is because the firms people choose to do business with are, compared to the firms that people do other financial business with, shady fly-by-night operators.

bdcravens 11y ago

Short answer: get your own wallet (software/paper/hardware) and transfer BTC from Coinbase to that address.