The bear market has inspired the little guy to accumulate vast amounts of Bitcoin (BTC). The number of wallets holding 1 BTC or more recently hit new highs while those with 10 BTC or less are setting accumulation records. However, to what extent are these newly minted “wholecoiners” taking custody of their private keys? Has the recent spate of insolvency among centralized exchanges (CEX) encouraged Bitcoin enthusiasts to move their Bitcoin into cold storage, removed from third party risk? For Checkmate, lead analyst at Glassnode, the data would point to this result. Checkmate told Cointelegraph, “Overall looks like, at least …

The cryptocurrency exchange Binance is making a move in the hardware wallet industry, with its venture capital arm investing in the cold wallet platform Ngrave. Binance Labs has made a strategic investment in the Belgian hardware wallet firm Ngrave and will lead its upcoming Series A round, the firm officially announced on Nov. 21. Founded in Belgium in 2018, Ngrave specializes in self-custody, providing a security suite comprising three major elements, including connectionless hardware wallet Zero, key backup tool Graphene and the Liquid mobile app. Yi He, co-founder of Binance and head of Binance Labs, pinpointed that security remains one …

Following the collapse of FTX and the bank run on crypto exchanges in general, self-custody Trust Wallet is gaining momentum. In one week, the company launched the long-anticipated browser extension and collaborated with Binance, whose users can now transfer their funds directly to a Trust Wallet account. On Nov. 14, Trust Wallet launched its browser extension, now available in Google Chrome and Opera browsers. The extension lets users store, send and receive crypto across all EVM chains and Solana. A network auto-detect function provides users with a seamless dApp experience without the need to manually add networks. The extension also …

Amid growing concerns over centralized cryptocurrency exchanges in the wake of the FTX crisis, investors are increasingly moving to hardware crypto wallets. A major hardware wallet provider, Trezor, has recorded a major uptick in wallet sales in the aftermath of the FTX contagion, the firm’s brand ambassador Josef Tetek told Cointelegraph on Nov. 15. Trezor saw its sales revenue surging 300% week-on-week and it’s still growing, Tetek reported. The platform has also recorded a significant spike in its website traffic, which increased 350% over the same period, the exec noted. According to Tetek, Trezor is quite certain that the uptick …

Hardware-based cryptocurrency wallet provider Ledger has experienced some issues due to massive outflows from crypto exchanges amid the FTX bloodbath, according to its chief technology officer. Ledger saw a “massive usage” of their platforms and suffered a “few scalability challenges” on Nov. 9, Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet reported in a statement on Twitter. Guillemet reasoned Ledger’s issues by the outcomes of the ongoing crisis of a major global cryptocurrency exchange, FTX. The CTO said that crypto investors have been increasingly offloading their holdings from crypto exchanges to Ledger, stating: “ After the FTX earthquake, there's a massive outflow from exchanges …

A crypto wallet provider has unveiled fresh, new branding as part of its quest to deliver an even better user experience. Founded in 2018, SafePal is a Singapore-based company that provides secure and easy-to-use wallet solutions for the masses. It is the first wallet incubated and invested by Binance Labs, the venture arm of Binance. With a mission to make crypto secure and simple for everyone, SafePal has built comprehensive crypto asset management solutions — including hardware wallets, mobile wallets, extension wallets, cross-chain swaps, trading services and more. At present, the business supports 48 blockchains and 15 languages — serving …

As crypto ownership becomes more and more common, holders will need to think about how they protect and hold their assets. The safest option is storing cryptocurrency in a personal wallet. Crypto wallets are programs that allow users to store, send and receive cryptocurrency. Each wallet has a private key that allows the wallet to be spent. Private keys are cryptographic strings of code that allow owners to spend the funds inside a wallet, as well as prove ownership. Wallet information is also stored offline, reducing the risk of a hacking attempt. Everyday non-technical crypto users can benefit from the …

Ethereum's blockchain Merge is expected to take place around 05:05 UTC on Sept. 15. It is a milestone that marks a full transition towards Proof-of-Stake (PoS) for Ethereum, and eliminates the need for energy-intensive mining by a projected 99.9% when compared to Proof of Work (PoW). Some miners are also getting ready for a hard fork that would allow them to continue using PoW consensus. Forked coins have proven to be lucrative in the past. The holders of Ethereum (ETH), for example, came to possess an equivalent amount of Ethereum Classic (ETC) when it forked in 2016. In the event …

Hardware walletcompany Trezor is moving to enable direct crypto purchases with a new partnership with the crypto fintech startup MoonPay. Trezor, Czech Republic-based hardware wallet provider, has partnered with MoonPay to allow its customers to buy crypto directly in their hardware wallet, according to an announcement on Wednesday. Backed by major industry investors including Tiger Global and Coatue, MoonPay is a crypto payment service, allowing users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) using debit cards, credit cards and other payment methods. In April 2022, the firm raised $87 million from investors like Justin Bieber and Snoop Dogg …

How to keep your seed phrase safe A crypto seed phrase in the wrong hands can do damage, so it is advisable to always ensure it is safe. The following are some tips for ensuring your seed phrase is secure. Never share your seed with anyone else: It’s extremely important that you never reveal your recovery phrase to anyone. Why? Because if someone else finds out your recovery phrase, they will be able to access — and therefore control — your crypto funds. Make a note of it on paper and keep it in a secure location: This is the …

The rise of decentralized services and hardware security wallets means that we no longer need to rely on intermediaries to manage our financial assets and data, according to CEO Pascal Gauthier of hardware wallet Ledger, who has urged people to take on more responsibility. Speaking to Cointelegraph at Surfin’ Bitcoin 2022 on Aug. 25, Gauthier said that the recent collapse of centralized exchanges has showcased why investors shouldn’t rely on intermediaries to manage their digital assets. While most actors are well intended, Gauthier said “the [crypto] industry is too young”, the current state of the economy is “under stress” and …

Searching for more evidence that self-custody of your cryptocurrency holdings beats a centralized manager? Look to the latest action by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The agency sent a letter to FTX Exchange this month — along with four other entities — that included a cease and desist order for “false and misleading statements.” Namely, it accused the exchange of falsely implying that user funds were FDIC-insured. It could have turned into an ugly situation if customers expected — but did not receive — a certain level of protection in the event of catastrophic failure. It’s difficult to ascertain …