The recent downfall of FTX and other exchanges looks sketchy. It would be best if you secured your crypto.
Unlike a regular bank, if you get your card stolen, you can get your money back. With crypto on the other hand. Unfortunately, you are out of luck. There is nobody that can return the crypto to you.
Do not store your crypto on an exchange. An exchange is not a bank. The only bank in crypto is you and your wallet. This is basic crypto 101. Anyone who tells you an exchange is safe is wrong. There is no reason even to risk your money leaving it on there.
How do I securely store my crypto, then?
I am going to explain the process from least to most secure.
Let's start with the free security and the most basic. Your main cell phone.
Everyone has a smartphone these days. While it's not the most secure way, it still is much safer than an exchange. You can download the mobile wallet onto your device. And set up your account there. When creating your wallet, make sure you are alone, and there are no cameras around you. Write down your 12 words. Do not take a photo of your 12 words or screenshots! This is a widespread mistake that leads to your wallet getting compromised. Most of the time, your images will automatically get uploaded to google photos or iCloud. Once someone sees your 12 words, it's game over. Make sure your phone is updated with the latest security updates.
Onto medium security, a spare phone
Most of you have a spare old phone you upgraded from. I ask you only to use this phone as a wallet for this approach. Only download the wallet software, and do not use the phone for anything else. Set up the wallet like above, ensuring the 12 words are safe and written down, with no photos or screenshots. Disable the wifi after, too, so there's no more network. Remove the sim card if it has one. You will only use this phone to send or receive crypto. Get into the habit of not using it for anything else.
Let's finish off with the best security—hardware wallets.
A hardware wallet is a physical device. Its only job is to be a wallet. These are designed with security in mind and implement many features to keep your crypto safe. For example, the ledger has a pin to protect it before signing any transactions. It will also "self-destruct, but still reusable" after ten wrong pins to prevent any brute force attempts. I won't go into detail about how to set these up, but they are relatively simple, like any mobile wallet. If you buy one, do not buy it from amazon. Please buy it from their official websites. I use Ledger https://www.ledger.com/.
I want to say your crypto is only as secure as your 12 words. If these words ever get exposed, it's over. So I recommend you write these down and hide them somewhere secure. There are safer ways to write these down, such as stamping them into the metal with the Cryptosteel capsule. In case of a house fire, the words will not be lost. But that could be for another blog.