After seeing this great post by @crypt0 on How To Access The Bitcoin Cash (BCH / BCC) On Your Ledger Nano S, I figured it was time to modernize and buy a hardware wallet.
Since 2013, I've been a big fan of paper wallets. If created correctly via sites like bitaddress.org, they can be completely secure and fully disconnected from the Internet.
To learn how to create your own paper wallets and send to them from an exchange like Coinbase, see Understanding Blockchain Freedom episode 004.
Paper wallets can also be a pain in the butt if you're trying to move things around quickly and your usual tools for importing them like blockchain.info aren't available to you because your phone died, and it takes weeks to disable 2FA there.
So I spent the ~$200 on Amazon with same day delivery and got a Ledger Nano S. I was disappointed to realize I couldn't import private keys to it directly, but I was able to get Electrum working and imported my paper wallet keys that way. Note: if you import keys instead of sweep them, be sure to send the entire amount to avoid issues with change addresses or future confusion concerning that address.
So here's what it looked like unboxing my very first hardware wallet for cryptocurrencies.
They made a point to not have a security seal on the box, which I thought was interesting. Not sure how I feel about that, but I like the idea behind the built-in security on the chip itself which ensures it hasn't been tampered with. I'm not an ASIC designer, so I don't know anything about all that, but what I've read online seems to say it's pretty nifty.
Once I got it configured, and I secured my recovery phrase as described in Episode 003: Safety and Security, I was able to play around a bit more.
I installed the Ledger Manager and upgraded the firmware first thing.
When it comes to embedded devices, it's really important to keep the firmware up-to-date. Security concerns are usually the worst here because they don't get as much attention as far as frequency of security updates.
After that, I installed both the Bitcoin and Ethereum Chrome apps. I was a bit confused to realize I had to also install the individual apps on the device itself for each coin I wanted to support using Ledger Manager. With that done, I was able to send my BTC and my Stratis to my new Nano!
With the recent Bitcoin price spike, I was also able to send money out from my Ledger to an exchange to play the market a bit. All-time-highs are often good times to sell a bit if you can be patient to buy back in later at a lower price (this isn't a trading advice blog, though, so don't hold me to that).
I love the security of this device in that all cryptographic signings happen on the device itself. It gives you a visual display to confirm the address and amount you're sending, before it signs and sends the transaction. I also like how quickly I can get access to my funds and how, if needed, I could easily wipe it by just putting in the wrong pass code three times in row (obviously, securing your backup phrase is critically important).
I have some more posts coming including how I got my Bitcoin Cash from my paper wallets without putting my bitcoin at risk as well as progress on running EOS in its current form.
Thanks for following this blog and voting for my witness. You are greatly appreciated!
Oh, I also wanted to mention, even though my witness has dropped a couple spots, we've increased quite a bit in terms of VESTed Shares voting for us! That means we're moving in the right direction, and more people are voting for witnesses. Thank you!
