What are the security risks to digital assets?
Any holder of digital assets must take steps to safeguard them, and there are a range of options with varying levels of security. Owners of crypto assets must also be as vigilant about scams and hacks that target them personally as they would be with traditional money. Best protection methods depend on how a user stores assets, and with which institutions, as both security and reliability differ widely in this burgeoning field. Over the past 10 years, there have been 126 big breaches, totaling $3.1bn, of crypto “wallets” (see below) and exchanges, according to data compiled by Crypto Head, an industry intelligence site. The average breach has cost about $25m. Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, remains the most targeted digital asset.
Where should I hold my digital assets?
Digital asset holders need their unique “private key”, a long password that serves a similar purpose to a bank-card PIN to unlock access to their crypto. It is vital not to lose or forget this private key. Decentralized digital assets are not guaranteed by banks and will not have a password reset hotline, meaning it is almost impossible to recover digital keys once lost. According to Chainalysis, a blockchain data provider, more than $100bn in bitcoin may have been lost in this way.
Continue reading: https://www.ft.com/content/6cea9227-aaa2-4850-ac7a-b2ca18cccbe3
Any holder of digital assets must take steps to safeguard them, and there are a range of options with varying levels of security. Owners of crypto assets must also be as vigilant about scams and hacks that target them personally as they would be with traditional money. Best protection methods depend on how a user stores assets, and with which institutions, as both security and reliability differ widely in this burgeoning field. Over the past 10 years, there have been 126 big breaches, totaling $3.1bn, of crypto “wallets” (see below) and exchanges, according to data compiled by Crypto Head, an industry intelligence site. The average breach has cost about $25m. Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, remains the most targeted digital asset.
Where should I hold my digital assets?
Digital asset holders need their unique “private key”, a long password that serves a similar purpose to a bank-card PIN to unlock access to their crypto. It is vital not to lose or forget this private key. Decentralized digital assets are not guaranteed by banks and will not have a password reset hotline, meaning it is almost impossible to recover digital keys once lost. According to Chainalysis, a blockchain data provider, more than $100bn in bitcoin may have been lost in this way.
Continue reading: https://www.ft.com/content/6cea9227-aaa2-4850-ac7a-b2ca18cccbe3
