Two hot topics have been making waves both inside and outside the crypto world these past few days: 1. hardware wallets; 2. that brake pedal incident. Honestly, neither of them has made me feel much of anything.
Hardware wallets: I never planned to buy one. A friend got one a while back and offered it to me, but I turned it down and suggested he sell it on Xianyu if he wasn’t going to use it.
My crypto holdings aren’t exactly small—I’d count as a big player among retail investors—but I’ve never considered getting a hardware wallet. Even if I trust that the product itself is fine, I can’t guarantee that the one I receive is problem-free. Whenever the stakes are high enough, every step of the process carries risk.
Also, if I really needed cold storage, I’d rather use a clean old iPhone and a simple, clean, open-source wallet. If you still have an old iPhone lying around, like an iPhone 8, check whether it still turns on. It’s much more reliable than a hard drive or USB stick. Then I keep things strictly separate on my Mac: different browsers, wallets, and addresses; no random software or extensions. For me, that’s secure enough.
A lot of the so-called real risks come from people messing around recklessly themselves.
As for that brake pedal incident, I care even less. That includes all the online arguments about quickly assembled cars and old clunkers. I’ve never joined those debates online. We’re all adults: spend your own money how you want and buy whatever you like. Just be prepared to own the consequences of your choices and your own judgment. And, in a way, not casually getting involved in other people’s karma is a principle to live by, too.
Hardware wallets: I never planned to buy one. A friend got one a while back and offered it to me, but I turned it down and suggested he sell it on Xianyu if he wasn’t going to use it.
My crypto holdings aren’t exactly small—I’d count as a big player among retail investors—but I’ve never considered getting a hardware wallet. Even if I trust that the product itself is fine, I can’t guarantee that the one I receive is problem-free. Whenever the stakes are high enough, every step of the process carries risk.
Also, if I really needed cold storage, I’d rather use a clean old iPhone and a simple, clean, open-source wallet. If you still have an old iPhone lying around, like an iPhone 8, check whether it still turns on. It’s much more reliable than a hard drive or USB stick. Then I keep things strictly separate on my Mac: different browsers, wallets, and addresses; no random software or extensions. For me, that’s secure enough.
A lot of the so-called real risks come from people messing around recklessly themselves.
As for that brake pedal incident, I care even less. That includes all the online arguments about quickly assembled cars and old clunkers. I’ve never joined those debates online. We’re all adults: spend your own money how you want and buy whatever you like. Just be prepared to own the consequences of your choices and your own judgment. And, in a way, not casually getting involved in other people’s karma is a principle to live by, too.