by Alexander Romero 
You bought your first Bitcoin ou another cryptocurrency like Litecoin, Dash, Ethereum, Monero, Safex, Mybit, etc…
So, you ask yourself what I do with it now and where I can store my cryptocurrencies, how can I store Bitcoin?
Let’s see how to store and secure cryptocurrencies.
The CryptoCurrency can be a real jungle when you discover it, it’s all new and you need to learn how to buy Bitcoin, where to buy CryptoCurrencies and then how to store them and keep your Bitcoin safe!
So, where or how to keep your Bitcoins and Cryptocurrencies safe?
Well, first, don’t leave your Bitcoins and Cryptocurrencies on exchanges!
Exchanges websites can be hacked, some have been hacked in the past like the famous Mt Gox story and some will be hacked in the future.
Hacking means that your coins and crypto could be stolen, most exchanges do not insure the cryptocurrencies sitting in their website.
So, you need to withdraw your Bitcoins and Cryptocurrencies from the exchange to an external wallet.
It can be a wallet on your computer, mobile phone, USB key, Ledger Nano, Paper Wallet or a wallet on a decentralized wallet provider on internet like Myetherwallet.
How to choose a wallet for your bitcoins or cryptocurrencies?
If you only have Bitcoins, there is a lot of choice when it comes to bitcoin wallets.
It will depend how confident you are with each bitcoin or crypto storage solution.
If you think you can keep your computer or your mobile phone safe from virus and phishing attacks then you can choose to download a desktop wallet for bitcoin or for other cryptocurrencies.
Here is a list of bitcoin and crypto wallets:
Electrum
Coinbase
Exodus
MyCelium
Ethos
blockchain.info
You can also download the wallet related to the cryptocurrency you bought, some tokens have a wallet for their crypto holders, check out their website if they have one available to download.
Download one of them and start using it to withdraw your bitcoins from exchanges.
Some wallet like Electrum are only for Bitcoin, depending on what cryptocurrencies you bought, you have to check if the wallet can store your cryptocurrencies.
But remember that you need to store your private keys in a safe place, not on your computer as one day someone could have access to it and find your private keys.
Your private keys are like the main key to access your bitcoins or cryptocurrencies, it’s a long password hard to memorize.
Keep your private keys on different USB keys for example or on a Paper Wallet, a paper wallet is your private keys printed on a piece of paper that you need to store in a safe place.
Never forget that if you loose your private keys, you will never have access to your bitcoins or cryptocurrencies anymore !
If your cryptocurrency is an ERC20 coin.
An ERC20 is a cryptocurrency compatible with the Ethereum blockchain, so it means that you can store any ERC20 token on any Ethereum Address.
You can read our article here on what is an ERC20 Token:
https://bitcoincryptoadvice.com/what-is-an-erc20-token
If you have an Ethereum address, you can send any ERC20 token to this address and store them there.
You can also use MyEtherWallet website, it provides a wallet for ERC20 tokens: https://www.myetherwallet.com.
Finally and probably the most secured solution to store your bitcoins and cryptocurrencies.
An External Secured Ledger wallet.
Ledger is the world leader in external secured crypto wallet.
The best aspect being that there is a backup solution if you lose your Ledger Nano Wallet which is not the case for a basic USB key or a paper wallet for example.
The price is very affordable for the security it provides for your bitcoins and cryptocurrencies! Ledger.com.
If your cryptocurrency is not compatible to any of the wallets on the market:
It means that you need to store your cryptocurrency on the wallet provided by the cryptocurrency company who issued your token.
Look on their website to download their wallet on your computer or mobile phone.
So, now you know how to store your bitcoins and cryptocurrencies and how to keep your coins safe.
They are not safe on a crypto exchange in case of hacking so withdraw your bitcoins and cryptocurrencies on your personal crypto wallet.
You also keep control on your bitcoins and cryptocurrencies, when they are on an exchange, the exchange controls your cryptocurrencies like a bank controls your money!
If you have not bought any Bitcoin or cryptocurrency, you can read this article to learn more about where to buy cryptocurrencies: https://bitcoincryptoadvice.com/where-to-buy-cryptocurrencies/
