In this article, readers can get the complete guide to storing their NFTs securely. With the growth of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and unique digital assets, it’s critical to figure out how to store them securely.
If you don’t have the knowledge of how to secure your own private keys, malicious hackers could steal all of your hard-earned crypto.
To help with this increasingly common challenge, we’ve put together this complete guide on how to store your NFTs securely.
This guide covers everything from using hardware wallets like the Ledger Nano S or Trezor to setting up cold storage solutions on an offline PC.
What is the safest way to storing your NFTs?
This guide provides a list of ways that you can store your NFTs, whether they are crypto or physical. Please note that storing items offline, especially as a beginner is more difficult than it sounds.
We recommend checking out different online forums (such as r/Decentraland) to get information from others in our community about their experiences storing their items and more info on what services are available for you to use.
The most important thing to remember when storing your NFTs is to make sure you have backups of all your keys. If someone gains access to one key, then all other keys will be compromised too! Once you read this article after that you can able to know which is the safest way to storing your NFTs.
Common NFT storage options
There are a lot of different places where you can store your crypto collectibles. Finding a safe place is important if you’re planning on holding on to your collection for any length of time since you don’t want them stolen, damaged, or destroyed.
In many cases, investors will choose either paper or digital wallets. The choice between these two is simple: paper wallets are great if you’re only planning on holding onto an asset for a short amount of time and digital wallets are best if you’re looking at long-term holdings.
To help you decide which storage option is right for you, here’s a quick rundown of each: Paper Wallets: Paper wallets are exactly what they sound like—crypto-assets printed out as hard copies.
They’re usually created by using software to randomly generate keys (which can then be printed out) and then storing those keys in some kind of physical container (like a piece of paper). Digital Wallets: A digital wallet is just an app that lets you manage your cryptocurrency assets digitally.
InterPlanetary File System (IPFS)
How does it work? InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is a peer-to-peer distributed file system that seeks to connect all computing devices with the same system of files.
In some ways, IPFS is similar to the Web, but IPFS could be seen as a single BitTorrent swarm, exchanging objects within one Git repository.
In technical terms, IPFS is a content-addressed block storage model and a new hypermedia distribution protocol, addressed by content and accessed via HTTP interfaces. The whole stack is completely decentralized without any central points of control.
Software wallets (Metamask)
Because many tokens were designed with digital goods in mind, storing your NFTs on a software wallet (Metamask) is generally a safe bet.
If you do choose Metamask, make sure you don’t lose your private key. Otherwise, there’s no recourse and you won’t be able to recover your tokens if they get stolen.
To protect against that loss, split up your portfolio between Ethereum wallets using unique private keys.
As long as one is hacked or compromised, it should have little impact on your overall portfolio. The more unique and secure keys you create and store offline (by using wallets like Trezor or Ledger), the better off you’ll be in terms of security.
Cold Storage Hardware Wallet (Ledger)
With a hardware wallet, you’re completely in control of your cryptocurrency. By storing your nfts on a Ledger Nano S, for example, you have complete ownership over them at all times.
Your private keys and passwords are never exposed because they’re stored securely inside a physical device—which means if someone got hold of it, they wouldn’t be able to access anything without your consent.
We recommend these wallets because they use multi-signature verification which adds an extra layer of security. The device itself is entirely isolated from any outside networks or connections while still being accessible when plugged into an internet-enabled device like a computer or smartphone. It’s unhackableand it doesn’t get more secure than that!
How to save yourself from NFT scams?
One of your first steps in storing your non-fungible tokens should be verifying you’re dealing with a reputable service provider.
It’s important to research your options, as there is no shortage of platforms out there ready to steal from or rip off unsuspecting users.
Crypto fanatics have fallen victim to everything from hacks and scams, which turn out is not all that uncommon in unregulated and unregulated cryptocurrency space.
That being said, it can be relatively easy to learn how to store safely by doing some basic due diligence before making a deposit.
We’ve put together some guidelines below on how not to get scammed while storing your NFTs. The best thing about storing your NFTs in decentralized exchanges (DEX) is that they allow for full control over private keys.
Decentralized exchanges use smart contracts, rather than an intermediary, to hold user funds and keep them safe from theft.
A huge benefit of decentralized exchanges is that users don’t need to give up custody of their private keys because they’re never stored by a third party as centralized exchanges require.
However, since DEX’s aren’t well known or established yet many people store their tokens on other centralized services such as Coinbase or Binance (centralized exchange).
If someone gets access to your account then they could easily take all of your crypto so its crucial you keep things secure!
Extra NFT security tips
Here are a few more tips for storing your nfts securely. Always store your nfts offline. Consider purchasing a hardware wallet.
Hardware wallets are widely considered to be among the most secure options for crypto storage and function similar to a USB flash drive or external hard drive.
These devices hold your private keys, and keep them safe and offline, which means even if hackers were able to access your computer’s files, they still wouldn’t be able to access or steal your cryptocurrency without first stealing (or hacking) your hardware wallet as well.
Conclusion
Once you have a basic understanding of how to properly store your NFTs, you can start building your collection with confidence.
However, always stay up-to-date on technological advances and look for new ways to protect yourself. No one can guarantee that you won’t lose all of your tokens, but it’s possible to put systems in place that greatly reduce those risks.
As time goes on and technology improves, more possibilities will emerge for storing your digital assets. Stay tuned!
Some of these advancements will likely include insurance solutions and more advanced cold storage options like hardware wallets.
The even better news is that as these technologies improve, they are becoming easier and more cost-effective for everyone to use.