How much security do you really need for your bitcoin?
As bitcoin grows in popularity, it’s natural to wonder if it’s safe. If you’re new to bitcoin, true sovereignty over your wealth can be as intimidating as it is empowering. Yes, being your own bank requires you to secure your funds, but Casa offers a way to hold your own bitcoin without worrying about loss or theft.
It’s important to choose the right amount of security for your investment and revisit it from time to time. In this overview, we’ll walk you through some common scenarios and the level of security Casa experts recommend.
But first, let’s talk about keys 🔐
There’s a lot to learn when you’re just getting started down the bitcoin rabbit hole, and security is just one small part. But securing bitcoin is different from any other asset because your wealth is protected with a private key.
A private key is a long, complex passcode that allows you to spend your bitcoin. It’s designed to be unforgeable and unguessable so only you can use it. Without your private key, you can’t spend your bitcoin so protecting that key is critical.
You may have heard of the expression “not your keys, not your coins.” If your bitcoin is in your exchange account, you don’t really own your bitcoin because the exchange has the private key. If something bad happens to the exchange, your bitcoin could be gone forever.
Taking your bitcoin off exchanges is an important step in securing your bitcoin. When you withdraw bitcoin from an exchange, the exchange uses their private key to send a bitcoin transaction to your bitcoin address protected with your private key.
As you acquire more bitcoin or it appreciates in value, we strongly suggest increasing your security to protect your investment, beginning with your private keys.
Beginner <> Mobile wallet 📱
To understand how your security can increase your time, let’s follow the example of John, a beginner.
John wants to “get into bitcoin,” but figuring out how to buy it and where to hold it is overwhelming for him. He decides to ask around and some of his friends use a hardware wallet, but he’s nervous about potentially losing his wallet or seed phrase, and therefore losing access to his funds. John also notices that there’s a lot of news lately about exchange hacks.
Casa recommends: A single-key wallet on a mobile device, such as Casa Wallet, is a great fit for total beginners. Casa Wallet is an easy introduction to bitcoin security that stores your private key in your phone's secure enclave. This first step puts you in control of your keys, making you the sole owner of your bitcoin. And risky exchanges become one less thing to worry about.
Single-key wallets, however, are not a complete security solution for larger amounts of bitcoin. If your phone is compromised, your bitcoin could be gone. But it’s useful to have small amounts of bitcoin on phone wallets for convenient spending. As a rule of thumb, don’t carry more bitcoin on your phone than you would cash in a physical wallet ($1,000 or less).
Intermediate <> Casa Gold 🔑🔑🔑
A few months later, John decides that he wants to hold and secure a larger amount of bitcoin as a savings for his future. However, he’s not sure where to start with making sure his funds are secure. Is Casa Wallet still enough?
Casa recommends: It’s best to protect long-term bitcoin holdings with multiple private keys. That way, you’re protected from single points of failure, such as theft, accidents, and device error. If you only have a key stored on a phone or single hardware wallet, your bitcoin is still vulnerable.
Once you have a significant amount of bitcoin, we recommend upgrading your bitcoin to Casa Gold. It’s everything included with Casa Wallet, plus more security to protect your funds along with access to support.
How exactly does the added security of Casa Gold work? Casa Gold adds an extra layer of protection to your hardware wallet to create greater redundancy and distribution. With this setup, your bitcoin is protected with three keys: a mobile wallet, a hardware wallet, and the Casa Recovery Key. Sign-offs are needed from 2 out of 3 devices to move your funds. This added security protects your savings from things like accidental loss of a device, and physical threats. Additionally, Casa Gold comes with onboarding assistance and email support to keep you going. We recommend Casa Gold for bitcoin holdings up to $75,000.
Advanced <> Casa Platinum 🔑🔑🔑🔑🔑
As time goes on, John continues adding to his savings, and his bitcoin eventually grows to become a significant portion of his net worth. Naturally, this increase brings additional security risk because, although a theft or accident may be unlikely, losing bitcoin would be catastrophic for John’s financial future. So, John does not want anything to happen to his bitcoin. Ever.
Casa recommends: For life-changing bitcoin holdings, we recommend Casa Platinum, our best-in-class security plan. Casa Platinum protects your bitcoin with five keys — a mobile key, three hardware wallets, and the Casa Recovery Key — and you need three of these keys to move funds.
This 3-of-5 setup allows you to distribute your keys more effectively across multiple locations and allows you to recover your bitcoin in the unlikely event that two of your keys are lost or stolen. We support this institutional-grade security with white-glove client service, including personal onboarding, 24/7 emergency assistance, and unlimited recovery signatures.
With Casa Platinum, you can have absolute peace of mind that your bitcoin is safe.
Need inheritance? <> Casa Diamond 💎
Years pass by and now John is married with kids. Because he has a family, his relationship with his bitcoin has changed, and he began to view his bitcoin as generational wealth. In addition to protecting his bitcoin from attacks and accidents, he needs to ensure it will be safely passed along to his heirs when the time comes.
Casa recommends: Casa Diamond is the perfect fit for bitcoin investors who want to preserve their wealth for generations to come. Designed around a 3-of-5 keyset, our Diamond plan allows you to proactively arrange a bitcoin inheritance plan and designate a Recovery Custodian to act on your behalf.
The Diamond plan comes with personal concierge service, so you can obtain assistance right away. This comprehensive plan is best for investors securing more than $200,000 in bitcoin for the long-term, such as high-net-worth individuals and family offices.
John Tinkelenberg
Bitcoin security is a personal journey that progresses as you learn more about the asset and bitcoin adoption grows. Thinking of starting with bitcoin security? Casa is here to help.
Want to learn more about Casa?
Schedule a call with our team to pick the plan that’s right for you.
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