Top 5 Reasons To Use A Crypto Paper Wallet!

Cryptocurrencies are currently one of the best ways to invest and safeguard your savings, essential steps toward achieving financial freedom. This is, of course, as long as you have done your research.

Risks are always present in any kind of investment. However, experience shows us that cryptocurrencies are and most likely will continue to be one of the assets with the best performance. While this is great for investors, it also makes crypto a highly sought-after asset for hackers and thieves. For this reason, ensuring the security of your crypto is essential.

Today, we will talk about one of the safest and more easily accessible crypto tools: Paper wallet. In this guide, we will take a look at why you should consider using a paper wallet to protect your cryptocurrency.

What Is A Crypto Paper Wallet?

To understand why you should consider using a paper wallet, you first need to know what it is. As the name suggests, a paper wallet is a wallet printed on paper or engraved on a long-lasting metal. This object will store your private keys and addresses to let you handle your cryptocurrencies. That’s right; you do not need any electronic device after the setup process is complete.  

When cryptocurrency was created and started popularizing a few years ago, paper wallets were the favorite tool of many investors. This was because of the high level of security they offered due to their offline nature. This means they are not prone to cyberattacks, as no virus or malware can affect paper.

The main and most notorious difference that may sway you into choosing a paper wallet is the price. While hardware wallets have a price of over 100$ dollars, paper wallets are FREE. Now, while free doesn’t mean good every time… In this case, it does.

A paper wallet is especially useful for storing and safeguarding funds that will not be interacted with for a long time. If you have read some of our investing guides, you already know that long-term investing is the way to go. 

If you are not convinced yet, let’s go straight to the meat and potatoes of this guide. We will cover many important aspects of paper wallets such as security, long-term usability, storage, and creation speed. Let’s start looking at the 5 reasons to use a paper wallet!

Reason 1: The Creation Process Is Easy and Cheap

Paper wallets are probably one of the cheapest and easiest ways to store cryptocurrencies. The process is extremely straightforward and cheap, usually being free. With multiple tools available to create your paper wallet, you will have plenty of options to choose from.

Most of these programs will generate a new address for you without you even interacting with it. Some will ask you to move your mouse around or similar actions to add randomness to it. The result is a theoretically unique address with its corresponding private and public key.

That being said, we have a recommendation for you. When creating the wallet, it is recommended to disconnect from the internet if possible. At the same time, you should be sure that the computer you use to create the wallet does not have any viruses.

As the private keys and address will be shown to you on screen, a virus could compromise this information. A paper wallet is only as safe as the tool and system you use to create it!

To create a paper cryptocurrency wallet, you will need to use specialized software. There are a lot of options out there.

Bitaddres

For example, if you are looking to create a Bitcoin paper wallet, you can use Bitaddress.org, which is open source and also free to use. This program establishes an offline storage wallet using randomly generated numbers in the browser itself. Passwords and keys do not move from users’ hands and are not stored in Bitaddress.org servers.

Wallet Generator

Another software that works like BitAddress and is also widely recommended is WalletGenerator. Users have to move the mouse to increase the randomness of the key generation.

The developers also recommend executing the generator from a local HTML file after downloading the file from GitHub. Make sure to use the official Github version, as the website’s authenticity is currently dubious.

Bitcoin.com

Bitcoin.com is also a great option to generate a crypto paper wallet for Bitcoin. It provides safe and efficient offline cold storage. This key generator is based on Bitaddress.org, one of the computer programs mentioned above. This allows you to generate a paper wallet in a safe, efficient, and fast way.

GeneratePaperWallet

Finally, if you would like to use a paper wallet generator with a different and very interesting function, such as employing it to acquire various types of crypto, you should consider GeneratePaperWallet.

This generator supports Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Tether. This program is free to use, and its code can be reached and verified on Github.

Other networks will also have the capability of supporting paper wallets. However, we recommend that you make sure to check the official documentation to ensure the trustiness of the platform you choose to use.

Reason 2: Protection and “Absolute” Security

Paper wallets have a degree of protection almost unattainable for the rest of the existing classes of wallets. This is because they provide storage disconnected from the internet, which safeguards and protects your private keys much more securely. The only way for a thief to steal the crypto data is by stealing the paper.

Another advantage of paper wallets and their security methods is that you can create multiple copies of these papers. This will allow you to store them in different locations in case they are lost or stolen. People who like to keep their money under the mattress or in a safe may be happy with this alternative.

Despite paper wallets being very secure, It is very important that you take extreme security measures when you create your paper wallet. This is because despite being incredibly secure, its “Achilles heel” is rooted in the process of creating the wallet.

If you want to be sure that no one has access to your paper wallet private key, what you have to do is simple. As soon as you download the zip file, disconnect the internet to reduce the risk. Or better yet, use an old phone or device you can reset prior to generating your paper wallet.

Reason 3: True Cold Storage

The term cold storage refers to paper wallets or other types of wallets that can store their assets while keeping them offline. By using cold storage, you can safely prevent hackers from accessing your digital assets through their traditional malicious ways.

While hardware wallets don’t connect directly to the internet, they still need to be connected to operate. Be it via Bluetooth or a cable, you will need to connect it to a phone or computer eventually.

The cold storage process used by paper wallets solves this problem by signing the transaction with the private keys in an offline environment. Any transaction initiated online is temporarily transferred to an offline wallet saved on paper, where it is then digitally signed before transmitting to the online network.

In exchange for this added security, the process of transferring to and from a cold storage device is a bit more complex than the process of a hot wallet. That being said, it is very worth it since it is preferable to have high security and not regret a robbery at the hands of hackers in the future.

Reason 4: Interacting With Your Crypto Is Still Easy

Sure, using a paper wallet to operate is not as easy as using a hot or hardware wallet. However, this is not as bad as it sounds. Let’s say you have one Bitcoin on your paper wallet, stored on the online blockchain with restricted access to anyone except you.

If you want to transfer that Bitcoin, it’s pretty simple. All you have to do is import your private keys to a hot or hardware wallet when you choose to send your crypto.

To make this process easier, you can print your key in the form of a QR code so that you can quickly scan it. This will allow you to quickly add the keys to a software wallet to perform this transaction with the code.

Now, if you want to receive crypto, you just need to use your public address and do the transfer normally! Remember that crypto is not stored in a wallet. A wallet is just any solution or platform that stores your private key.

As such, the crypto will be linked to the address instead of a piece of software or hardware. Technically, even your memory could be a wallet!

Reason 5: Hardware And Software Might Fail But Paper Can’t

Another reason you should use a paper wallet is that you won’t need to worry about a hardware or software failure—all you need to do is keep your piece of paper or other material safe.

When using a software or hardware wallet, bugs/viruses are always a risk. A bug could easily result in your crypto being lost. While this is not highly likely if you are using a good wallet, it’s always a risk. Why would you choose to risk it?

That being said, it is important to keep the wallet safe in the exact same way you would with expensive jewelry or cash. There is no option to restore any data that was lost, unlike with hardware wallets.

Conclusion

We agree that paper wallets are one of the best ways to store your cryptocurrencies when it comes to security. Sure, they are not as flexible, but that is a low price to pay for high security.

This security level, when combined with ease of access at no cost, makes the paper wallet a tool that any crypto user can use. A good way to use your crypto wallets is as follows: Get a paper wallet for your long-term holdings while using another type to manage your liquidity. By doing this, you get the best of both worlds! If you are looking for another wallet to use with your new paper wallet, make sure to check our reviews. turbowallet.com/wallets/