HACKER Q&A
📣 erex78

Should I move my BTC out of Coinbase?


I bought a non-trivial amount of BTC about a year ago via Coinbase. Seeing the issue with withdrawals at various exchanges (like FTX) is making me nervous that the BTC in Coinbase might become illiquid.

Is it a good idea to move this into a wallet? Any suggestions on how to do this or what tools to use (I don't have a wallet or any other tools setup).

Or is this something I shouldn't be concerned about for some reason?

  👤 zenen Accepted Answer ✓
Holding your own cryptocurrency on a device that is in your control is basically the only play, imo. Refer to this page for good-quality software: https://bitcoin.org/en/wallets/desktop/linux/?step=5&platfor...
👤 nwah1
If you are concerned about all of the major cryptocurrency players having "counterparty risk," as you should be, then your question should less be whether to move off exchanges, and more about how to cash out.
👤 olalonde
Not your keys, not your Bitcoin. Move it to a Ledger hardware wallet (or other hardware wallet) and keep a secure copy of your seed phrase somewhere so you can restore your wallet in the event your Ledger fails, is lost, etc.[0] It's also a good idea to use a passphrase (memorized and/or stored separately from your seed phrase) so someone can't easily access your wallet if they find your seed phrase.

[0] https://www.google.com/search?q=crypto+seed+storage

👤 rjmunro
If I were you I would not want exposure to any crypto at the moment - I'd exchange to cash and put it in a normal bank account as soon as possible.
👤 cableshaft
It might look like you sold it if you do, and you might get audited (Coinbase reports accounts with transactions above a certain level), it might be difficult to move it all at once, and you better be super comfortable with managing your on wallet (might want to get used to using them with a small amount before diving all in with it), but otherwise, probably not a bad idea.

Coinbase is probably at much less risk than these other companies, as they make money entirely off fees, not lending coins out, and have weathered more bear markets than any other exchange at this point (that I'm aware of at least), so they're probably the safest place to keep it if you're going to keep it not in your own wallet, but still, not your keys, not your bitcoin, and all that.

👤 gt565k
The only reason to have crypto on an exchange if you’re concerning it back to fiat. Otherwise store it on a hardware wallet like ledger or Trezor.

Can’t get hacked and lose your coins.

Not your keys not your coins!

👤 shams93
Its hard to move i found unless turning it into cash and then sending to a regular bank they blocked me from moving my eth to mew.