Help CenterThe first tool you’ll need to begin your journey is a crypto wallet. A crypto wallet is a digital tool that allows you to securely store and manage your cryptocurrency. It keeps your private keys safe and enables you to send, receive, and track your digital assets. Wallets come in various forms, including hot, cold, and exchange wallets. Some wallets hold many various types of digital assets, while others are specifically designed to secure just a single type of crypto. Along your path, you’ll use ALL types of wallets, and it’s important to know how to tell the difference between good ones and bad, relying exclusively on dependable technology that serves your purposes. Nothing is worse than winning big, just to find out that your wallet was stolen, hacked, corrupted, discontinued, or otherwise broken.
From the moment of your very first TXC payout direct from the mine, you’re in control of your TXC. There are no controls, locks, limitations, or other rules regarding your TXC. It is yours; you own it and can do with it as you please. But that also means that you’re responsible for keeping it safe. We’ll get you started with one of our metal Cold Storage Coins; all you have to do is keep this physical item SAFE.
Let’s take a quick look at the various types of wallets and get you off to a great start.
Cold Storage Wallet:
A cold storage wallet is like a savings account, but offline, more like a safe deposit box. It’s disconnected from the internet, offering protection from hackers and other digital threats. Cold wallets are ideal for securely storing larger amounts of cryptocurrency over the long term.
Blockchain Mint (that’s us) manufactures an incredibly reliable, easy-to-use, and beautiful metal cold storage wallet, which we call a “Cold Storage Coin”. Manufacturing integrity is our top priority, and we’re pleased to boast that every coin we made has worked as designed, flawlessly. This is important because your TXC output from the mine is initially linked to your Cold Storage Coin. All you have to do to keep your seat on the rocket is KEEP THE COIN SAFE.
A cold storage wallet converts digital risk to physical risk; simply stated, instead of hackers and bad computer code, you’ll need to worry about physical security, including disasters like fires and floods. This is another reason why Cold Storage Coins are so valuable - they’re virtually indestructible!
Unfortunately, cold storage wallets do not make spending and trading easy. In fact, because they're offline, they can’t be used for these activities at all. Therefore, you’ll want to think of your cold storage wallet (especially the Cold Storage Coin you received at signup) like a porcelain piggy bank; keep it safe, add to it from time to time, and crack it open when it’s finally time to “cash out”.
Hot Wallet
A hot wallet is like a checking account. It’s connected to the internet and designed for frequent transactions, making it convenient but more vulnerable to digital risks. Since a hot wallet is installed on your phone or PC, it’s important to create a backup BEFORE you use the wallet so that you can recover your wallet if your phone is lost, stolen, dropped in the toilet or otherwise rendered unusable. The backup code is in the form of either a private key - a long, alphanumeric mix of easily forgettable text, or more recently, in the form of a backup “seed phrase”, also known as a mnemonic recovery phrase. A seed phrase is a collection of usually 12 words (sometimes more) that represent your backup private key. One nice thing about a seed phrase is that it can even be committed to memory, giving you an additional level of peace of mind.
TEXITcoin has developed its own hot wallet that exclusively supports TXC. It gives you the ability to send and receive TXC, see transaction history, and also monitor the “watch only” value of TXC on your Cold Storage Coin. Further, when you’re ready, it will quickly import the TXC from your Cold Storage Coin, which you will do preferably when you’re ready to “cash out” and monetize the bulk of your TXC.
You can even have multiple TXC hot wallets - each one will have a unique address and backup recovery phrase.
Remember - using a hot wallet opens you up for the first time to the world of “digital risk”, meaning that a hacker, error or lost password could render all of your crypto completely unusable or even stolen. You’ll need to use a hot wallet sooner or later, but take your time and become comfortable with backing up, sending and receiving before you engage large amounts of crypto.
Exchange Wallet
An exchange wallet is provided by a 3rd party custodian for storing your digital assets. While convenient, it’s not safe for long-term holding. Remember FTX? Mt Gox? Relying on exchanges can leave your funds vulnerable to hacks or mismanagement.
When you store your crypto on an exchange, you’re hoping that the exchange will do a good job of securing your digital assets. Rest assured that hackers are working around the clock to gain access to exchange wallets, since they’re obvious targets for the taking. On average, an exchange is hacked weekly and the consequences can range from being limited to a particular crypto asset, or devastating and result in the bankruptcy of the exchange. If you trust a 3rd party to keep your crypto safe, you must be aware that you can lose any or all of it without notice or warning.
Remember: with wallets hot & cold, there are no “charge-backs”, refunds, do-overs or second chances. If you lock yourself out of a wallet, there is NO way to recover funds. If you send crypto to the wrong address, there’s NO way to get it back. If you send the wrong amount, you’ll be at the mercy of the recipient to correct this. Transactions with crypto are permanent, by design. This is one of the reasons we love it. But, it’s all the more reason to exercise extreme caution when setting up a new wallet, securing your recovery seed phrase, sharing your information with others, sending and receiving crypto.