This is the most important page on the site. It pulls together the habits and patterns covered in more depth elsewhere, in roughly the order they will matter to a beginner. Skim it first. Read the linked guides next. Come back to it when something feels off.
Wallet safety
A Bitcoin wallet does not literally store coins. It stores keys that prove you control addresses on the public ledger. Lose the keys, lose the coins. Share the keys, share the coins. Every wallet habit comes back to that.
- Treat the seed phrase as the wallet itself. Do not type it into any website or app that did not generate it.
- Do not photograph, screenshot, or store a seed phrase in cloud notes, password managers that sync, email drafts, or chat history.
- Use durable physical backups. Two backups in different physical locations is a common pattern.
- Plan for the case where you cannot use a wallet anymore: lost device, broken device, or a death in the family. Pick something survivable rather than something clever.
Read the full wallet safety guide.
Scam recognition
Most crypto scams are socially clever, not technically clever. They press a human pattern: act now, or lose out. The defence is mostly about slowing down.
- There is no reliable, hands-off, low-effort way to grow money in any market. Anyone advertising one is running a scam.
- Real support staff will not ask for a recovery phrase. Ever.
- Real giveaways do not require you to send anything first.
- Urgency is the hallmark of a scam. The window is closing. The slot is filling. The price is moving. Walk away.
- After a first loss, treat any unsolicited "recovery" offer as a second scam.
Read the full crypto investor safety guide.
Fake apps and fake trading platforms
Fake apps appear in app stores under names that mimic real applications. Fake trading platforms imitate legitimate services to capture deposits. Search advertisements sometimes promote phishing pages above real results.
- Type known web addresses by hand or use bookmarks for services you trust. Do not reach financial services via search results.
- Verify app publishers. Do not install crypto apps from cold messages, advertisements, or unfamiliar links.
- If you used something you now suspect is fake, stop using it, change related passwords from a clean device, and consider any seed phrase entered into it compromised.
Social engineering
Social engineering is the umbrella term for scams that rely on manipulating a human rather than breaking software. Most successful crypto scams are social engineering first and technical second, or technical not at all.
- Assume any unsolicited contact is hostile until proven otherwise.
- Do not share screens with anyone who reaches out claiming to be support staff, a recovery service, or an official.
- Do not install remote-control software at the request of anyone you did not seek out yourself.
- Slow down. A legitimate request can wait an hour. A manipulative one usually cannot.
Event privacy
At public Bitcoin events, assume some attendees will collect names, faces, and whatever else they can learn. Most will be doing so politely. A few will not.
- Do not disclose your holdings.
- Be cautious about disclosing where you store funds, what hardware you use, or how many wallets you keep.
- Keep wallet apps locked. A separate, lightweight phone setup is a reasonable habit if it is practical.
- Do not connect your wallet to anything because someone hands you a QR code.
Read the full meetup guide and the events guide.
Transaction caution
The cost of a small mistake on a Bitcoin transaction can be the entire amount.
- Check the full address before sending. Malware can replace an address you copied with one controlled by an attacker. The first and last few characters often look similar.
- Send a small test transaction first. Wait for it to confirm. Then send the rest.
- Use the address book features in reputable wallets so you do not need to copy and paste.
- Be especially careful with first sends to a new exchange, a new wallet, or a new contact.
Record keeping
Good records are mostly a tax-time problem. They are a much smaller problem if you keep them as you go.
- Note the date, the amount, the value in your local currency, the purpose, and any fees for each transaction.
- Use one or two services rather than many.
- Export transaction histories periodically rather than only when needed.
- Back up records the way you back up anything you cannot replace.
Read the full tax basics guide.
When to seek professional advice
Some questions cannot be answered by a general guide. Talk to a qualified professional in your jurisdiction when:
- You are unsure whether an activity creates a tax obligation.
- You are receiving bitcoin as part of work or services and are unsure how to value it.
- You are unsure whether a service you want to use is appropriate for a New York resident.
- You are dealing with the estate of someone who held bitcoin.
- You have suffered a loss and are unsure what to do next.
If something feels wrong
Stop. Do not send funds. Do not share screens. Do not share keys. Close the chat. Walk away from the device for ten minutes. Then, with a clear head, talk to someone you already trust before doing anything else. Most scams collapse the moment they meet a target who is willing to slow down.