Wallets
Before you buy the book or receive your first payment from Penny Wise, you must have a wallet or an account that allows you to transact in cryptocurrency. Just below is a discussion about wallets and accounts that you might want to read prior to deciding how to store your crypto when you receive it. The best practice would be to have a secure wallet whose PRIVATE KEY is owned and CONTROLLED by YOU.
Rule NUMBER ONE in crypto: Not your KEYS, Not your CRYPTO.
Rule NUMBER TWO: Never give anyone your PRIVATE KEYS!
You need to get a trustworthy wallet to maintain control of your assets. A wallet is an app that you use to keep and control your crypto on your computer or your phone, if you have a smart phone. If you have an old phone that you can turn off access to the internet, even better.
Each coin that you have will have a different wallet address for that coin.
For this program, I highly recommend getting started with a Coinbase account. Basic info about using Coinbase is below. For storing your crypto once you receive payments from Penny Wise, I recommend the Atomic wallet.
Coinbase
Your Coinbase account is a CUSTODIAL Wallet. That simply means that the amounts that you see is the dollar value that you have on account with them for that particular coin or coins. They own and keep custody of the actual crypto. They keep an account of what kinds of coins you bought but ultimately, they own it. They do offer the opportunity to get a ‘private’ wallet which is referred to as a NONCUSTODIAL wallet. You own the KEYS to those coins. So be sure if you keep you crypto on Coinbase, get their NONCUSTODIAL wallet.
Atomic Wallet
Penny Wise recommends the Atomic Wallet. It too, is a NONCUSTODIAL wallet with one big difference. Your assets in that wallet are anonymous. Atomic does not require any type of Personal Identifying Information (PII) to hold your assets. When you sign on with Coinbase, there is a certain amount of info that they collect. Consequently, that information is or could be tied to your accounts giving government and possibly others the ability to look into your crypto affairs. Atomic Wallet gives you the opportunity to forego that kind of scrutiny.
Remember, in crypto, YOU are the bank. It is totally up to you to safeguard your assets. If you lose your KEYS or access to your wallet, there is no recourse. Keep your KEYS safe. There are many stories of people who have millions locked up in a wallet that they have lost access to. It is a very common thing. Keep your KEYS safe.
Getting your money out of your crypto wallet can be done quite easily, if you take advantage of the different types of accounts that are available. Keep in mind that each time you remove money from an account, it may be a taxable event so research the options carefully.
There are debit cards attached to some accounts, including Coinbase. Crypto.com also has a debit card option making it easy to move money from a wallet to the card.