I Bought A Ledger Hardware Wallet

Yesterday, I received a Ledger Nano X that I ordered. After some fiddling and reading destructions, I was able to get it set up and working with my MetaMask browser extension. My initial excitement has diminished. After all, it's just a wallet.

Why Get a Hardware Wallet?

In a previous post, I had a realization about DeFi. Some of what I was doing on exchange wallets, I can do with DeFi. In this particular case, I'm referring to Core Number Compounding, which is a way of scraping off value from price volatility.

Until now, I have been using MetaMask to do crypto stuff. I have mostly used my MetaMask wallets to mess around for learning DeFi. They rarely have had significant amounts of value on them. If I plan on using DeFi for Core Number Compounding, I would feel safer having thousands of dollars worth of crypto somewhere other than MetaMask.

Another use is that I need to get my Unstoppable Domains off the MetaMask accounts. Although losing my domains would not be devastating, I would be annoyed.

For the moment, I am sticking to having ETH, MATIC, and BSC on the Ledger. These three chains can carry WBTC and WETH. In addition, they all have versions of USDC, USDT, and DAI. I think this is sufficient. At most I may add ATOM.

Drawbacks

Of course, the drawback to having your own hardware wallet is keeping your wallet keys safe. The wallet itself can be duplicated with the keys. But, where do you keep the keys? How many copies do you keep? How do you store them so that they aren't obvious crypto keys? I may be avoiding loss by theft. But, I am highly at risk for loss by losing my keys. Then, there is the issue of inheritance. How do I make it easy for my family to collect on my investments should anything happen to me?

The Ledger wallet has additional inconveniences. For example, it times out rather quickly. I keep having to input my 8-digit PIN while I'm working. But, first world problem, I suppose.

I am disappointed that Ledger supports CRO only in the Crypto.org exchange version, not the Cronos version. I would have to bridge my Cronos assets to Cosmos to be able to use the Cosmos wallet on the Ledger.

I am not quite ready to use the Ledger for a HIVE cold wallet. Something about having to change the owner key creeps me out. I could devise a way to memorize 24 words for my wallet. But, a long string of letters and numbers is unreasonable.

Overall, having a hardware wallet adds a little bit of inconvenience. It's not like a browser wallet, always ready to go. But, given the significant value I intend on storing, it will be very much worthwhile for the added peace of mind.

I think I'll have to approach it like families approach having a gun in the home. Teach them how to use it safely and responsibly. And, keep it locked away until needed.

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