━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ LEARN ABOUT CRYPTOCURRENCY Perry Kundert ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 2025-07-18 09:57:00 Learn the essentials of cryptocurrency: setting up secure trading accounts, obtaining hardware wallets, and protecting your investments with SLIP-39 mnemonic recovery cards. This guide covers the three key steps to getting started with cryptocurrency: establishing an exchange account, securing your funds with a hardware wallet, and creating SLIP-39 protected seed backups for maximum security. ([PDF], [Text]) Table of Contents ───────────────── 1. Setting Up Your Cryptocurrency Exchange Account .. 1. Recommended Exchanges: Netcoins.app, Crypto.com ..... 1. Recommended Crypto Credit/Debit Card: Ether.FI .. 2. Security Essentials ..... 1. Password Manager ..... 2. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) 2. Obtaining a Hardware Wallet .. 1. Recommended Hardware Wallets ..... 1. Trezor Safe 3/5 (Recommended) ..... 2. Ledger Nano X .. 2. Do You Need One Immediately? 3. Creating SLIP-39 Protected Seed Backups .. 1. Generate Your Seed .. 2. Print and Secure Your Cards .. 3. Security Best Practices 4. Recovery Process .. 1. Hardware Wallet with SLIP-39 support, eg. Trezor .. 2. Hardware Wallet with BIP-39 support .. 3. Hidden Wallets (Optional; differs for each hardware wallet vendor) 5. Getting Started [PDF] [Text] 1 Setting Up Your Cryptocurrency Exchange Account ═════════════════════════════════════════════════ Just like you need a stock trading account to buy and sell stocks with CAD$, you need a cryptocurrency exchange account to convert between fiat currency and cryptocurrency. 1.1 Recommended Exchanges: Netcoins.app, Crypto.com ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── [Netcoins.app] is a registered Canadian "Money Services Business" that provides a reliable experience for buying and selling cryptocurrency. The [Crypto.com] exchange in Canada has many more coins available, as well as a crypto-funded credit card that works in Canada. As regulated entities, they all require KYC (Know Your Client) verification: 1) **Proof of Identity**: Passport or driver's license 2) **Proof of Residency**: Recent utility bill or bank statement with current address Once verified, you can: • Deposit CAD$ via e-transfer • Buy cryptocurrency (BTC, ETH, etc.) • Withdraw to your personal wallet [Netcoins.app] [Crypto.com] 1.1.1 Recommended Crypto Credit/Debit Card: Ether.FI ╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌ Your [ether.fi] account and cash card allows you to transfer crypto to your account, and spend it (or even borrow against it at low rates) like a regular credit/debit card. It works with your Apple Wallet or Android, or you can get a physical card. [ether.fi] 1.2 Security Essentials ─────────────────────── 1.2.1 Password Manager ╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌ Use a unique, strong password generated by a password manager. Never reuse passwords between accounts. 1.2.2 Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) ╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌ Enable 2FA on your exchange account and primary email using an authenticator app like Twilio Authy. This significantly reduces the risk of account compromise. 2 Obtaining a Hardware Wallet ═════════════════════════════ Hardware wallets provide the highest security for storing cryptocurrency by keeping your private keys offline. 2.1 Recommended Hardware Wallets ──────────────────────────────── 2.1.1 Trezor Safe 3/5 (Recommended) ╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌ The [Trezor Safe 3] directly supports SLIP-39 mnemonic recovery, making it the ideal choice for maximum security. It also supports standard BIP-39 recovery. [Trezor Safe 3] 2.1.2 Ledger Nano X ╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌ The [Ledger Nano X] is an excellent alternative that supports BIP-39 recovery. While it doesn't directly support SLIP-39, you can use the SLIP-39 App to convert between formats. [Ledger Nano X] 2.2 Do You Need One Immediately? ──────────────────────────────── If you're just buying and holding cryptocurrency, you don't need a hardware wallet right away. Your SLIP-39 paper backup is actually the most secure storage method. Hardware wallets are primarily needed when you want to actively spend or trade your cryptocurrency. 3 Creating SLIP-39 Protected Seed Backups ═════════════════════════════════════════ SLIP-39 provides superior security over traditional BIP-39 by allowing you to split your seed into multiple recovery cards with threshold requirements. 3.1 Generate Your Seed ────────────────────── 1. Download the [SLIP-39 App] for your computer 2. **For existing wallets**: Enter your 24-word BIP-39 mnemonic and click "Save" 3. **For new wallets**: Select "Create", choose "256-bit" seed source, and click "Save" [SLIP-39 App] 3.2 Print and Secure Your Cards ─────────────────────────────── The app generates a PDF with your recovery cards containing: • Multiple mnemonic shares (typically 2-of-3 or 3-of-5) • QR codes for major cryptocurrencies (BTC, ETH) • Clear instructions for recovery 3.3 Security Best Practices ─────────────────────────── • Save the PDF to a USB drive, print from there, then securely destroy the USB drive (macOS supports printing directly to a printer) • Store printed cards in separate secure locations • Share cards with trusted family members according to your threshold scheme • Never store digital copies on your computer or cloud storage 4 Recovery Process ══════════════════ 4.1 Hardware Wallet with SLIP-39 support, eg. Trezor ──────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1. Connect your hardware wallet and open the companion app 2. Select "Recover wallet" during setup 3. Enter your SLIP-39 mnemonic shares when prompted 4. Set up PIN and select cryptocurrencies 4.2 Hardware Wallet with BIP-39 support ─────────────────────────────────────── 1. Open the SLIP-39 App (or follow instructions at [github.com/pythyn-slip39]) 2. Select Recover, then SLIP-39 Seed Source, then Using BIP-39 3. Enter your SLIP-39 shares, and see the recovered BIP-39 4. Enter your BIP-39 Mnemonic Phrase when prompted, to recover your hardware wallet [github.com/pythyn-slip39] 4.3 Hidden Wallets (Optional; differs for each hardware wallet vendor) ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Consider setting up hidden wallet sub-accounts for different purposes: • Default wallet: Small decoy amount • Hidden wallet 1: Personal funds • Hidden wallet 2: Long-term savings 5 Getting Started ═════════════════ The complete process involves: 1. **Exchange Setup**: Create and verify your Netcoins.app account 2. **Security**: Enable 2FA and use a password manager 3. **Backup Creation**: Generate and print SLIP-39 recovery cards 4. **Hardware Wallet**: Set up your Trezor or Ledger device 5. **First Transaction**: Buy crypto, withdraw to your personal wallet This foundation provides you with secure, self-custodial cryptocurrency storage while maintaining the ability to convert between fiat and crypto as needed.