Steps to acquire your Bitcoin units safely and in a decentralized manner.
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Buy your bitcoins through a P2P exchange like HodlHodl. Conduct the exchange using a secure payment method; you can use fiat, other cryptocurrencies, or even Monero for added privacy in the transaction.
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For small amounts, you can send those sats to a Lightning wallet to do a DCA (Dollar-Cost Averaging).
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Purchase a secure signing device like ColdCard Mk4 or SeedSigner.
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Set up the device and create a wallet. I prefer SeedSigner. This is a signing device, so it doesn’t allow you to have a wallet for sending and receiving; it only signs transactions. You will need to create your wallet in a software like Sparrow and set it up as watch-only to prevent access to your private key.
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Verify that you can access your wallet with your mnemonic phrase (in the case of SeedSigner, you can have a QR code) and store it securely.
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Send your units to your wallet and you're all set.
Extra steps to add more privacy and security...
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Get a full node.
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Use a VPN before making transactions or accessing your wallets, adding an extra layer of security.
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Divide your funds. It’s important not to use the same address repeatedly. Your wallet can create many addresses; divide your funds and don’t reuse addresses. This prevents others from knowing how many units you have.
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(Careful) Have more than one wallet. If one of your wallets is compromised, only a portion of your funds will be affected. Be cautious, though, as having more wallets means more responsibility in safeguarding your mnemonic phrases.
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Add a passphrase.
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Keep your recovery words in another location, so if something happens to one copy, you can still access the other.
This is a list of considerations you need to have in mind for buying sats in a decentralized and private manner. Of course, if you think any point is debatable or improvable, I'd be happy to discuss it in the comments!
@Fabs 😜