[CyanDeparture]

Can anyone tell me how to set up a wallet on my Mac in order to get my coins off coinbase. Is there any clear guide on how to do that. Every link on Google seems to be spam or downloading potentially malicious software.

It's very fustrating because so many people seem to know how to set up a wallet on their computer/Mac however I cannot for the life of me find a clear wallet to download and move my funds to or a guide on how to do it.

If I downloaded this - https://bitcoin.org/en/download - is that a way to do it? I can't download this in the UK, so is it safe to download it via a VPN and install it that way?

Thank you so much to anyone who sees this and replies.

[chill1]

I usually don't bother to login to comment, but I felt compelled in this case. The other replies include a lot of bad advice. You sound like you don't have much of experience actually using bitcoin (or cryptocurrencies). So the best (most secure and easiest) solution is to buy a hardware wallet and use the wallet app which they provide. I suggest either Trezor [1] or Ledger [2]. Do not buy a hardware wallet from secondary marketplaces or second-hand resale websites - buy direct from the developer's website only.

[1] https://shop.trezor.io/

[2] https://www.ledger.com/

For added opsec:

- Use a temporary email address on the order form (e.g. mailinator or similar).

- Do not ship the goods to your home address. Pick-up your order in-person at a drop-off spot, post-office, or have it delivered to your workplace.

A bit more information about hardware vs. software/app wallet:

- Hardware wallets protect your bitcoin and cryptocurrencies by keeping your private keys secure on a dedicated USB (or air-gapped) device. The private keys never leave the device.

- If you use an app on your phone or desktop computer, your private keys could be stolen by malware. This is the exact attack vector that hardware wallets are designed to protect against.

Good luck!

[3np]

This is good advice. Notably, you don't need to use the vendor wallet software either but can use either with e.g. Electrum.

If you really don't want to get a dedicated hardware wallet, the poor-persons choice would be to (in order of preference):

* In case you're really just holding and won't be wanting to transact with it anytime soon, a paper wallet can work. Generate it on an airgapped device and never let the private keys touch a connected device.

* Use a dedicated boot environment. For example: Set up Tails on a USB drive and boot into it on your laptop, or make a fresh install on a raspberry pi or similar. Use Electrum (or bitcoin core qt / cli), store the wallet file only on a separate encrypted USB drive. Don't use this OS install for other things. Prefer connecting only over Tor, I2P, or cjdns.

* A reputable smartphone wallet. A downside here is that you will have to be very diligent with your system updates and have to keep a peripheral eye on if the author gets acquired or goes rouge etc. You'd have to do your own research but Bluewallet seems decent.

* Ignore all the advice and access the keys on your PC anyway. It's possible to do safely but as noted above it has increased risks and requires a lot of diligence.

[DebtDeflation]

If this is what's needed to securely store (not even use) crypto then the future for crypto is even bleaker than I thought.

[hnxs]

What happens if ledger goes out of business? I recall users being able to access their funds when Ledger had a systems outage some time in the past few years.

[chill1]

With both Trezor and Ledger it is possible to use Electrum as the GUI (interface) app. So if they go out of business and/or stop supporting the specific hardware wallet model that you own, you can continue using it with Electrum. Alternatively, you can import the seed backup (12 or 24 words) into a new hardware wallet.

[3np]

The users weren't unable to access their funds. However, Ledger Live (their desktop and mobile app) uses nodes hosted by Ledger, so effectively this meant that non-technical users who relied on their hosted nodes couldn't access their funds.

One could (and should!) still use the same wallet with a self-hosted node, or a third-party one, by using the wallet with a different software (which is also officially supported; Ledger provides docs for doing so).

[PheonixPharts]

I'm sorry but I can't fathom why you would "invest" in a cryptocurrency you yourself don't even know how to use. This comment reads as an object lesson in exactly what is wrong with the current world of crypto. The entire value prop of crypto currency is that you are in control not major financial institutions, but it sounds like you are very much not in control.

I think the best strategy for someone in your case is to cashout from coinbase into whatever fiat currency you use locally and put that into your bank account.

[paulcole]

Tens (hundreds?) of millions of Americans "invest" in stocks they have no idea how to "use" (disclosure: I'm one of them). They're just numbers on a computer screen and nothing more.

Should be more encouraging that this guy wants to figure it out instead of pointing and jeering at him.

[phatfish]

How do you "use" a stock? You give a company money in the hope they are able to turn it into more money over a certain period of time than you would holding it in a bank account.

If the company pays a dividend it gets sent to you (or to whoever holds the stock on your behalf), but that doesn't seem like "using" the stock. I suppose you could "use" it by voting at the AGM.

Crypto you can make use of (such as it is), but no one does that. They hold it like a stock, same as the OP who doesn't know how to create a wallet.

[paulcole]

First of all, I don’t even have any idea what this means:

> I suppose you could "use" it by voting at the AGM

Is my stock anything other than the number of shares I see on TDAmeritrade.com? If I wanted to take this thing that I supposedly own and sell it or store it in a way that doesn’t involve TDAmeritrade.com, is that even possible? No fucking clue.

[phatfish]

Of course it is possible, you don't have to use "TDAmeritrade.com" to manage your investments. You can hold the contract paper yourself if you like. A broker will charge more for those type of direct holdings when a trade is made however. Which is why it is popular to use the retail brokers that manage the contract for you.

My point was, there is really no "use" for a stock holding aside from the obvious as an investment. So simply investing in and holding a stock is fine.

The popular Crypto coins are supposed to have other uses, like a cash replacement. In fact cash replacement was intended to be the primary use for Bitcoin. But most people treat them as an investment they can just sit on and watch go up, like a stock.

[timmytokyo]

It's not that hard for me to fathom. Cryptocurrency is a speculative bubble, and it has attracted a huge number of investors who are looking for easy ways to invest. Coinbase makes speculating in cryptocurrency easy. Managing your own wallet is not easy for the average speculator.

[mattwilsonn888]

I would not recommend using wallet software on your personal computer. It makes it a lucrative target. Instead invest in a hardware wallet - either Ledger or Trezor and follow the instructions.

Only purchase the hardware wallet directly from the company website, never used.

[guessbest]

You can't download your assets. They are virtual. What you can do is generate an address locally and transfer your bitcoin funds from coinbase to that. Remember to save your secret of you are just throwing (virtual) money in a canyon.

https://github.com/pointbiz/bitaddress.org

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=43496.0

[pjbeam]

Why can't you download this in the UK? My question is sincere, I'm surprised to read that.

[3np]

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-org-blocks-access-to-...

Craig Wright (obviously falsely) claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto and thereby copyright on the (MIT licensed but whatever apparently) Bitcoin whitepaper. A UK court ruled in his favor and bitcoin.org are therefore not allowed to distribute it in the UK. They responded with restricting access to both the whitepaper and the software for UK IPs.

[pjbeam]

Interesting thank you!

[illegalsmile]

If you only hold bitcoin that wallet would work, another popular one is electrum. If you want to store multiple coins in one application then Exodus or Atomic would be two good choices. You're looking for a non-custodial wallet and as always, protect your keys to protect your coins, you are the bank at this point.

[CyanDeparture]

It's just bitcoin I'm storing, is that one I've linked to above a non-custodial wallet or a custodial wallet?

[bitxbitxbitcoin]

A custodial wallet. The original custodial wallet, in fact.

[lawn]

The correct term is non-custodial.

A custodial wallet means someone else holds your keys, but a non-custodial wallet lets you hold them yourself (which Bitcoin Core does).

[bitxbitxbitcoin]

Thanks for that. Brain fart!

[jibbers]

Disclaimer: I've only done this a couple times and really am not good with this stuff.

After you download the app you mentioned, it's going to sit and grind your CPU for a long time. After that, you can click on the 'Receive' tab. Every field here is optional, but you might want to fill in the label with something like "from Coinbase". Click "Create new receiving address" and a new window will appear with a QR code and some other info. Copy the address. Then in Coinbase, send your Bitcoin to this address.

Again, this is probably a little watered down, but I hope it helps. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable writes up a better explanation.

[jungturk]

Jaxx has been in the local wallet business for a long time. Mac and mobile.

https://jaxx.io/

[grandpoobah]

I use Atomic wallet.

[pluc]

That was the funniest thing I've read all day.