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Passwords in dictionary? How investors store crypto keys, keep investments secure
Crypto will push you to your limits and if you let it, it will change you in ways you could never have imagined
- PUBLISHED: Fri 21 Mar 2025, 5:39 PM UPDATED: Mon 2 Jun 2025, 4:56 PM
When I started in crypto, I had some of the strangest fears — ones that make absolutely no sense to me now. And looking back, the things I wasn’t afraid of surprise me even more.
My biggest, starting out, was that I wouldn’t be able to get my money back out. Which, in hindsight, is ridiculous. If I could figure out how to put money into crypto, obviously, I could figure out how to take it out. But for some reason, I just didn’t trust myself to be able to navigate it.
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Little did I know that seven years ago, even recently, people had their bank accounts shut down for dealing in crypto.
Then there was the stress of keeping track of all my keys and passwords. When you use a crypto exchange, it’s just a username and password — like any other website. But when you create a new crypto wallet, it comes with a set of keys. These are random words that act as the key to your funds.
Lose your keys, lose your crypto. But also: ‘Not your keys, not your crypto’. Because exchanges can go bust (Mt Gox, FTX) and be hacked (most recently, Bybit).
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I quickly learned that where and how people store their keys is a deeply personal decision. Some people circle random words in a dictionary. You’re not supposed to store them in Google Docs or on your phone. Some use password apps or special devices. And this fear isn’t unfounded. There are people with millions of dollars in crypto they can’t access because they lost their keys. And then there’s the infamous story of a guy whose hard drive, containing a fortune in Bitcoin, is sitting in a landfill somewhere. There is a legion of people ready to pounce, hack and steal your crypto. And coming up with new ways to do it all the time.
That kind of thing can keep anyone investing in crypto up at night.
If you do figure out a personal security system that works, hackers are always one step ahead anyway. Chris Larson, the co-founder of Ripple, reportedly had $150 million in XRP stolen when his password manager was hacked. There are also new crypto gangs targeting people in real life who have publicly talked about their stashes.
And sending money? That terrified me, too. Crypto is complicated. It’s not like buying a stock. If you’re purchasing an altcoin on the Ethereum network, you first have to buy Ethereum, then swap it into the altcoin you want. Sometimes, you have to buy Ethereum in one place and send it to another wallet. And you wouldn’t want to send Bitcoin to a MetaMask wallet — although MetaMask is making changes to allow that. At first every single step of the process felt like an opportunity to make an irreversible mistake, with so many bits and pieces to keep track of.
It’s gotten easier, but it still gives me pause.
For a long time, I was even scared to talk about crypto. Not because of security concerns, but because people were dismissive, condescending — and sometimes, outright rude. I’ve realised that for many people, it’s just a bridge too far. My late father, who was in finance and business, wanted nothing to do with it. I once visited his home, eager to discuss what I was learning, and he shut me down with, “I do not want to talk about Bitcoin!” It was too much for him. People tend to reject what they don’t understand. And who can wrap their head around a new form of money, and a new kind of financial system?
What I didn’t realise when I started was that crypto wasn’t just about investing — it was about facing my fears. My fears about finance, security, scarcity and even my own worth. In the spring of 2023, those fears hit a peak. At 53 years old, all my friends were suddenly talking about retiring. I spent months freaking out. How am I going to do this? What’s my plan? Why didn’t I save more? Where’s my rich husband?
Then, one day, floating in the ocean in Koh Samui, staring at the sunset, I had a realisation: If I live to be really old, I have time. If I die soon, I have enough. And if it’s somewhere in between, I have enough for that too. That moment changed everything.
And crypto changed me. Every step in my journey — every wallet, every transaction, every fear and resistance level I had to push through — was an exercise in self-trust and resilience. The scares never fully disappear. But doing something over and over that scares you until you are versed in it? That’s how you shift your mindset. That’s how you grow.
Crypto is more than an investment. It’s a test. It will push you to your limits. And if you let it, it will change you in ways you could never have imagined.
