Exchanges & Wallets
There are Two Types of Crypto Exchanges....
Centralized Exchanges (CEXs)
CEXs are necessary to get in and out of fiat money. If you want to transfer money to buy crypto you need to go through a CEX. If you want to sell your crypto and transfer the cash to your bank account, you need a CEX.
It's okay to buy crypto on a CEX but you should always transfer it off the exchange instead of leaving it there.
Kraken
Our preferred CEX is Kraken. The owners and management are anarcho-capitalists and cypherpunks. They’re philosophically aligned with the ideals of crypto therefore we believe they can be trusted.
Binance
If you can’t open an account with Kraken, then Binance is our second choice. Binance also supports the ethos of decentralization and is the largest crypto exchange in the world.
Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs)
DEXs enable you to maintain custody of your crypto, don't require any personal information, and give you access to thousands of cryptocurrencies.
DEXs provide a permissionless way to swap your crypto. Youxia's preferred DEX is THORChain. Following are some front ends that support THORChain.
THORSwap
THORSwap is the preeminent website to integrate THORChain and gives you the ability to swap bitcoin for thousands of different cryptocurrencies, without using bridges or wrapped tokens. And you maintain self custody of your crypto.
ShapeShift
ShapeShift was founded in 2014 by Erik Voorhees in response to the collapse of the Mt. Gox exchange. The collapse demonstrated the need for an exchange that doesn’t custody user funds, and doesn’t collect users personal information. This became a reality with ShapeShift’s integration of THORChain.
There are Two Types of Crypto Wallets...
Cold Storage Wallets
Not connected to the internet
You’re most vulnerable to hackers when your wallet is connected to the internet. Therefore, cold wallets are the safest to use because you only connect them to the internet when you need to make a transaction. The rest of the time they’re offline.
The cold wallet market is dominated by two players, Ledger and Trezor.
Never buy a crypto wallet from Amazon or any other third party reselling website. Always buy directly from the website of the wallet you want. This ensures the device you receive is not compromised. The links below for Ledger and Trezor will take you directly to their websites so you can buy directly from them.
Ledger
Ledger is the most popular cold storage wallet. It boasts the most features and supports the most coins. You can swap crypto on a Ledger device through THORSwap . Ledger’s firmware is closed source, the apps are open source.
Trezor
Trezor is the second most popular cold storage wallet. It doesn’t support as many coins as Ledger, but it’s more than enough for the average user. Trezor’s firmware, software, and even hardware is open source.
Hot Storage Wallets
Connected to the internet
Why use a wallet that's always connected to the internet if it isn't as safe as cold storage? Convenience.
Maybe you want to actively swap, send, or receive crypto. Doing so with a cold wallet can be cumbersome and become annoying. Also, using a hot wallet is still better than leaving crypto on a CEX.
Trust Wallet
Trust Wallet is backed by Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world. This wallet can be downloaded on your iOS or android phone. Trust Wallet is integrated with DEXs like THORChain which means you can swap crypto from within the wallet and avoid using a CEX. Trust Wallet is open source.
XDEFI Wallet
XDEFI is the first multi chain web browser wallet. It gets added as an extension (the puzzle piece in the top right of your browser). THORChain is integrated, making it possible for you to swap crypto from within the wallet. XDEFI is closed source with the intention of going open source.