Coincheck confirmed Friday that the hack, now likely the largest ever in the space, occurred on its servers early afternoon local time in Tokyo. Shortly after it discovered the theft, the exchange suspended trading of NEM, the stolen crypto in question, then of the other dozen coins it lists.
Coincheck is looking into compensating its customers, its executives also announced - which is different from Mount Gox where there was a total loss for investors. The amount is unknown at this time.
So given this hack, we have to talk about security.
Anything that is connected to the internet can be potentially hacked. These are all hot wallets - because they are hot on the internet.
You should consider holding a cold storage unit - like the one we recommend with Ledger Nano S.
When you plug it into a standard mini USB to full-size USB cable to a computer - the device will turn on and you can begin configuring it by pressing the two buttons at the top together.
Step 1) Use Google Chrome- adnd search for the Ledger Wallet
There's different apps - a Ledger Wallet Bitcoin for bitcoin and a Ledger Wallet Ethereum for ethereum. If you have both bitcoin and ethereum, you'll want to download both.
Step 2) Add the Chrome Extension for the Ledger Wallet Bitcoin/Ethereum
As the picture shows - you click the Add button.
Step 3) See Ledger Wallet App Added
You will see the two apps you downloaded - one for bitcoin and one for ethereum alongside your main Google Chrome apps.
If you don't see it - go to the top right Settings - and go to My Extensions and Apps and you should see it there.
Next, you login with your pin code on your Ledger USB device and enter inside the Ethereum app - matching the Ethereum app you have opened in your Google Chrome browser.
Then a new window should pop up allowing you to send and receive your ethereum.
This is a cold storage unit that you can carry around with you anywhere and is generally considered the safest way to store your crypto.
So if you don't already have one, check out the Ledger Nano S. So always have a combination of cold storage and hot storage wallets. Hot ones let you quickly access the exchanges for liquidity. Cold ones are for longer term storage.