It’s natural to wonder whether Coinbase is safe, especially if you are investing a lot. Plus, it’s still a relatively new platform. While Coinbase is generally a secure platform and has security measures such as two-factor authentication, it’s not impervious to attacks. A quick search online reveals reports of Coinbase users having their accounts drained overnight. Experts point to SIM swapping as one cause of these incidents.

While this may sound scary, it doesn’t mean you have to avoid Coinbase. There are measures you can take to make things even more difficult for potential hackers, such as using what’s called a non-custodial wallet. Another option is a hardware wallet.

The idea behind these different types of wallets is that you aren’t relying on Coinbase to store your money. They allow you to store your own crypto using an app, software, or hardware. So even if someone gains access to your Coinbase account, that won’t give them access to the wallet, where your cryptocurrency is actually stored.

The downside to this approach is it requires you to remember your own password, also known as a private key. If you have heard reports of people losing millions because they got locked out of their cryptocurrency wallet, they probably have a non-custodial wallet. While this method is more secure, the onus is on you to ensure you can access your wallet.