Thanks to its security measures, Monero is one of the most popular coins on the cryptocurrency circuit.
If you’ve already opted to buy Monero, or just contemplating adding XMR to your investment portfolio, you may be wondering how to store Monero offline.
Monero tokens are stored on an account with two distinct cryptographic keys; the spend key and the view key.
The titles of the keys speak for themselves. Both keys are 64 characters long and include letters and numbers.
It is this security measure that gives Monero an edge over rival wallets.
Not only that, but Monero has the typical public address key, and private mnemonic seed other cryptocurrencies use.
The public key is shared on the blockchain to enable users to make transactions, while the private seed – a string of 13 or 25 words – is personal to you.
The mnemonic seed is the most important key to your Monero account. Without it, you cannot get to your digital currency.
If you lose it, you could be locked out of your account and your crypto assets. You should create a backup when you first set up your Monero account, but you still need the private seed to restore your account.
There are several ways of storing Monero. Wallets are typically distinguished between hot and cold wallets. Hot wallets can be breached by cyber-criminals and include online wallets, cloud wallets, mobile wallets and wallets you store on your hard drive.
The most secure method of storing cryptocurrencies is in a cold wallet – meaning they are offline and cannot be stolen. Let’s take a closer look at your options for storing Monero.
Monero Hardware Wallets
Until recently, Monero owners relied on the companies Graphic User Interface Wallet (GUI) to store their investment.
While the GUI has commendable security measures, your Monero coins are still stored onboard your desktop PC or laptop where they are at the mercy of cyber-criminals.
Last year, hardware wallet supremacists, Ledger announced they were developing their Nano S and Blue wallets to integrate with XMR coins.
TREZOR and Jaxx also made attempts, but all three failed because of the complications with Monero privacy settings.
According to some reports, the Monero hardware wallet development team have announced they are working on a prototype.
However, the news is very sketchy considering the wallet is due to launch in the Spring of 2018. For the time being, there are no hardware wallets that support XMR.
Monero Paper Wallets
The safest way to store Monero funds is to create a paper wallet.
By creating a paper wallet, you can move your finds offline, and transfer them back online to make transactions by entering the mnemonic seed in your GUI wallet.
Paper wallets are not the most convenient option but do give you absolute security.
Paper Wallets Have Four Principle Factors:
Monero Public Address
The public address is used to transfer and receive funds. This is the seed that is available for public access and identifies money is being sent to or from your account. However, for privacy, the public address does not reveal your name or physical address details.
Monero Mnemonic Seed
This is your key that only you see. It is given to you when you set up a MyMonero or GUI wallet. You should keep this key safe as you will need it to access your account or restore your account when the device you initially used to create the account is no longer working.
Monero Private Spend Key
This is a 25-word computer-generated seed that is private to you. It is advisable to write this private spend key down as you need it to send money.
Monero Private View Key
The private view key only permits users to check their account balance and transactions. It is a view-only option and does not permit you to move funds.
How To Print a Monero Paper Wallet
Printing a Monero paper wallet is straightforward. The easiest method is to visit the official Monero website, click on the image (as shown below) and print off the images on a single piece of paper in landscape format.
Print of the first image then place the paper upside down and print the picture below on the opposite side of the same sheet of paper.
Once you have printed both sides, cut out the wallet where indicated. Write down the 25-words in your private key, then flip over to the other side and make a note of the date the wallet was created.
This seed is the only vital piece of information you need to access your account and restore it to keep it in a safe place where nobody else can find it.
For additional security, place a numbered holographic seal over the top and bottom of the folds so you can be sure the paper key has not been tampered with.
You can find these type of sticker on Amazon or eBay.
Monero GUI Wallet
Although not an offline wallet, at least not yet, Monero does have a fully-functioning web wallet called MyMonero, and a digital graphic user-interface wallet – the GUI – which is available for public use albeit, at the time of writing, is still in beta testing.
To download the Monero GUI wallet, visit the official Monero website and download the app.
Open the file and give your wallet a name. The name of your wallet is not shared with anyone else.
You will also be given a 25-word private key. You need this key to spend your Monero holdings. Write this key down and store it in a safe place.
You will then be prompted to enter a password. The password should be a keyword phrase you can remember easily, but which is hard to guess.
The password serves the same function as passwords for other accounts in that it protects your wallet file on your computer.
As an additional security measure, the Monero GUI wallet asks you to connect to a ‘Daemon’ – a technical term for a program that runs in the background and syncs your wallet to the Monero network so you can send and receive transactions.
When we have more updates on how to store Monero offline, we will let you know.
In the meantime read our article on How To Mine Monero.
