Acquire And Receive

You can get bitcoin by buying it, earning it, mining it, or receiving it from another person. The mechanics differ, but the custody question is always the same: who controls the keys?

Exchange Balance vs Wallet Balance

Bitcoin on an exchange is an IOU until you withdraw it to a wallet whose keys you control. Exchanges can be useful for buying, but they are custodians. They can freeze accounts, suffer failures, or delay withdrawals.

Self-custody begins when a transaction pays an address from your own wallet and receives confirmations on chain.

Receive Addresses

Your wallet can create a fresh address for every payment. Use a new address each time. Address reuse hurts privacy by linking payments together.

Before receiving meaningful funds:

1. Verify the address on the wallet or hardware wallet screen.
2. Send a small test amount first.
3. Wait for confirmations.
4. Confirm the balance in your wallet.
5. Only then move larger amounts.

QR Codes And Clipboard Risk

Malware can replace copied addresses. Always compare the first and last characters after pasting. On hardware wallets, trust the device screen over the computer screen.

QR codes reduce typing errors, but they are not magic. Verify the destination before sending.

Keep Records

Label transactions as they happen. "Exchange withdrawal May 2026" is more useful than guessing years later. Labels help with privacy, taxes, inheritance, and future coin control.