Thanks for joining me for my final article in my 4-part series highlighting my first bitcoin purchase using my wallet! As a reminder, Article #1 focused on account setup, Article #2 centered on my purchase, Article #3 discussed my sale, and I now focus on storing my bitcoin on the blockchain.
Transferring My Bitcoin to a Non-Custodial Wallet
Just as a reminder, I invested $100 of my kid’s inheritance to learn. As a reminder, Coinbase was my broker, exchange, and custodian. However, I was not comfortable with Coinbase as my custodian since they are not regulated like a broker-dealer. Coinbase goes under and my bitcoin could go with them.
A non-custodian wallet means my bitcoin holding was directly on the blockchain in my name. If the service I use to set up my own non-custodial wallet goes away, it doesn’t matter since my name is on the blockchain. Makes sense to me.
Setting up My Non-Custodial Wallet
Since Coinbase was my custodian wallet, it only makes sense that they perform the service of facilitating my non-custodial wallet. Facilitating is the keyword since even though I would go through Coinbase to establish my relationship with the blockchain, it was not dependent upon Coinbase as an ongoing entity.
After a few clicks and providing some additional information, my non-custodial wallet was set up. I clicked a button to transfer my bitcoin to my new non-custodial wallet and was off to the races. I did pay a 3%+ fee upon transfer, but I was ok with that.
In my former articles in this series, I have described a really, really, really painful process working with Coinbase. Setting up my non-custodial wallet, however, was a breeze. I guess they treat you like a real person after you buy 2 of their services. Interesting business model.
Bottom Line
Having gone through the full lifecycle of a) setting up an account b) purchasing bitcoin c) selling bitcoin and d) transferring the bitcoin, my rating of Coinbase is a B-. I learned a huge amount about the process. Thanks for coming on my journey.