Back to: Wallets & Security 101
Time to do it for real. This walkthrough takes about 15 minutes and ends with a backed-up wallet holding a tiny test amount. Follow it in order — the sequence is the security.
Step 1 — Download from the real source
Go to the wallet’s official site by typing the domain yourself (never via a search ad or a link someone sent). Verify the URL twice. Install the app or extension. If anything asks for money, personal documents, or an existing seed phrase during *setup*, stop — that’s not setup, that’s theft.
Step 2 — Create, don't import
Choose Create new wallet. The app shows 12–24 words: your seed phrase. This is the moment everything depends on.
Step 3 — Back up offline, right now
- Write the words on paper, numbered, in order. Twice (two copies).
- Store the copies in two separate safe places.
- Do NOT screenshot, photograph, email, or cloud-note them. Ever.
- The app will quiz you on random words — pass it honestly.
Step 4 — Fund with a test amount
Receive a tiny amount first (a few dollars). Confirm it arrives in the wallet. Then — and only then — send a tiny amount *out* to prove you can. You have now tested the full loop: in, backup, out.
Step 5 — Lock it down
Set a strong device/app password (this encrypts the local copy — it does NOT replace the seed phrase). Enable biometric lock if offered. Bookmark the real site. Delete any screenshots you accidentally took.
What you now have
A wallet only you control, a tested backup, and proof you can move funds both ways. That puts you ahead of most crypto holders on day one.
The rule you’ll repeat forever: backup before balance. Keys first, coins
> second, always in that order.
Next lesson: seed-phrase mastery — storage, steel, and mistakes.