Why are wallets necessary for long term storage?
Correct me if I'm wrong - if you have your private and public keys stored securely somewhere, you don't need a software or a hardware wallet do you? Obviously they're helpful for sending funds, but if you're just HODLing long term do you need any wallet software or just the public/private key?
Deloitte PVaQ48 Feb 18, 2018
Print the keys on paper = bearer bond 2.0.
No, you don’t - storing the private key is enough for long term storage. Eventually however you’ll need to transfer the funds (unless you plan to HODL forever). If you don’t use a hardware wallet, you’ll have to import the private key into a wallet and at that point you’ll be exposed. If you use a hardware wallet from the start, the private key will never leave the device. Also, for many crypto currencies, keys are single use only. If you need to do a partial transfer, you’d have to generate another key and transfer the remaining balance there (change address). Wallets do this automatically for you and you only need to backup the seed rather than each private key. Same goes for handling multiple cryptos.