One of the most secure methods of storing XRP is the Ripple Paper Wallet. Those who plan on holding Ripple (XRP) for more than a few weeks should ideally store their coins in cold storage. With several cases of exchanges and wallets being hacked, it is advisable to use a more feasible and secure option for storage of crypto assets. Paper wallet remains the best Ripple wallet for new crypto asset holders.
However, even a paper wallet is not 100% risk-free. If the hacker gets access to the private keys, the funds can be easily stolen. It is also necessary to run a complete virus scan on the computer before creating your Ripple paper wallet.
How to make a Ripple Wallet?
A paper wallet for any cryptocurrency has both a public key and a private key. A wallet gets generated when a random private key is generated, and an associated public key is also generated along with it.
A Ripple Wallet can be generated in the following manner:-
- Go to Ripple wallet generator here. A form opens, and by pressing the “Generate” button, the wallet generator provides you with a Ripple Address (public key) and a Ripple Secret (private key). The website can also be saved to your computer by right-clicking and then choosing “Save As”. This allows you to run the website after the computer is disconnected from the internet. This step prevents data from being sent over the internet.
Note: To ensure optimum safety when generating the key pair use an amnesiac operating system like Tails. This ensures that the wallet cannot be compromised. The Ripple wallet can be saved to your USB drive so that it can be accessed offline later with Tails.
- Copy the Ripple Address (public key) into a text file and save it for transferring XRP and checking your balance later.
- Now the details of your wallet can be printed. It is advisable to not carry out the print job over the internet. The best way is to save the wallet to a USB drive and print it directly. The computer can be directly connected to the printer, and the wallet can be printed while both computer and printer remain offline. Several copies of wallet should be printed as a backup.
How to send funds to your Ripple Wallet?
Now that the Ripple paper wallet has been created, you can store your funds in the secure cold storage paper wallet. The funds can be sent not only from an exchange wallet but from any wallet.
The steps to send funds from an exchange wallet or any other wallet are as follows-
- Press the withdrawal button, and you will get a prompt asking the amount you would like to withdraw or the address you would like to send it to. Ideally, the first transfer to the paper wallet should be a small one. This is to test that everything is set up correctly. A minimum of 20 coins is needed to initially fund a Ripple wallet (these coins are required to book a Ripple address, so that, you don’t end up losing 20XRP on various wallet addresses). However, these coins do not cover the transaction fees and withdrawal fees the exchange might charge.
- Open the text file where your public address was stored. Now copy the public address and paste it into the withdrawal address. Verify the address posted and the one printed on the paper.
- Now press the send button to send XRP. The transaction will be carried out in less than a minute. To check if the funds have arrived in your paper wallet, you can use the Ripple account viewer in case the account shows a zero balance initially, it is likely that the transaction hasn’t gone through yet.
Once the test amount has arrived in your account, the entire balance can be sent using the above procedure, but with a higher withdrawal amount.
The paper wallet can also be laminated so that it lasts longer and is water resistant. It is important to remember that anyone that has access to your paper wallet also has an access to your Ripple coins. Thus, it is necessary that private keys are not exposed in any manner. Yet, Ripple paper wallet remains the best option for newcomers due to the ease with which it can be used.
