Back to all guides
Security 4 min

Before You Trade: The Non-Negotiables

Essential security practices every BSC trader should follow. Quick, practical rules that protect your funds.

Before You Trade: The Non-Negotiables

The rules we actually follow — and wish someone had told us earlier.

Disclaimer: This is not financial advice.

Never risk more than you can afford to lose

Set a responsible bankroll and stick to it. Consider the variance involved; decide your maximum position size before entering. This single habit will save you from busting your deposits.

Verify wallet addresses carefully

Check the first several and last several digits. Beware clipboard-hijacking malware that swaps addresses. And always confirm you’re sending to the right blockchain — plenty of users have lost funds sending to unsupported networks.

DMs are scams

You will be tempted to trust someone almost immediately. Don’t. Be extremely careful of impersonators — fake websites, fake moderators, fake “admins” offering help. Legitimate support will never DM you first.

Want the full breakdown? See our BSC Scams Guide for detailed patterns on rug pulls, honeypots, and phishing.

Your seed phrase is everything

Your 12-24 word seed phrase controls your funds across all chains. Take extreme caution:

  • Never enter it on any website
  • Never store it unencrypted online
  • Never try to just memorize it
  • Use a password manager (Bitwarden, KeePassXC) with strong 20+ character passwords

xkcd password strength comic — battery correct horse staple is a strong memorable password

Use two-factor authentication

On every exchange. On every account that touches your funds. It’s table stakes in 2026.

Practice with small amounts first

Send a tiny test transaction before moving real money. This one habit would have saved crypto users millions worldwide — wrong addresses, token contracts instead of wallets, wrong networks. Verify it works before you commit.

For large amounts, simulate disaster recovery

Your phone falls in the lake. You have to evacuate your house. You forgot your primary password. Your hardware wallet broke and you can’t find the backup.

Are you still okay?

Trezor and most hardware wallets have safe offline recovery simulation. Test it before you need it.

You’ll get the entries, never the exits

You will be shilled amazing opportunities throughout your trading life. Most are bad ideas, but you’ll remember the ones that got away. Here’s the thing: however great an entry you get into the next hyped token, the shillers won’t follow through to ensure you take profits before they dump.

That’s on you.

Next Steps

Stay skeptical. Verify everything. Protect your keys.