Does a VPN really protect your crypto trading, Node projects or DeFi investments?

If you’re considering crypto trading or a seasoned investor already, you’re wondering how to secure these precious digital assets. Does a VPN secure your crypto trading?

Crypto is fantastic, you can trade it from anywhere or send it seamlessly to someone else in seconds. It’s mostly unregulated, decentralized, and all you need is usually your login and password.

That means the entire responsibility of protecting your crypto lies on you since there usually is no third party involved in any transaction.

Cryptos are said to be anonymous. Actually they are pseudonymous. When you buy cryptos you go through a process of validation and certification of your IP address. Many authorities are rattled by the absence of any form of identification in the crypto sphere. An IP address usually provides a clear way to identify you.

So that means a lot of risks, for both your assets and your identity.

A VPN to access crypto platforms is probably the best idea, as it will help preserve anonymity and confidentiality.

But how truly efficient are VPNs when it comes to crypto trading, DeFi or node investments?

Here’s what this review will cover

What is a VPN ?
Does a VPN protect your crypto trading?
Does a VPN protect your Metamask wallet?
What key features should you look for in a VPN for Crypto?
My Top VPN for crypto and Defi traders: NordVPN

Let’s start with the basics.

What is a VPN?

In simple terms, a VPN is a tunnel.

Using a VPN while you browse the internet will channel all your traffic through an encrypted tunnel, making it virtually invisible from any third party (ISPs, hackers, authorities,…).

You’re browsing safe, it makes your whole internet activity private and secured.

A VPN will hide your IP address (the one that geolocalizes you on the network). When you’re using a VPN, you can then appear to be located wherever the VPN provider has servers. So it will provide you online anonymity.

Basically, no one can see through the tunnel, get their hands on your online data, or find your real location.

The cases when you need a VPN

You need to protect your online data
You want to access sites that are blocked in your country
You often uses public hotspots or wifi
You want to avoid unlawful surveillance
You use filesharing services

Does a VPN protect your crypto trading?

A VPN will usually protect you from:

your ISP monitoring your browsing activity and selling your data to advertisers or providing logs to authorities
hackers trying to profit from unsecure connections to get inside your phone or pc
government requesting your log data to your ISP

When you’re trading on an exchange, you connect with your logins. So, you’ll want that login and password to remain anonymous. A VPN will prevent any prying eyes when you open the session. In that sense, yes a VPN provides an element of security.

Most crypto transfers use the secured https end to end protocol. A VPN will add an extra layer of security with anonymity, which is not the case with https.

You will also be protected if you trade from public wifi. Open networks are well-known for being quite unsecured, often using the WPA data encryption tech, so a VPN will definitely help you in that sense.

Third case: you’re trading from a country that bans crypto (like China) => a VPN will enable you to access and trade your favorite exchange and circumvent the geofencing.

Does a VPN protect your Metamask wallet?

The main risk you face when using your Metamask wallet is browsing on a malicious website that will take control of your Metamask by asking you to re-type your seed phrase (20 word).

I should know, I had mine totally emptied in a few minutes….

You should NEVER re-type your seed phrase unless you are doing a fresh install, and a VPN will not protect you if you do type your seed phrase while surfing on a malicious website.

A VPN will only be part of the security measures you take but won’t cover your risk entirely.

In that sense, no, a VPN does not protect your Metamask Wallet 100%. But there a many measures you can (and should) take. To find out, check these 10 security tips for your crypto and how to avoid a Metamask hack.

What key features should you look for in a VPN for crypto?

There are several key characteristics you’ll need to look for in a VPN for crypto

AES-256 military grade encryption. It adds an unbreakable level of security to https
A zero log policy. The VPN doesn’t store user data. Usually something free VPNs don’t offer because they sell their users’ data to finance their operations
A Kill Switch function that makes sure the connection to the crypto exchange is always maintained with an active VPN, or the switch kills the connection. If your VPN goes down your connection stops.
A private jurisdiction: you need a VPN that is based outside of the 14 eyes alliance
Fast: your VPN needs to have a fast tunneling protocol with low latency, in particular if you are going to trade your crypto
Numerous servers and localizations
Geo-restrictions circumventing to enable crypto exchanges around the world
Accept Bitcoin or other cryptos as payment

My Top VPN for crypto and Defi traders: NordVPN

The VPN I use and recommend is NordVPN.

NordVPN offers the following:

AES-256 encryption
A zero log policy, certified by an independent audit
Based in Panama, outside of the 14 Eyes jurisdictions
Offers over 5,500 servers in more than 50 countries
Accepts Bitcoin for payment
A protection against IP and DNS leaks
Kill switch on all applications, web or mobile (not activated by default)
Uses the NordLynx protocol (based on Wireguard protocol), guaranteeing excellent bandwidth and making NordVPN the fastest VPN on the market

NordVPN offers a new feature called Threat protection:

This a new added layer of security offered by NordVPN
It provides safer browsing by blocking malicious websites, ads and trackers
It also identifies files containing malware
Users can activate threat protection on either Mac, PC, and all major browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
You get an automatic 7 day report with info about blocked trackers, websites, ads and malicious files

Threat protection does the following :

Malware blocking : you are prevented from accidentally visiting malicious websites
Ads : intrusive ads are blocked, and that includes popups.
Trackers : third party trackers are blocked, remember that they collect private info

Of all the VPNs we’ve reviewed, NordVPN offers the best value for money.

Conclusion

As crypto becomes more mainstream, hacks and scams are becoming extremely frequent.

I consider myslef quite knowledgeable in the space, and despite that suffered several scams.

So a VPN will not protect you entirely, but it should definitely be part of your security arsenal to protect your crypto assets and trading It is no longer something you can ignore.

That’s it for this quick review. If you enjoyed it and wish to thank me, you can buy me a coffee … 😉

More crypto articles to take things further:

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