How to Transfer Crypto to a Ledger Hardware Wallet | 5 Minute Simple Beginners Guide

The worlds 4th largest crypto exchange, FTX just went bankrupt and all those who had their coins on that exchange may be left with nothing. With more and more following this path, storing your crypto on online exchanges looks like a bad option. As they say, if not your keys, then not your crypto. So in this blog, I will explain, step by step, how we can move any crypto from any exchange to an HW wallet. I will use Ledger Nano X as an example, but this will work for any ledger device, the S, X, or S plus.

If you still don’t have an HW wallet, you can buy it using the link in the description to get a 10% discount. First, I will show you how to do it from the desktop and later with the mobile app. So let's get started.

To do this, you need to already have an account with a crypto exchange and some tokens stored. Here, I will show how to send Bitcoin from my account in Binance and Coinbase to my Ledger Nano X. But the steps are similar for any other exchange and token. The second prerequisite is that you are done with the initial setup of Ledge nano X. If not, you can watch this video to complete that and then come here. Sending and receiving crypto involves only three simple steps. Get the address of the receiving wallet.

Provide the address to the sender and click on send. To get the receiving address from our HW wallet, connect the device to the laptop using the provided USB cable. Now open the ledger live desktop app. You can install the app from the official ledger website if you don't have it on your computer. Now go to the section My Ledger to connect to the device. There will be a prompt on the device to Allow the ledger manager. Approve this by pressing the left and right buttons simultaneously. Now head back to the app catalog section in the ledger desktop app.

For each crypto asset you want to manage, you need to install its app on your Ledger hardware wallet. I already have the bitcoin app installed, you can do this for any token by clicking on the install button on the right. The next step is to add an account. You can see them like the accounts you have in the bank; you can add multiple accounts for each crypto token. Click the add account button directly here or go to the Accounts tab and add an account from there. Next, it will ask to open the app corresponding to the crypto from the device.

We go to the device and simultaneously press the left and right buttons to open the token app in the wallet. Now the app is ready on the device to receive tokens. Now get back to the desktop app, and give any name for the account. I will keep it as Bitcoin two, click on "add account" and finally, "Done" to finish the account creation process. You can always see a summary of all your accounts on the Accounts tab.

Now we need to get the receiving address of this account to send our tokens. So select the account, click on the receive button, and click on continue. Now the desktop app will show you the receiving address and ask you to verify the same on the device. Copy this by clicking on the copy button nearby. Then, head to the device and compare and verify the address shown on both the device and the desktop app.

Now next step is to log in to your exchange and send the coins to this address. I will show how it's done on Coinbase and Binance. But as I said, the process is similar for every other exchange.

Login to the coinbase account, then from the assets page, click on send/receive button on the top. Select the crypto from the drop-down list. The next step would be to enter the number of coins or the corresponding amount you want to send. If you are transferring for the first time, I suggest you do a test run. Like start with a small amount and then send the remaining once you successfully receive the initial tokens in the wallet.

I will initiate a transfer of around 20 Euros. Now on the "To" field, paste the address we already copied and click on continue. You will see a summary of the transfer with the current network fees. You can watch this video to learn a little hack on how to transfer coins without paying the huge transfer fees associated with some tokens. Click on send now, and your coins are on the way to the HW wallet. To do this with Binance, you should go to the fiat and spot page in your Binance account.

Click on the withdraw button on the top and go to withdraw crypto option. Select the coin you want to move to your HW wallet and paste the address copied from the ledger live app to the address field. Now enter the amount you want to transfer and click on withdraw button to transfer your funds successfully. This could take a few minutes to hours, based on the coin and the network you are working with. Once the transfer is verified in the blockchain, you can see the tokens on the account section in the ledger desktop app.

To do this from the mobile, open the ledger live app and pair your device with Bluetooth. Once you have connected to the device, go to the "Wallet" tab to see your accounts exactly like in the desktop version. Click on account of the token we want to receive and then the receive button to show the receiving address. Now verify this address on the HW wallet and copy it by clicking on the "copy" button. If you are working with the same account, the address will be the same as in the desktop version.

Now go to the Coinbase app, click on send, select the coin you want to send, and then paste the copied address in the "To" field. Now enter the desired amount and click preview to see a transaction summary. Click on sent now to successfully send the token to your hardware wallet from the Coinbase app.

Similarly, to transfer crypto from the Binance app to your ledger wallet, open the Binance app on your phone and go to the wallet tab. Click on the withdrawal button and move to the crypto tab. Search for the crypto you want to transfer. Enter the address and the amount, and click on withdraw to complete the transfer. Get back to the ledger mobile app and check your account to see the tokens received.

That's it. You have successfully transferred your crypto from your exchange to your own custody. Just make sure to you store your recovery phrase somewhere safe.

Disclaimer: The Content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. It is important to do your own analysis before making any investment.