Exchange balance or your own wallet: a simple split for Kenyan users

Keeping everything on the exchange is easy. The app is already on your phone, P2P selling to M-Pesa is a few taps away and there is no seed phrase to worry about. The downside is that all your savings depend on one login. Moving everything to a self-custody wallet has the opposite problem: you are now fully responsible for the keys. Most people are better served by a split, and deciding it takes only a few minutes.

Name the two parts of your balance

Look at your holdings and divide them into two groups. The first is the money you use: what you trade, what you plan to sell to shillings soon, what you need on hand. The second is what you are saving for months or years. The first group belongs where you use it, on the exchange. The second group is a candidate for a wallet you control, if you are ready for that responsibility.

Choose a wallet and practise first

If you move the savings part, choose a well-known wallet app or a hardware wallet bought from the manufacturer or an authorised seller. Write the recovery phrase on paper, store it safely and never photograph it or share it. Before moving savings, send a small amount and practise restoring the wallet from the phrase. If that feels uncomfortable, it is fine to keep more on the exchange while you learn.

Protect the part that stays on the exchange

For the balance you keep on the exchange, switch on an authenticator app or passkey, set an anti-phishing code and enable withdrawal whitelisting so funds can only go to addresses you have saved. Check the device list and log out anything unfamiliar. These settings mean that even if someone obtains your password, moving your money out is much harder and slower.

Revisit the split every few months

Your needs change. If you trade less, the exchange part can shrink; if you are saving for a near-term goal, more may need to stay where you can sell it quickly. Every few months, look at the split again and adjust. Keep a simple note of where each part is held, and make sure one trusted person knows how to find that information if something happens to you.

Risk boundary: Kenya Crypto Guide

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Scenario checkpoint

• Divide your holdings into money you use and money you are saving.
• Practise with a small amount and a restore test before moving savings to a wallet.
• Turn on an authenticator or passkey, anti-phishing code and whitelisting on the exchange.
• Review the split every few months and keep a note of where each part is held.