NM-008: Wallet custody and funding path

1. Required path

Acquisition, then a wallet you control, then the order. The intermediate step is not optional in this procedure and it is the difference between a payment and a straight line from an identity checked account to a marketplace order.

2. Acquisition

Coin may be bought on an exchange with an identity check, traded peer to peer, or swapped from another coin without an account. These differ in how much identity is attached at purchase and are otherwise equivalent for this procedure. The exchange route is the most convenient and produces a record connecting a name to a withdrawal, which is precisely why the funds then move.

3. Custody

Coin held on an exchange is controlled by the exchange, subject to whatever happens to that company, and attached to the identity used at signup. A local wallet holds the keys on your own device. For Monero, Feather on desktop and Cake on mobile both route over Tor and both are straightforward. The official GUI suits anybody wanting to run a full node.

4. Recovery material

• The recovery seed is the wallet. The application and the device are replaceable, the words are not
• Write it on paper at creation, before putting anything of value into the wallet
• Store it away from the device it belongs to
• Never type it into a web page and never photograph it or place it in a synced note

5. Funding

From the wallet, send to the deposit address issued for the specific order. Configure the wallet to add the network fee on top of the amount rather than deduct it, since deduction produces a shortfall on every order and a shortfall leaves the order unfunded.