With the price of Bitcoins recently surpassing $7,000, the information website at Bitcoin.com has advised users of the crypto-currency to download its Wallet innovation in order to guarantee around-the-clock secure access to their funds via a mobile or desktop computer.

Bitcoin.com markets itself as the ‘premier source for everything Bitcoin-related’ and revealed that its Wallet service has so far been utilized some 486,279 times in order to create a digital vault that protects users’ private keys.

The domain described Bitcoin as a ‘chain of digital transactions between addresses’ that can be authenticated and recorded through the use of a public ledger known as a ‘block chain’. It stated that a user can subsequently utilize their own unique private key to send Bitcoins to public addresses comprised of random letter and number sequences in order to pay for goods or services.

“But your unique private key is what makes possible the transaction because that proves your ownership of the coins,” read a statement from Bitcoin.com. “Private keys unlock your Bitcoin balances and authorize your transactions. Private keys held in online exchanges or unsecure wallets are exposed to thieves within the organization or outside hackers. Assume that hackers or corrupt insiders are always plotting to steal your crypto-investments.”

To guard against the possibility that an online wallet may be hacked such as what happened to Mt Gox in 2014 with the loss of 850,000 Bitcoins, Bitcoin.com declared that users should moreover treat private keys ‘as if they’re the actual Bitcoins’ and protect these in the same way as e-mail passwords or bank personal identification numbers.

“Because there’s much to lose, plan for emergencies or contingencies,” read the statement from Bitcoin.com. “A passphrase is an encoded version of your private keys. You can write down your passphrase with pen and paper and store them in a vault, bank deposit box or secret location that only you have access to.”

As the exact security protocols between different exchanges, applications and software may differ, Bitcoin.com finally advised users to store their Bitcoins on a mobile device while furthermore proclaiming that ‘offline storage of your private keys is the safest way to protect your Bitcoins’.