What's the safest way to store crypto long-term?

Pragmatic setup for most holders:

• Cold storage for the bulk of your holdings: a hardware wallet (Ledger, Trezor, Coldcard) that you only ever connect for receiving and the occasional outgoing transaction.
• Hot wallet for day-to-day DeFi: a separate seed, much smaller balance, treat it as expendable.
• Seed backup: write on paper (or steel for fire/water resistance), store in two physically separated locations. Never digital, never photographed.
• Multisig for serious balances (>$100k): 2-of-3 across different hardware vendors so a single compromise can't move funds.
• Never re-use the hot wallet address as your cold address. Once an address signs a malicious approval, it's permanently tainted.

The biggest source of preventable loss is the assumption that 'I'm careful, I don't need separate wallets'. The drainer industry is industrialized; everyone gets targeted eventually. Compartmentalize.