Cryptocurrency wallet.
In plain English
A cryptocurrency wallet is software or a physical device that stores the private keys that prove you own crypto and let you spend it. The coins themselves live on the blockchain, not in the wallet: the wallet holds the keys that unlock them. Wallets come in two broad types. A hot wallet is connected to the internet and convenient for frequent use. A cold wallet stays offline and is harder for an attacker to reach. Whoever holds the keys controls the crypto, which is why protecting a wallet and its backup phrase matters so much.
01Why it matters
Because the wallet holds the keys that control your crypto, losing access to it or exposing its keys can mean losing the funds with no bank to call for a reversal.
02The math, step by step
You move 1,000 dollars of crypto into a wallet on your phone. The coins stay on the blockchain, but only the private key inside that wallet can authorize sending them. Lose the key and its backup, and the 1,000 dollars is unreachable.
03What this is NOT
A wallet does NOT store your coins the way a purse holds cash. The coins stay on the blockchain; the wallet only stores the keys that control them.
04Receipts
Every figure on this page is sourced to a primary document. Tap to open the original.