Cold Wallet

A cold wallet stores your private keys on a device that is offline — most commonly a dedicated hardware wallet, but paper or an offline computer count too.

A cold wallet stores your private keys on a device that is offline — most commonly a dedicated hardware wallet, but paper or an offline computer count too. Because it never touches the internet, it can’t be drained by remote hackers.

Why it matters

The safest way to hold meaningful amounts of long-term crypto is cold storage. “Not your keys, not your coins” is practical when a hardware wallet keeps those keys in your hands, offline, immune to phishing and malware.

Related terms

hot wallet ·
self-custody · seed phrase

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