Hardware Wallet (coming soon)

What are hardware wallets?

Hardware wallets securely keep a crypto user’s private keys in offline or “cold” storage, meaning they are not connected to the internet, except when a user must briefly connect them to a computer to complete a transaction (more on that later.) Software- or web-based crypto wallets are “hot”, or permanently online, which gives hackers more potential attack vectors through which to steal your funds. Because of this, hardware wallets are nearly universally considered to be a very safe option for keeping crypto assets out of the wrong hands.

How do hardware wallets work?

Hardware wallets can be thought of as highly stripped-down computers that exist only to perform a few basic but essential functions, often containing little more than one or two buttons and sometimes a small screen. On their own, hardware wallets have no way of connecting to the internet, which means it’s virtually impossible for hackers to access their contents. When a user is spending crypto, swapping, or otherwise sending and receiving assets to/from any wallet, the transaction must be “signed” using their private key. With a hardware wallet, transactions are signed within the device itself through what’s called a crypto bridge, a simple piece of software that facilitates a hardware wallet’s connection to the blockchain.

When a user connects their hardware wallet to a PC, the crypto bridge transfers unsigned transaction data to the device. The hardware wallet then signs the transactions via the private key and uploads them back to the bridge, which broadcasts them to the rest of the blockchain network as complete. At no point in this process does a user’s private key leave the hardware wallet.

Always triple check and test addresses when transferring large amounts of crypto!

Even though a hardware wallet is considered the most secure way to store your private keys, generally accepted crypto security best practices still apply. Never send a large amount of crypto between wallets before verifying the receiving address with a small test transfer, and don’t transact with any unknown wallet addresses. If your hardware wallet has a screen, always be sure the recipient’s address on your computer screen matches up with what the wallet is displaying before initiating a transaction.