@SteiniMost “wallet hacks” don’t start with someone breaking cryptography. They start with someone who’s tired, distracted, a bit rushed, and thinks they’re doing something harmless like “logging in”. And then they sign. Not a transaction. Not a transfer. Just a “message”. That’s the tr
@SteiniLosing a device feels like an emergency. Sometimes it is. Often it’s just panic trying to borrow your brain. This post is the calm playbook for the first 30 minutes and the next 24 hours – depending on what you lost: a phone with a hot wallet a laptop with wallet software a
@SteiniMost wallet advice online is either “share nothing ever” or “it’s fine bro”. Neither is useful. Here’s the calmer truth: in self-custody, there are secrets (instant loss if leaked), and there’s metadata (usually not instant loss, but can still enable scams, tracking, targeted
@SteiniIf you’ve never restored your wallet from backup, you don’t have a backup – you have a story you tell yourself. A recovery drill is simply proving, end-to-end, that you can get your wallet back from the words you wrote down, without “winging it”, without guessing, and without
@SteiniFirst: this is not legal advice. It’s practical, security-first best practice – the “how not to leave your heirs a puzzle box” version. Self-custody has an awkward truth: if nobody can access your keys when you’re gone, your assets may as well not exist. But if you “solve” tha
@SteiniA mobile wallet is an app on your phone that lets you send and receive crypto. In the self-custody case, it holds your keys locally and signs on the phone, which makes it brilliant for everyday use: quick payments, QR scans, and checking balances on the move. In other words, it’s
@SteiniYour seed phrase (also called a recovery phrase – usually 12/18/24 words) is the big one. It’s a human-readable backup of the wallet’s root secret, most commonly via BIP39, from which your private keys and addresses are derived. If someone gets your seed, they can take everything
@SteiniYou don’t need a “perfect” setup on day one. You need something you can actually use, back up, and recover without breaking into a cold sweat. Most wallet disasters aren’t caused by hoodie-wearing hackers – they’re caused by people building a setup that’s too complicated to maint
@SteiniA “metal wallet” usually isn’t a wallet at all. It’s a physical backup of your recovery information – most commonly a BIP39 seed phrase – engraved, stamped, punched, or assembled in metal so it survives what paper won’t: fire, water, mould, time, and general household chaos. Thin
@SteiniHere’s the awkward reality: a lot of “wallet hacks” aren’t clever at all. They’re just people downloading the wrong app or landing on a convincing fake site. If you only take one thing from this post, make it this: the scam usually happens before you even open the wallet. Sear
@SteiniA hardware wallet is really a hardware signer: a dedicated device that keeps your private keys off your laptop or phone and signs transactions on the device itself. Your keys don’t sit on an internet-connected machine, and when you send funds you’re meant to verify the important
@SteiniA “paper wallet” is simply key material written down or printed out. Years ago that often meant a single raw private key. These days, people usually mean a seed phrase (often BIP39). It’s old-school, fully offline, and – crucially – deceptively easy to mess up. Done well, it can
@SteiniA browser extension wallet lives inside your browser and lets websites and dApps ask you to sign things. That convenience is exactly why people love them – and exactly why attackers love them too. If you’re active in DeFi, NFTs, on-chain games, or anything “connect wallet”-shaped
@SteiniA desktop wallet runs on Windows, macOS, or Linux. Compared to mobile, it’s more workbench than pocket tool: more screen space, more visibility into what’s happening, better fee/coin control, and generally a nicer place to verify details properly. They also tend to pair really we
@SteiniCold storage isn’t a single wallet or a single brand – it’s a way of operating. The goal is simple: keep your private keys offline, and only bring them into play to sign a transaction, with as little exposure as possible. Done well, it’s the closest thing you get to “sleep at nig
@SteiniWelcome to the Crypto Wallet Hub! If you’re here, you’ve probably had at least one of these thoughts: “Wait… Do I really understand what my wallet is doing?” “Is this firmware update safe or am I about to speedrun regret?” “Why does everyone on the internet disagree about t
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