Hardware wallets

In plain words

A hardware wallet is a small device with one job: keep your keys offline and sign payments. Your phone or computer drafts the payment; the device confirms and signs. Keys never leave its chip, so your computer's malware never meets them. Buy new, straight from the maker — never second-hand, never a marketplace. And write the seed words on paper: the words, not the gadget, are the wallet.

Why it matters

• Removes the largest risk — keys on a connected device — for a one-time cost.
• A lost or broken device costs nothing while the seed backup exists.
• Checking the payment on the device's own screen is the entire point.

Not to be confused with

• "The device holds the coins" — coins live on the blockchain. Lose the device, keep the words, keep the coins.

Go deeper

• Signing devices
• Seed backups
• Hot vs cold wallets