Wallet
Software that stores the private keys needed to control tokens on a blockchain. A wallet does not actually hold any tokens. The tokens live on the chain. The wallet holds the keys that prove you own them.
Also known as: crypto wallet, key management
A wallet is one of the most misleadingly named concepts in crypto. Your tokens don’t actually live in the wallet. They live on the blockchain, recorded in a massive public ledger that every node on the network has a copy of. What the wallet stores is a set of private keys: cryptographic proofs that you have the right to move specific balances. If you lose the keys, you lose access to the tokens even though the tokens themselves are still recorded on the chain and can be seen by anyone.
There are several types of wallet, each with different tradeoffs. Hot wallets (MetaMask, Phantom, Rabby, mobile apps) keep keys on an internet-connected device for convenience. Cold wallets or hardware wallets (Ledger, Trezor, GridPlus) keep keys on an offline device that only signs transactions when physically connected. Custodial wallets (exchange accounts, some mobile apps) don’t give you the keys at all — the exchange holds them and you’re trusting them to let you withdraw. The oldest crypto maxim, “not your keys, not your coins,” points at the custodial case specifically.
Wallets also differ in which chains they support. A wallet that works on Ethereum doesn’t automatically work on Solana, Bitcoin, or NEAR. Each chain has its own cryptographic scheme, address format, and transaction structure, and most wallets specialise in one family. Multi-chain wallets exist but are usually thinner on features. This is why bridging and chain abstraction have become so important: users don’t want to manage five wallets just to use five networks.
The wallet is also the primary attack surface for most crypto losses. Phishing sites that ask you to approve malicious transactions, fake browser extensions, malware that reads seed phrases from clipboard, and plain old social engineering attacks that trick users into revealing their private keys. Hardware wallets protect against most of these because the signing happens inside a physically isolated device. Software wallets on a regular computer or phone are more convenient and more vulnerable. The right tradeoff depends on how much you’re holding and how often you transact.