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Web3

Hot Wallet

A cryptocurrency wallet that is connected to the internet, enabling quick and convenient access for sending, receiving, and interacting with dApps. Browser extension wallets (Phantom, Backpack, Solflare) and mobile wallets are hot wallets. They offer the best user experience for daily transactions and DeFi activity but are more vulnerable to phishing, malware, and remote attacks compared to cold storage. Best practice is to keep only actively used funds in a hot wallet.

IDhot-wallet
Plain meaning

Plain meaning

Start with the shortest useful explanation before going deeper.

A cryptocurrency wallet that is connected to the internet, enabling quick and convenient access for sending, receiving, and interacting with dApps. Browser extension wallets (Phantom, Backpack, Solflare) and mobile wallets are hot wallets. They offer the best user experience for daily transactions and DeFi activity but are more vulnerable to phishing, malware, and remote attacks compared to cold storage. Best practice is to keep only actively used funds in a hot wallet.

Mental model

Mental model

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Technical context

Technical context

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Wallets, signing flows, dApps, and key management concepts.

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Why builders care

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Hot Wallet (hot-wallet)
Category: Web3
Definition: A cryptocurrency wallet that is connected to the internet, enabling quick and convenient access for sending, receiving, and interacting with dApps. Browser extension wallets (Phantom, Backpack, Solflare) and mobile wallets are hot wallets. They offer the best user experience for daily transactions and DeFi activity but are more vulnerable to phishing, malware, and remote attacks compared to cold storage. Best practice is to keep only actively used funds in a hot wallet.
Related: Cold Storage, Wallet, Self-Custody
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Concept graph

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Branch

Cold Storage

The practice of keeping cryptocurrency private keys completely offline, disconnected from the internet, to protect them from hacking, malware, and remote attacks. Cold storage methods include hardware wallets (Ledger, Trezor), air-gapped computers, and paper wallets. Cold storage is considered the most secure way to hold crypto long-term but is less convenient for frequent transactions since signing requires physically connecting or transferring data to the offline device.

Open term
Branch

Wallet

Software or hardware that manages cryptographic keys and enables users to sign transactions, view balances, and interact with dApps. Hot wallets (Phantom, Solflare, Backpack) are internet-connected for convenience. Cold wallets (Ledger, Trezor) store keys offline for security. Wallets don't actually 'hold' tokens—they hold the private keys that control on-chain accounts.

KeypairWallet Adapter
Open term
Branch

Self-Custody

The practice of personally controlling your cryptographic private keys rather than entrusting them to a third party (exchange, custodian). Self-custody follows the principle 'not your keys, not your coins.' Hardware wallets and properly secured seed phrases enable self-custody. Risks include key loss (no recovery) and social engineering attacks.

Seed Phrase (Mnemonic)
Open term
Next concepts to explore

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Web3

Cold Storage

The practice of keeping cryptocurrency private keys completely offline, disconnected from the internet, to protect them from hacking, malware, and remote attacks. Cold storage methods include hardware wallets (Ledger, Trezor), air-gapped computers, and paper wallets. Cold storage is considered the most secure way to hold crypto long-term but is less convenient for frequent transactions since signing requires physically connecting or transferring data to the offline device.

Open term
Web3

Wallet

Software or hardware that manages cryptographic keys and enables users to sign transactions, view balances, and interact with dApps. Hot wallets (Phantom, Solflare, Backpack) are internet-connected for convenience. Cold wallets (Ledger, Trezor) store keys offline for security. Wallets don't actually 'hold' tokens—they hold the private keys that control on-chain accounts.

Open term
Web3

Self-Custody

The practice of personally controlling your cryptographic private keys rather than entrusting them to a third party (exchange, custodian). Self-custody follows the principle 'not your keys, not your coins.' Hardware wallets and properly secured seed phrases enable self-custody. Risks include key loss (no recovery) and social engineering attacks.

Open term
Web3

Impersonation Scam

Fraud where attackers pose as known projects, influencers, or support staff to steal funds. Common vectors include fake airdrop sites mimicking Solana projects, Discord DMs from fake moderators requesting seed phrases, and phishing sites with lookalike domains. Solana's growing user base makes it a frequent target for these social engineering attacks.

Open term
Commonly confused with

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Web3hardware-wallet

Hardware Wallet

A physical device (Ledger, Trezor) that stores private keys offline in a secure element chip, signing transactions without exposing keys to internet-connected computers. Hardware wallets protect against malware, phishing, and remote hacks. Solana hardware wallet support is available through Phantom, Solflare, and other wallet adapters.

Open term
Web3wallet-general

Wallet

Software or hardware that manages cryptographic keys and enables users to sign transactions, view balances, and interact with dApps. Hot wallets (Phantom, Solflare, Backpack) are internet-connected for convenience. Cold wallets (Ledger, Trezor) store keys offline for security. Wallets don't actually 'hold' tokens—they hold the private keys that control on-chain accounts.

AliasCrypto Wallet
Open term
Web3multisig-wallet

Multisig Wallet

A wallet requiring multiple private key signatures (e.g., 2-of-3, 3-of-5) to authorize transactions, used by teams and DAOs for shared treasury management. On Solana, Squads Protocol is the leading multisig solution, enabling threshold signing for program upgrades, token transfers, and governance actions.

Open term
Related terms

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Web3cold-storage

Cold Storage

The practice of keeping cryptocurrency private keys completely offline, disconnected from the internet, to protect them from hacking, malware, and remote attacks. Cold storage methods include hardware wallets (Ledger, Trezor), air-gapped computers, and paper wallets. Cold storage is considered the most secure way to hold crypto long-term but is less convenient for frequent transactions since signing requires physically connecting or transferring data to the offline device.

Open term
Web3wallet-general

Wallet

Software or hardware that manages cryptographic keys and enables users to sign transactions, view balances, and interact with dApps. Hot wallets (Phantom, Solflare, Backpack) are internet-connected for convenience. Cold wallets (Ledger, Trezor) store keys offline for security. Wallets don't actually 'hold' tokens—they hold the private keys that control on-chain accounts.

Open term
Web3self-custody

Self-Custody

The practice of personally controlling your cryptographic private keys rather than entrusting them to a third party (exchange, custodian). Self-custody follows the principle 'not your keys, not your coins.' Hardware wallets and properly secured seed phrases enable self-custody. Risks include key loss (no recovery) and social engineering attacks.

Open term
More in category

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Web3

Web3

The vision of a decentralized internet built on blockchain technology, where users own their data, identity, and digital assets. Web1 was read-only (static pages), Web2 is read-write (platforms like social media), Web3 is read-write-own (permissionless, user-sovereign). Web3 applications use wallets instead of logins and smart contracts instead of centralized servers.

Open term
Web3

dApp (Decentralized Application)

An application with its backend logic running on a blockchain as smart contracts rather than centralized servers. dApps typically have a traditional web frontend that interacts with on-chain programs via RPC. Users authenticate with wallets instead of username/password. Examples: Uniswap (Ethereum DEX), Jupiter (Solana DEX), Magic Eden (NFT marketplace).

Open term
Web3

Wallet

Software or hardware that manages cryptographic keys and enables users to sign transactions, view balances, and interact with dApps. Hot wallets (Phantom, Solflare, Backpack) are internet-connected for convenience. Cold wallets (Ledger, Trezor) store keys offline for security. Wallets don't actually 'hold' tokens—they hold the private keys that control on-chain accounts.

Open term
Web3

Seed Phrase (Mnemonic)

A 12 or 24-word human-readable backup of a wallet's master private key, generated using BIP-39 standard. The seed phrase can deterministically regenerate all derived keypairs (BIP-44 derivation paths). Losing the seed phrase means permanently losing access to all associated accounts. Never share, photograph, or store seed phrases digitally in plain text.

Open term