Wallets & Custody

Holding bitcoin: keys, backups, and who you have to trust.

• Hot vs cold wallets

  Hot wallets touch the internet; cold wallets don't. That one difference is most of your risk.

• Custodial vs self-custody

  Either a company holds your bitcoin for you, or your keys do. Everything follows from that.

• Hardware wallets

  A dedicated offline device for your keys — the standard tool for self-custody savings.

• Multisig

  A lock needing several keys — spend only when, say, two of three agree.

• Seed backups

  Your seed words, written somewhere that survives fire, water, thieves, and time.

• Address types

  Why addresses start with 1, 3, or bc1 — different eras, all still working.

• Not your keys, not your coins

  The oldest warning in Bitcoin: an exchange balance is a promise, not possession.

• Passphrases
• Inheritance planning