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 prepares the payment; the device confirms and signs it. The keys never leave its chip, so a virus on your computer can't steal them. Buy new, straight from the maker — never second-hand, never from a marketplace. And write the seed words on paper: the words, not the gadget, are the real wallet.

Why it matters

• Removes the biggest risk — keys on an internet-connected device — for a modest one-time cost.
• A lost or broken device costs nothing if the seed backup exists.
• Checking payments on the device's own screen is the whole point of having one.

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