What Is a Crypto Wallet? How Digital Asset Storage and Custody Work
A crypto wallet does not actually store cryptocurrency. It stores the private keys that prove ownership of coins recorded on the blockchain and authorize every transaction sent from an address. Understanding that distinction is the starting point for choosing a wallet, and for understanding why the choice between custodial and non-custodial storage matters as much as it does. What Is a Crypto Wallet, Really? Every unit of cryptocurrency exists as an entry on a blockchain, a public, shared ledger that isn't stored on any single device or server. A wallet is the tool that lets a person or business prove they control a specific address on that ledger and move value out of it. Two pieces of cryptography make this possible. A public key functions as a receiving address: freely shareable, and handed out whenever someone needs to send funds your way. A private key functions as an authorization signature: it approves outgoing transactions and must never be shared with anyone, including...