Hardware Wallet
A dedicated physical device that holds your private keys and signs transactions without exposing them to your computer.
Ledger and Trezor are the names most people know. The device keeps your private key in a secure chip and never hands it over. When you spend, the unsigned transaction goes in, a signature comes out, and the key stays put.
Even on a malware-infected laptop, an attacker can't pull the key out. You still confirm the address on the device's own screen and press a physical button — the step that defeats malware swapping the destination. Lose the device and the seed phrase restores it; lose both, and the funds are gone.
Related terms
A wallet whose keys are generated and stored offline, cutting off the remote attacks that target connected devices.
Seed PhraseA list of 12 or 24 ordinary words that backs up a wallet and can restore all its keys.
Private KeyThe secret number that proves ownership of crypto and authorizes spending it; whoever holds it controls the funds.
Cold StorageKeeping crypto keys completely offline for long-term safekeeping, out of reach of malware and remote attackers.