What is a crypto wallet?

Modified on Tue, 20 Feb 2024 at 01:43 PM

A cryptocurrency wallet is a digital tool used to store, send, and receive cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any other digital assets on a blockchain network. Despite its name, a cryptocurrency wallet doesn't actually store cryptocurrencies themselves; instead, it stores the private keys required to access and manage the cryptocurrencies associated with the wallet's addresses on the blockchain.


Think of it as a key to unlock a storage box sitting on the blockchain.


The private key is a string of letters and numbers. In case of Bitcoin (and most of other cryptocurrencies) this is a string of 64 characters in the range 0-9 or A-F representing 256 bits in hexadecimal notation.


Example of a private key (do not use that anywhere):



Security: Security is a critical aspect of all crypto wallets since anyone with access to the private keys can control the associated cryptocurrency. Never ever expose the private key of any wallet without a very good reason and knowledge about what you are doing. For most of the users this means they will never ever have to export private keys.


Backup: It's essential to back up the private keys associated with a crypto wallet. Losing access to the private keys means losing access to the cryptocurrency stored in the wallet permanently. This is why we suggest you to create multiple backups of your BC Vault wallets and store them securely. 


Since BC Vault backups are encrypted (for your protection), you have to remember your global device password+pin and wallet password+pin (if you did set them, you can leave wallet password+pin empty) that were set at the point of the backup.



Was this article helpful?

That’s Great!

Thank you for your feedback

Sorry! We couldn't be helpful

Thank you for your feedback

Let us know how can we improve this article!

Select atleast one of the reasons
CAPTCHA verification is required.

Feedback sent

We appreciate your effort and will try to fix the article