What is a hot wallet? How does it differ from a cold wallet?

Hot wallets are always connected to the Internet, which are convenient and fast, suitable for daily transactions, but are less secure and vulnerable to network attacks; cold wallets are stored offline, which is highly secure, but inconvenient to use, and are more suitable for storing large assets.

Feb 28, 2025 at 02:46 pm

• Software Hot Wallet : Just like mobile banking software, it can be easily installed on mobile devices such as iOS or Android. Users can operate digital currency anytime, anywhere through their mobile phones, manage and trade digital currency, with simple operation and instant access.

• Web Hot Wallet : No need to download additional programs, you can use them directly in the browser. Just like online shopping, you can access it as long as you have a network and a browser. However, special attention should be paid to security issues when using them to prevent privacy leakage.

• Exchange hot wallet : closely connected to digital currency exchanges. When trading on an exchange, funds can flow quickly and the trading speed is as fast as lightning. However, when choosing a hot wallet on an exchange, be careful to choose a reputable platform to prevent assets from being damaged.

When a user uses a hot wallet to conduct digital currency transactions, the hot wallet calls the user's private key. A private key is like a unique password, which is the key to proving that the user has ownership of the corresponding digital currency.

The hot wallet uses the private key to sign the transaction information, and then sends the transaction information containing the signature to the blockchain network. After verification and confirmation by many nodes in the blockchain network, this transaction will be recorded on the blockchain, thus completing the transaction process of digital currency.

• Convenience : Hot wallet users can quickly access their funds. Whether you want to make daily micropayments or seize the instant trading opportunities in the digital currency market, you can execute transactions instantly, fully meeting the needs of frequent daily use, like an ATM machine that can be used at any time.

• Rich integration services : In addition to basic storage and transaction functions, many hot wallets also provide transaction loans to facilitate user capital turnover; support various payment services, broaden the use scenarios of digital currency, and greatly increase the flexibility of use.

• High security risk : Since hot wallets are always connected to the Internet, this makes it more likely to be the target of cyber attacks. Hackers may try to steal private keys or funds from users' wallets through various means, such as malware, network vulnerabilities, etc. Once attacked, users' digital currency assets may be stolen instantly.

• Privacy Issues : In order to provide services or conduct compliance management, some online wallet service providers may collect user personal data, such as identity information, transaction records, etc. If these data are leaked, it may bring privacy risks to users and even infringe on users' rights and interests in other aspects.

A cold wallet is a wallet that is not connected to the Internet, also called an offline wallet. It is also used to store digital currency, but it greatly improves security by isolating from the network.

Cold wallets often exist in hardware devices (such as USB devices) or paper form. The device or paper stores private key information of digital currency. Only when transactions are required can the wallet be restored through a specific method.

• Hardware cold wallet : Smart devices specially designed for storing digital currencies, such as Raspberry Pi, which only has digital currency clients and networking functions installed. This type of device usually has a tight security protection mechanism, storing private keys inside the hardware and isolated from the external network. Even when connecting to a computer or other device for transaction operations, the private key will not be exposed to the network environment.

• Paper wallet : Print the private key on paper for storage. After the user generates the private key and the corresponding wallet address, he prints out the information and then deletes the relevant files on the computer to isolate the wallet from the network. When needed, read the private key information by scanning the QR code on the paper, etc. for transactions.

• Brain wallet : The user sets a complex password by himself and hash the password through a specific algorithm to generate the corresponding private key and address. After that, users only need to remember the password they set, and when they need to use their wallet, they can regenerate the private key and address by entering the password to use the digital currency.

Taking the hardware cold wallet as an example, when creating a wallet, the device will generate a random private and public key in offline state. Private keys are securely stored inside hardware devices and are usually protected by encryption and other technologies.

When a user needs to make a transaction, connect the hardware cold wallet to a computer or mobile device with the corresponding software installed. The user initiates a transaction request on the software, and the transaction information will be transmitted to the hardware cold wallet, which uses the internally stored private key to sign the transaction.

The signed transaction information is returned to the software, and the software sends it to the blockchain network for verification and confirmation. When trading paper wallets and brain wallets, they also need to obtain private key information through specific methods to sign the transaction, and then submit it to the blockchain network to complete the transaction.

• Extremely secure : The offline nature of the cold wallet makes it almost impossible to threaten by cyber attacks and hackers. Because of no connection to the Internet, hackers cannot obtain the private keys stored in it through the network, which greatly reduces the risk of digital currency being stolen and is very suitable for storing large amounts of crypto assets in the long run.

• Prevent malware : Compared with hot wallets, cold wallets can effectively resist viruses and malware. Even if the computer and other devices connected to it are infected with malware, the malware cannot steal the private key because the private key is not on the device, providing additional security for user assets.

• Limited accessibility : For users who need to conduct frequent transactions, cold wallets are not convenient to use. Each transaction requires a series of operations such as connecting the device and entering a password. Compared with the immediacy of the hot wallet, the process is more cumbersome and you may miss some rapidly changing trading opportunities.

• Risk of physical damage or loss : If the hardware wallet suffers physical damage, such as breaking, water inlet, etc., or is accidentally lost, and the user does not make a backup of the private key, the digital currency stored in it will never be retrieved. Paper wallets also have similar risks, such as paper damage, loss, etc.

• Complex operation : For novice users, the process of setting up and using a cold wallet is relatively complicated. For example, the initialization and setting of hardware cold wallets, the generation and saving of paper wallets, the setting and memory of brain wallet passwords, etc. all require users to have certain professional knowledge and operational skills, otherwise errors are likely to occur and asset losses.

• Networking status : Hot wallets are always online and can interact with the blockchain network at any time; cold wallets are completely unconnected and private keys are stored through physical isolation.

• Security : Hot wallets are susceptible to network attacks due to network connection, and their security is relatively low; cold wallets are stored offline greatly reduce network risks and have high security. However, cold wallets have risks of physical damage and loss.

• Convenience : Hot wallets are convenient and fast, and can conduct transactions immediately, suitable for frequent daily transactions; cold wallet transactions are cumbersome, not suitable for high-frequency transactions.

• Applicable scenarios : Hot wallets are suitable for small transactions and frequent daily use scenarios; cold wallets are suitable for long-term storage of large-value digital currency assets to ensure asset security.