What Is a Paper Wallet:
A paper wallet is a piece of paper containing printed information needed to access your coin and tokens. Despite its name, paper wallets do not store cryptocurrencies. Instead, the information printed on them is used to access the blockchain where your cryptocurrency balances can be viewed. Since paper wallets are offline, they are considered to be one of the safer types of wallets.
A Deeper Look at This Term:
The information stored on paper wallets is essentially your private key. Unlike hot wallets, where private keys are stored online, paper wallets allow you to save your keys offline. Printing your keys on a physical medium keeps it away from hackers and cybercriminals.
Private keys on paper wallets may come in the following forms:
- QR codes – These barcodes can be scanned by a camera-enabled electronic device to access your wallet.
- Raw alphanumeric codes – Some wallets give you the option of printing the private key is its pure form.
- Seed words – Some wallets may also output a list of words that allow you to recover your funds. If your computer crashes or your hard drive becomes corrupted, you can access your wallet again by entering your seed words.
While paper wallets are relatively safe, they should still be well guarded against fires, flooding, and other disasters that may destroy the printed information.
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