Hot Wallet

A Hot Wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet that is connected to the Internet.

Wallets can be classified as either hot or cold.

Hot simply means that a wallet is connected to the Internet, perhaps because it’s a wallet at a centralized cryptocurrency exchange or a wallet offered as a web browser extension on your desktop computer, like MetaMask.

Both types of wallets are always connected to the Internet.

A cold wallet, like a piece of paper with your private key or seed phrase copied to it or a USB thumb drive, is not connected to the Internet.

Being connected to the Internet inherently makes a hot wallet less safe than a cold wallet because the Internet potentially exposes a hot wallet to hackers and blockchain exploits.

See Wallet for more information.

Related Terms

Cold Wallet

Cold wallets are not connected to the Internet, providing added security over hot wallets. Cold wallets are not directly exposed to Internet security threats like hacks, phishing attempts, malware, viruses, and other attacks that could lead to the permanent loss of your cryptocurrencies and digital assets.

Wallet

Made up of a unique public address called your public key (similar to your bank account number) that you can share with the world, your friends, family, and other businesses and companies that you trust, to send and receive digital assets. A wallet also stores a private key (much like the PIN that you use to access your bank account at the ATM), which, when combined with the public key, confirms ownership of the wallet, and allows you as the wallet owner to view the digital record of your wallet transactions, and allows you to perform actions such as buying, selling, withdrawing, and swapping funds.

Desktop Wallet

A common type of crypto wallet used to securely store and manage your private keys on a computer hard drive. They’re considered more secure than web-based wallets, since you can only access them from wherever your computer is located, and again, you control your private keys.

Hardware Wallet

A type of cryptocurrency wallet that’s based on a physical device, such as a USB thumb drive with buttons and a screen, that stores your private keys to your cryptocurrency funds. A hardware wallet is considered a cold wallet in that it isn’t connected to the Internet, keeping your wallet (and wallet funds) away from hackers and theft.

Cold Storage

Cold Storage is a short and long-term cryptocurrency storage solution that involves storing most or all of your cryptocurrency reserves offline. Forms of offline storage include a computer not connected to the Internet, hardware wallets like the Ledger Nano, a USB thumb drive that is kept in a safe or other secure location, on a piece of paper, or even on other physical items like an actual coin.