Introduction to Soft (Hot) and Hard (Cold) Wallets
What You’ll Learn
- There are two main types of cryptocurrency wallets:
- Soft wallets (also called hot wallets) – connected to the internet, convenient for quick transactions but less secure
- Hard wallets (also called cold wallets) – usually offline, more secure for long-term storage
- Popular hardware wallet brands include Ledger, Trezor, Grid Plus Lattice, SafePal, Keystone
- Set up by connecting to computer, backing up recovery key/seed phrase
- Exercise caution as lost recovery key may mean unrecoverable funds
- MetaMask is the most common software wallet
- Browser extension that supports Ethereum and compatible blockchains
- Can switch between different blockchains/accounts
- Phantom is a popular software wallet for the Solana ecosystem
- Supports multiple chains beyond just Solana
- Smart contract wallets like Ambire offer advanced functionality
- Manage funds algorithmically, interact with dApps natively
- Other options: Argent, Avacado, Sequence, Pillar, Candide, Plena
- For Bitcoin, options include Unisat, Xverse, Sparrow
- Support BTC, Ordinals, Stacks and more
The key takeaway is to use reputable wallets, secure your recovery information, and only keep limited funds in hot wallets connected to the internet. Hardware and smart contract wallets provide the best mix of security and functionality.
Content Chapters
0:00 – Types of wallets: soft (hot) – wallets and hard (cold) wallets
1:56 – Examples of hardware wallets and how to set them up
7:00 – MetaMask software wallet overview and usage
9:14 – Phantom wallet for the Solana ecosystem
10:24 – Smart contract wallets (ERC-4337 and account abstraction)
11:52 – Ambire wallet and its integration with dApps
14:45 – Other smart contract wallets: Argent, Avacado, Sequence, Pillar, Candide, Pland
15:27 – Bitcoin wallets: Unisat, Xverse, Sparrow
