Read it from the corner of your eye! – L’Expresso du Coin, the series dedicated to those in a hurry. Lightning-fast reading for beginners and experts alike, to keep you entertained over a cup of coffee. Small stories, crypto vocabulary and news to educate yourself while having a good time. In today’s Expresso, we’re going to talk about the must-have for every crypto aficionado: the digital wallet, or more simply wallet.
History around the corner
– Help, thief! On stole my wallet !
A man cloaked in a hooded coat takes off running down the dark alley. The sound of sirens tells him that the police are close by. Phil Leblé doesn’t care; he knows the city like the back of his hand. No chance of the police catching him. And he’s determined to get his hands on the contents of the stolen purse.
Arriving home, Phil slams the door and slides against the wall, out of breath but delighted. His first theft is a success. Beginner thief that he is, luck has finally smiled on him. He excitedly opens the purse to retrieve its contents.
Inside, he discovered an old, half-torn 10-euro bill. A few coins and… nothing. Nothing more. No €50 or €100 banknote, no ID card, subway ticket, bank card or passport…
And yes, in 2030, wallets are almost obsolete. All our data is digitized and secured within wallets, digital and immaterial wallets, linked to the blockchain. Identity « papers » are now a thing of the past. stored via NFTs. And people’s money is held on « keys » also known as digital wallets.
But Phil, in a coma since 2023, doesn’t know. He wakes up with a start in his hospital bed.
– Hello, Monsieur Leblé, delighted that you’ve finally woken up. You’ve been asleep for 7 years. artificial intelligence in charge of the medical team.
>> Prefer to keep your cryptos safe? Choose a Ledger wallet (commercial link) >>;
In the Corner of your Head – The wallet
The walletor digital wallet, will soon be as indispensable as your real wallet. A wallet is a means of storing cryptocurrencies or, more generally, your digital assets (NFT included). Just as your physical wallet allows you to store your banknotes.
A wallet also enables communication with the various protocols linked to the blockchain. Each wallet is made up of a public key, which can be represented by the IBAN of your bank account, and a private key that only you hold. The latter ensures that you are the sole owner of the wallet.
Wallets can take many forms. It can be a browser extension, such as Metasmask or Rabbyor an application on your phone. But the most secure are physical, disconnected from the Internet. The Ledgerfor example, looks like a USB key, but other wallets such as Trezor are more like boxes or cards. Even a simple piece of paper can do the trick.
Stay in the Corner!
Wallets are an investor’s basic tool. Admittedly, from a practical point of view, it’s often necessary to go through an exchange to buy cryptos. However, it is advisable to withdraw them from a wallet to which you alone hold the keys.
Otherwise, you should trust the exchange, as it is the one that actually holds your precious cryptocurrencies during the time they remain on its interface. If the platform has a problem, such as a hack or bankruptcy, there’s a risk that one day you won’t be able to get them back. Like the trader who lost 90% of his fortune following the collapse of the FTX exchange.
With a wallet, you become your own bank. You alone hold the keys to your cryptocurrencies. No one can steal them from you. They « belong » to you, a notion that has been lost over the last few decades. Think the money in your bank account belongs to you? Wrong, it belongs to the bank. It lends it to you as long as everything’s going well. And for the time being, this is the case, hence the collective illusion in which our society is immersed. But for how long? However, the freedom to own your own money is back, thanks to cryptocurrencies. But this freedom inevitably comes with a responsibility: that of not lose the keys to your precious wallet.
To store your cryptos, nothing beats a Ledger wallet. The Nano S and Nano X offer security and ease of use. In fact, they are compatible with the vast majority of cryptos and networks. They are an absolutely essential alternative to all the exchanges that offer to hold your assets for you. Remember, « Not your keys, not your coins »!