Help! Professor Pie, my hard drive crashed and I lost my wallet. What can I do?
No, you didn’t loose your crypto.
FACT: Cryptocurrency lives on the blockchain, not within a wallet.
Unlike fiat currency, such as the US Dollar, Euro or Yen, cryptocurrency does not live in a wallet.
If your physical wallet or purse is lost or stolen then in all likelihood the cash you had inside is gone. In the world of digital cryptocurrency, a “wallet” is at its most basic level, is simply a program that empowers you to send and receive cryptocurrency.
There are many different types of wallets. Here are just a few flavors:
- Hardware wallet
- Paper wallet – yes, old fashioned wood pulp
- Web wallet
- Hot wallet – any wallet that is connected to the internet
- Cold wallet – any wallet that is not connected to the internet
- Desktop wallet
On the two extremes you will find hardware and paper wallets. A paper wallet is just that, a paper that has your some simple words on it that when combined by the computer equate to your address and key. This is commonly called a mnemonic key.