Wallets & Security — Web3 Glossary
149 terms • Part of the Cointegrity Web3 Glossary
- 2FA — Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is a security protocol that requires users to provide two distinct...
- 51% Attack Protection — 51% Attack Protection refers to the security mechanisms and consensus design principles implemented...
- Access Control Patterns — Access control patterns are design frameworks that establish and enforce permissions within smart...
- Admin Key — An Admin Key is a privileged private key that grants centralized administrative control over smart...
- Air-gapped Storage — Air-gapped storage represents an extreme security approach where the device holding private keys or...
- Anchorage Digital — Anchorage Digital is a federally chartered digital asset bank that combines traditional banking...
- Approved Address — An approved address is a whitelisted wallet address that a user designates as trusted within their...
- ASIC Mining — ASIC mining involves using Application-Specific Integrated Circuits—custom-designed computer chips...
- Audit (Blockchain or Smart Contract) — A blockchain or smart contract audit is a comprehensive security assessment conducted by...
- Binance Hack — The Binance Hack, occurring in October 2022, targeted the BSC Token Hub, a cross-chain bridge...
- Biometric Authentication — The use of physiological or behavioral characteristics to verify that a user is who they claim to...
- Biometric Verification — The use of unique biological characteristics to confirm a person's identity, replacing or...
- BitConnect — BitConnect was a cryptocurrency lending and trading platform that operated from 2016 to 2018,...
- BitGo — BitGo is a comprehensive cryptocurrency custody and security platform serving institutional clients...
- Bridge Exploits — Bridge exploits are attacks targeting cross-chain bridge protocols that facilitate asset transfers...
- Bybit Hack — The Bybit Hack refers to a major security breach affecting the Bybit cryptocurrency exchange that...
- Change Address — A change address is a new cryptocurrency address automatically generated by a wallet when sending...
- Circuit Breakers — Circuit breakers are emergency safety mechanisms embedded in smart contracts that automatically...
- Co-Signer — A co-signer is an individual or entity that holds one of multiple private keys required to...
- Coinbase Smart Wallet — Coinbase Smart Wallet is an account-abstracted wallet that uses passkeys for authentication,...
- Cold Wallet/Cold Storage — Cold storage refers to keeping cryptocurrency private keys completely offline and disconnected from...
- Cold Wallets — Cold wallets are offline cryptocurrency storage solutions that keep private keys completely...
- Compliance Theatre — Compliance theatre is the practice of performing the visible indicators of security and regulatory...
- Contract Security Auditing — Contract security auditing is a systematic and comprehensive review process conducted by...
- Copper — Copper is a digital asset custody and prime services platform designed to provide...
- Core Wallet — A core wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet that downloads and stores the entire blockchain ledger on...
- Cross-Chain Risk Management — Cross-chain risk management encompasses strategies, protocols, and tools designed to identify,...
- Crypto Custody — The secure holding of cryptocurrency private keys or digital assets on behalf of clients, an...
- Cryptography — The mathematical science of securing information through encoding and decryption techniques,...
- Cryptojacking — Cryptojacking is the unauthorized use of someone else's computing resources to mine cryptocurrency...
- Cryptopia Exchange Hack — The Cryptopia Exchange Hack occurred in January 2019 when the New Zealand-based cryptocurrency...
- Custodial Wallets — Custodial wallets are digital asset storage solutions where a centralized service provider...
- Daedalus Wallet — Daedalus is the official, open-source desktop wallet for the Cardano blockchain, developed by IOHK...
- DeFi Wallet — A cryptocurrency wallet specifically designed and optimized for interacting with decentralized...
- Delay Attack — A delay attack is a network-level assault where an attacker deliberately withholds or slows the...
- Derivation Path — A derivation path is a standardized notation defined in BIP 32 that specifies how a hierarchical...
- Desktop Wallet — A desktop wallet is cryptocurrency storage software installed directly on a user's computer,...
- Deterministic Wallet — A deterministic wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet system that generates all key pairs from a single...
- Digest Access Authentication — Digest Access Authentication is an HTTP authentication protocol that enhances security by...
- DMM Bitcoin Hack — The DMM Bitcoin Hack occurred on May 31, 2024, targeting the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM...
- Drop Account — A drop account is a compromised, stolen, or fraudulently created cryptocurrency wallet or bank...
- Entropy — In cryptography, entropy measures the degree of randomness and unpredictability present in data...
- ERC-4337 (Account Abstraction) — ERC-4337 is an Ethereum standard that enables smart contract wallets to function as first-class...
- Exchange Security — The set of technical, operational, and procedural safeguards implemented by cryptocurrency...
- Exit Scams — Exit scams occur when founders, operators, or developers of a cryptocurrency project or exchange...
- Fake ICO Scams — Fake ICO scams involve fraudsters creating fraudulent Initial Coin Offerings that mimic legitimate...
- Fenny Attack — A Fenny attack is a specialized variant of a double-spend attack where an attacker pre-mines a...
- Finalize Early (FE) — Finalize Early, abbreviated FE, is a darknet market transaction option that allows a buyer to...
- Finney Attack — The Finney Attack is a theoretical double-spend vulnerability where a miner includes a transaction...
- Fireblocks — Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade digital asset custody and settlement platform that uses...
- Formal Verification — Formal verification applies mathematical proof techniques to demonstrate that smart contracts...
- GPU Mining — GPU mining is the process of using graphics processing units to solve cryptocurrency mining...
- Hardware Wallets — Hardware wallets are physical computing devices specifically engineered to securely store...
- Hex Trust — Hex Trust is a licensed digital asset custody platform offering institutional-grade security...
- Hierarchical-Deterministic (HD) Wallet — An HD wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet architecture that derives an unlimited number of child...
- Honey Pot — A honey pot is a malicious smart contract or token intentionally designed to deceive investors by...
- Honeypot Tokens — Honeypot tokens are malicious smart contracts designed to trap investors by allowing purchases but...
- Hot Wallets — Hot wallets are cryptocurrency storage solutions that maintain continuous internet connectivity,...
- Impersonation Scams — Impersonation scams are fraudulent schemes where attackers create fake versions of legitimate...
- Infinite Approval — Infinite approval is a common practice where users grant smart contracts unlimited spending rights...
- Infinite Mint Attack — An infinite mint attack is a critical smart contract vulnerability that allows an attacker to...
- Initial Access Broker (IAB) — An Initial Access Broker is a cybercriminal specialist who infiltrates target networks, establishes...
- Insurance Protocols — Insurance protocols are decentralized platforms that provide coverage and risk mitigation for...
- Intelligent Asset Insurance — Intelligent Asset Insurance comprises specialized insurance products designed to protect ERC-7857...
- Inter-exchange Client Address Protocol (ICAP) — Inter-exchange Client Address Protocol (ICAP) is an Ethereum address encoding standard designed to...
- Key — A cryptographic key is a fundamental security mechanism consisting of alphanumeric strings that...
- Key Derivation Function — A Key Derivation Function (KDF) is a cryptographic algorithm that transforms a master secret,...
- Meme Coin Speculation Risks — Meme coin speculation risks refer to the acute financial dangers inherent in investing in...
- Metaco — Metaco is an enterprise digital asset custody and orchestration platform providing secure storage,...
- MetaMask — MetaMask is a popular non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet available as a browser extension and...
- Mnemonic Phrase — A mnemonic phrase, also called a seed phrase or recovery phrase, is a sequence of typically twelve,...
- Mobile Wallet — A mobile wallet is a cryptocurrency management application installed on smartphones or tablets that...
- Mt. Gox Collapse — Mt. Gox was the world's largest Bitcoin exchange in 2013, handling approximately 70% of global...
- Mule Account — A mule account is a cryptocurrency wallet or bank account created, controlled, or exploited by a...
- Multi-Chain Wallets — Multi-chain wallets are cryptocurrency wallets designed to manage and store digital assets across...
- Multi-party Computation (MPC) Wallets — Multi-party computation wallets are advanced cryptocurrency security solutions that distribute...
- Multi-Party Computation as-a-Service — A cloud-based service platform that provides institutional-grade security for managing and storing...
- Multi-Signature Contracts — Multi-signature contracts are smart contracts that require cryptographic authorization from...
- Multi-signature Exploits — Multi-signature exploits target wallets requiring multiple private keys to authorize transactions...
- Multi-Signature Governance — Multi-signature governance requires multiple designated representatives to approve actions before...
- Multi-signature Wallets — Multi-signature wallets are security-enhanced cryptocurrency wallets that require multiple private...
- Multisig — A multisig (multi-signature) wallet requires authorization from multiple private keys to execute...
- Multisig Escrow — Multisig escrow — short for multi-signature escrow — is a cryptocurrency transaction structure used...
- Network Security — The set of practices, protocols, and mechanisms that protect a blockchain network from attacks,...
- Never Trust, Always Verify — "Never Trust, Always Verify" is a foundational security principle in cryptocurrency that rejects...
- Non-custodial Wallets — Non-custodial wallets are self-sovereign cryptocurrency storage solutions where users maintain...
- Non-Deterministic Wallet — A non-deterministic wallet, often called a "random wallet" or "Type I wallet," is an early...
- Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins — This principle asserts that cryptocurrency ownership is only truly secured when an individual...
- Off-Chain Signing Key Vulnerability — An off-chain signing key vulnerability occurs when a DeFi protocol delegates critical on-chain...
- Offline Storage — Offline storage, commonly referred to as cold storage, is the practice of keeping cryptocurrency...
- OneCoin — OneCoin was one of history's largest cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes, operating from 2014 to 2019...
- Online Crypto Storage (Online Wallet) — An online crypto wallet is a cryptocurrency storage solution that maintains an active internet...
- Paper Wallet — A paper wallet is an offline storage method for cryptocurrency created by printing or writing a...
- Partitioning Attack — A partitioning attack, also called a network partition or eclipse attack, occurs when a malicious...
- Passkey Wallets — Passkey wallets are cryptocurrency wallets that use passkeys—cryptographic credentials stored...
- Phantom — Phantom is a widely-adopted non-custodial wallet application designed primarily for the Solana...
- Pig Butchering Scams — Pig butchering scams are sophisticated confidence schemes where fraudsters establish romantic or...
- Platform Liability — Platform liability addresses the potential legal and financial responsibility that token launch...
- PlusToken — PlusToken was a cryptocurrency investment scheme that operated primarily between 2018 and 2019,...
- Poly Network Hack — The Poly Network Hack was a major cross-chain bridge exploit that occurred in August 2021,...
- Private key — A secret cryptographic key that provides complete control over a cryptocurrency wallet and its...
- Private Key Recovery — Private key recovery refers to cryptographic methods that enable users to regain access to their...
- Public Address — A public address is a cryptographic identifier derived from a user's public key that functions as a...
- Public Key — A cryptographic key that can be shared publicly and is used to receive cryptocurrency transactions...
- Public-Key Cryptography — Public-key cryptography is an asymmetric encryption system using mathematically linked key pairs: a...
- Pump and Dump Schemes — Pump and dump schemes are market manipulation tactics where coordinated groups of traders...
- Rabby Wallet — Rabby Wallet is a browser extension wallet designed for DeFi power users on Ethereum and multiple...
- Reentrancy Attacks — A reentrancy attack is a critical smart contract vulnerability where a malicious contract...
- Reentrancy Guards — Reentrancy guards are security mechanisms that prevent reentrancy attacks by blocking recursive...
- Replay Attack — A replay attack is a type of network security threat where a malicious actor intercepts a valid...
- Resolv Labs Hack — The Resolv Labs hack was an $80 million exploit executed on March 22, 2026 against the USR...
- Ronin Network Hack — The March 2022 security breach of the Ronin Network, a sidechain built for the NFT game Axie...
- Routing Attack — A routing attack is a network-level exploit where malicious actors intercept, manipulate, or...
- Rug Pull — A rug pull is a type of exit scam where cryptocurrency project developers or promoters abandon a...
- Rug Pull Prevention — Rug pull prevention refers to technical and structural mechanisms implemented by decentralized...
- Rugged — The past tense of experiencing a rug pull, describing investors or token holders who lost their...
- Rugpull — A rugpull is an exit scam where cryptocurrency project developers or insiders abandon a project and...
- Safe (formerly Gnosis Safe) — Safe is the most widely adopted multi-signature smart contract wallet in the Ethereum ecosystem,...
- SAFU — SAFU stands for Secure Asset Fund for Users, a risk management mechanism designed to protect...
- Sandwich Attacks — Sandwich attacks are a form of Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) exploitation where an attacker...
- Scam — A scam in cryptocurrency refers to fraudulent schemes deliberately designed to deceive users into...
- Scammer — A scammer is an individual or group who deliberately engages in fraudulent activities designed to...
- Secure Element Chips — Secure Element chips are specialized, tamper-resistant hardware components specifically designed to...
- Seed Phrases — A seed phrase is a sequence of 12 to 24 randomly generated words that function as the master...
- Shamir's Secret Sharing — Shamir's Secret Sharing is an advanced cryptographic technique that divides a sensitive...
- Signature Verification — Signature verification is the smart contract functionality that validates cryptographic signatures...
- Smart Contract Wallets — Smart contract wallets are cryptocurrency wallets built entirely on blockchain code rather than...
- Social Recovery Wallets — Social recovery wallets are smart contract-based cryptocurrency wallets that replace traditional...
- Software Wallet — A software wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet application that runs on digital devices such as...
- Supply Chain Attack (DeFi) — A DeFi supply chain attack targets the software development infrastructure surrounding a protocol —...
- Sybil Attack — A Sybil attack occurs when a single malicious entity creates and controls multiple fake identities...
- Tamper-Proof Ledger — A tamper-proof ledger is a record-keeping system where each transaction or entry is...
- The DAO Hack and Ethereum Fork — The DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) was a complex smart contract deployed on Ethereum...
- Threshold Signatures — Threshold signatures are cryptographic signing schemes where no single party possesses a complete...
- Time-based Attacks — Time-based attacks exploit blockchain systems that depend on timestamp accuracy or time-sensitive...
- Transaction Simulation — A wallet security feature that executes a pending transaction against the current blockchain state...
- UserOperations — The transaction format introduced by ERC-4337 (Account Abstraction) that replaces standard Ethereum...
- UX — User Experience, encompassing the totality of a user's perceptions, emotions, and responses when...
- Vanity Address — A vanity address is a custom cryptocurrency public address that contains a specific, human-readable...
- Vendor Bond — A vendor bond is a refundable or non-refundable deposit of cryptocurrency that darknet market...
- Wallet — A wallet is a software application or hardware device that securely stores private keys and enables...
- Wallet Address — A wallet address is a unique alphanumeric identifier derived from a user's public key through...
- Wallet DDOS — A wallet DDoS attack occurs when malicious actors flood cryptocurrency wallet infrastructure or...
- Wallet Screening — Wallet screening is the process of checking cryptocurrency wallet addresses against databases of...
- Wallet-as-a-Service (WaaS) — Wallet-as-a-Service represents a cloud-based infrastructure solution where cryptocurrency wallet...
- Wallets and Security — Cryptocurrency wallets are software or hardware systems that store private keys, which are...
- WazirX Compromise — The WazirX Compromise occurred on July 18, 2024, when India's leading cryptocurrency exchange...
- WebAuthn — A W3C web authentication standard that enables websites and applications to authenticate users...
- Wrench Attack — A wrench attack is a form of physical coercion in which attackers use threats, violence,...
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