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Create a Wallet

Choose and understand the Wallet for your crypto, coins, tokens and NFTs:

Learn the difference between different kinds of Wallets and the native or EVM wallet

What is a Wallet​

A Wallet is your vault to your cryptographically keys. Otherwise as a physical vault you can not call a locksmith to open the door. So be aware what kind of Wallet you have, how to store a recovery seed key and keep everything secure for bad parties.

Types of Wallets​

There a different kind of Wallets depending of your use-case and needs.

Software Wallets​

Software wallets, as the name suggests, operate via software installed on computers or mobile devices. They offer a user-friendly approach to crypto management. Software wallets store private keys on the host device, your laptop, smartphone, or PC. Since these devices connect to the internet, software wallets are often vulnerable to malware and spyware.

Mobile Wallets​

Mobile wallets are software wallets designed specifically for operating on smartphones and tablets. Mobile wallets can use your phone’s camera to scan QR codes. This can be convenient when using crypto in real life. Your smartphone is vulnerable to malware, so if you’re using a mobile wallet, don’t use it to protect valuable assets.

Desktop Wallets​

Like a mobile wallet, desktop wallets can be designed for operating on bigger screens and interact with diffrent hardware like keyboard and other input or USB devices. Unfortunately, much like mobile wallets, desktop Ethereum wallets are also vulnerable to malware and spyware on your computer.

Wallet Extensions​

The is an other type of software wallet that operates via browser extensions. Essentially these types of wallets are like apps in your browser. This may be a convenient way to use a wallet, but it’s also hazardous. Using a wallet that operates as a browser extension means it is always connected to the internet. This means you could reveal your private keys to a bad actor via your internet connection.

Paper Wallets​

Paper wallets are simply pieces of paper with private keys printed on them. Since they are physical objects in the real world, they aren’t vulnerable to online threats like malware and spyware. But on the other hand there are hard to use, without handing the whole paper to an other person.

Hardware Wallets​

Hardware wallets are physical devices that store private keys and sign transactions in a secure offline environment. From there the wallet sends the already signed transaction to your internet-connected device, which transmits it to the blockchain. This keeps them insulated from online threats such as malware or phishing attacks. Designed with security in mind, hardware wallets provide a solution for managing all cryptocurrency holdings—big or small. Hardware wallets combine the best features of software and paper wallets: accessibility and security.

Why start with the native Wallet and go on with the EVM Wallet​

The Astar parachain is part oft Polkadot environment. So most system assume that Astar is something like Polkadot and treat it like native Polkadot. But on the other hand Astar is like Ethereum so this is the second face of Astar. Thats why you sometime need two different kind of Wallets to work with Astar. It's sounds complicated at the start but after a while you get used to it.

native Wallet​

You need a native (aka Polkadot) Wallet for receiving the Polkadot based Astar Tokens. Most Exchanges only transact with this Tokens.

EVM Wallet​

You need a EVM (aka Ethereum) Wallet for interacting with Smart Contracts in the Astar environment. To use and transfer the NFTs you need a EVM Wallet and the EVM Astar Tokens.