Keys, Addresses & Wallets
What a wallet actually holds and how signing works.
The wallet holds keys, not coins
It's tempting to picture a wallet as a purse full of coins. It isn't. Your coins are entries on the blockchain. A wallet stores the private keys that prove you're allowed to move those entries.
A private key is a large secret number. From it, math derives a public key, and from that, your address - the string others send funds to. The derivation only runs one way: address from key, never key from address.
Signing a transaction
To send funds, your wallet uses the private key to produce a digital signature over the transaction. Anyone on the network can verify that signature with your public key, confirming you authorized it - without ever seeing the private key itself.
This is why 'not your keys, not your coins' is the mantra: whoever controls the private key controls the funds, full stop.
Remember
If someone else learns your private key or seed phrase, they can sign transactions as you. There is no password reset.
Seed phrases
Modern wallets show you a seed phrase - 12 to 24 ordinary words - when you set them up. Those words encode the master secret that regenerates every key in the wallet.
Write it down offline and store it safely. Anyone who reads it can recreate your wallet on any device; anyone who loses it can lose access forever.
Concept map · schematic
From balance to an evidence trail
A public balance and transaction list answer different questions.
- 01
Address
Read an account without connecting a wallet
- 02
Balances
Observe the current native and token account state
- 03
Transactions
Inspect signatures and instructions for historical context
Important: Signatures alone do not prove a trade or identify a counterparty.
Self-check
Check your understanding
Choose an answer for each question, then check the results and explanations.
Primary references
Documentation and standards
References added
Official technical references for further verification. A source link is not a guarantee that every earlier editorial sentence has been reverified; provider specifications may also change over time.
The curriculum predates this reference index. These sources are offered to check technical details; no original publication date has been inferred.
- Solana RPC HTTP referenceSolanaRead source ↗
- ERC-20 token and allowance specificationEthereum Improvement ProposalsRead source ↗
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