Cold wallet
Plain definition. A cold wallet is a crypto wallet made of paper or hardware, such as a hard drive or USB device, that generally isn’t connected to the internet.
Technical definition. FINRA describes cold wallets as paper or hardware, such as a hard drive or USB device, that generally aren’t connected to the internet, in contrast to hot wallets connected by phone or computer software to the web. FINRA says cold wallets tend to be more difficult for malicious actors to hack because they’re disconnected from the internet. Hardware wallets can still break down, suffer functionality defects, get lost or stolen, and aren’t totally immune from sophisticated hacking techniques.
On this site
On this site, Cold wallet comes up in Where should I keep my XRP: on the exchange or in my own wallet?, How do crypto exchanges actually get hacked if they use cold wallets?, What’s the difference between a hot wallet, a cold wallet and a paper wallet?, How much should I keep in a hot wallet versus cold storage? and Can a hardware wallet be hacked, and how do I verify one is genuine?.
Source
Storing Crypto Assets | FINRA.org (finra.org), read October 1, 2026.
Pages that cover Cold wallet
- Can a hardware wallet be hacked, and how do I verify one is genuine?
- What's the difference between a hot wallet, a cold wallet and a paper wallet?
- How much should I keep in a hot wallet versus cold storage?
- How do crypto exchanges actually get hacked if they use cold wallets?
- Where should I keep my XRP: on the exchange or in my own wallet?