What is a paper wallet & how does it work?

The paper wallet is perhaps the least understood of the many Bitcoin storage methods on the market. First introduced and popularized in 2011, paper wallets provide offline (aka “cold”) storage of your coins. Along with the private and public key pair are associated QR codes. In printed form, these make receiving or spending bitcoin more convenient.

What is the difference between a cryptocurrency wallet and a paper wallet?

A cryptocurrency wallet is a place where you store your public and private keys. A paper wallet is a piece of paper with your keys printed out on it. When you choose to print your keys, they are generally removed from your digital wallet and the network.

Can I print a paper wallet?

Once a private and public key have been created, you are able to print a paper wallet, which because it’s not online doubles as a cold storage wallet. This will include the public and private key you’ve generated, usually as both a string of characters and QR codes.

Can a paper wallet send Crypto to a software wallet?

Anyone with a paper wallet’s public key can send crypto to it as often as they like. Using the corresponding private key, you can move the crypto balance of the paper wallet into a software wallet. This transfers the funds to a new private key on your software wallet.