Paper Wallet
In simple terms
A paper wallet is like writing down your cryptocurrency account number and secret password on a piece of paper and storing it in a safe place. It's a way to keep your digital money completely offline and protected from hackers.
Definition
A printed copy of your public and private keys for cold storage.
In depth
A paper wallet is a physical printout containing both a user's public key (used to receive cryptocurrency) and private key (used to sign transactions and prove ownership), typically encoded as QR codes or alphanumeric strings. This method of cold storage eliminates exposure to online threats like malware and phishing attacks, since the keys never exist on internet-connected devices. The security relies on proper physical storage and backup procedures, as loss or damage to the paper results in irreversible loss of access to the associated funds on the blockchain.
How does Paper Wallet work?
A key pair is generated offline, ideally on a clean computer with no network connection, and both halves are printed or written down, usually as QR codes. The public address receives funds while the private key stays on the paper; the balance itself lives on the blockchain. Spending requires importing or sweeping that private key into a software wallet, which places it on a connected device. Standard practice is to move the entire balance at once, because a partial spend sends the change to a different address the paper does not cover. Hardware wallets have largely replaced the method.
An example
Someone generates a paper wallet offline, prints the two QR codes, and sends $500 into the printed address. The paper goes into a fireproof box. Two years later they scan the private key into a wallet app and sweep the whole balance to a new wallet, then destroy the paper, since the key has now been exposed to a connected device. Fire, water, or faded ink would have made the funds unrecoverable.
Figures are illustrative only.
What beginners get wrong
- Generating keys on a website while online can expose them to that site's server or to local malware; the process has to happen offline.
- Home and office printers keep documents in memory, so a printed key can survive inside the printer long after the page is stored.
- Spending only part of a paper wallet leaves the remainder at a change address the paper does not hold, which is how balances get lost.
- One copy in one location fails to ordinary household risks, and no company or support desk can restore it afterwards.
Related terms
Part of
How do crypto wallets and self-custody work? — the subject page for wallets and self-custody, with all 13 of its definitions in one place.
Educational only — not financial advice.