Paper Wallet with a Single Key: The Printed Storage Method Compared with the Seed Phrase

The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry a high degree of risk. Always conduct your own research.A paper wallet carries a single private key on paper, and that is exactly where its weaknesses lie: printers, change, misread characters. What the storage method achieves, where it fails and how to wind up an old sheet safely.A paper wallet is a sheet of paper with a single private key and the matching bitcoin address printed on it. For a few years that counted as the safest way to store coins, because the key touched no device and no network. Today developers and wallet makers advise against this form of storage, and not because of the idea behind it but because of the many points at which it goes wrong in practice. The Bitcoin Wiki lists it as an obsolete and insecure method that was widespread between 2011 and 2016. This article explains what is actually written on such a sheet, which six weak points the storage method has, and how to wind up an existing paper wallet today without losing coins along the way. Where your key is best kept, if not on paper, is covered in the seco...