In this article:
Learn how Best Wallet interacts with your crypto in the Best Wallet app.
In short, Best Wallet does not hold your crypto funds, nor can it transact your crypto β only you can do this through Best Wallet.
This is because Best Wallet is a fully non-custodial and private crypto wallet, meaning only you can buy, swap, send, and sell your crypto. The crypto you hold and your wallets are never stored in a Best Wallet server, meaning Best Wallet is fully decentralised. All Best Wallet offers is a means to seamlessly and securely hold or transact your cryptocurrency.
Where your crypto funds are stored
Understanding where your crypto funds reside can be a bit of a surprise.
Contrary to what many might initially believe, your cryptocurrency does not reside within the Best Wallet app. Instead, your crypto assets are securely stored on their respective blockchain network.
What Best Wallet provides is a secure gateway to these blockchains. This way you can safely and easily buy, hold, swap, and send any cryptocurrency on the supported blockchains in Best Wallet. Think of Best Wallet, and any other non-custodial, decentralised wallet, as a doorway to your crypto vault.
For example, say you want to own $500 of Ethereum (ETH). Through Best Wallet, you can directly buy $500 worth of $ETH tokens and subsequently hold, swap, or send these tokens. However, your ETH tokens are still stored on the Ethereum blockchain, and it is through Best Wallet that you can access them.
So if your Best Wallet is just a gateway to accessing cryptocurrencies, how can you prove ownership of any crypto you buy?
The role of your private key
Your wallet's private key is how you prove ownership of your crypto. If Best Wallet is the door to access your crypto vault, then your private key unlocks that door.
Your Best Wallet private key works as your unique signature to prove ownership and authorise transactions of your crypto.
Every time you buy crypto in Best Wallet, your newly bought crypto tokens will be attributed to your Best Wallet's private key. Additionally, every time you swap or send your crypto, Best Wallet will use your private key to authorise your transaction.
When you first sign up for Best Wallet, a private key is generated for your main Best Wallet. This private key is unique to you and works as your Best Wallet crypto signature.
Your private key is a long alphanumerical code and will look like this:
You can copy it to your clipboard, which is useful if you want to import your Best Wallet elsewhere or make physical backups.
What Best Wallet does is pair your wallet's private key to your identity.
So when you go to swap your ETH tokens for USDT tokens in Best Wallet, you will have to verify your identity through FaceID or your passcode to successfully execute your transaction. That process is effectively authorising your crypto transaction, much like how an online bank will ask you to authorise any big transaction.
It is important to note only you can see and access your private key in the Best Wallet app, ensuring that your funds are always kept safe. Best Wallet can't access your private keys and therefore have no control over your crypto.
Never share your private key with anyone - it would be like sharing your online banking password.
Therefore, what the Best Wallet app offers is the infrastructure to generate, secure, and use your private key to buy, swap, and send your crypto. Without Best Wallet, you would have to manually enter your private key every time you wanted to swap or send your crypto.
This is why you can import your Best Wallet through your private key into another decentralised wallet to access your crypto. Your crypto is accessible through your private key, and wallets like Best Wallet provide the doorway.
The role of your secret recovery phrase
As Best Wallet is a fully non-custodial wallet, it also uses a Secret Recovery Phrase.
Note: This is only relevant for additional created wallets in Best Wallet.
Handing your Best Wallet's private key can be daunting, but tools like secret recovery phrases make it easier to recover and secure your crypto. As your funds are not stored in the Best Wallet app, Best Wallet can't ever recover them for you.
When you create additional Best Wallets in the app, you will be generated a secret recovery phrase. Whilst your Main Best Wallet doesn't have one, all additional and created wallets will.
Read our guide on how to create new Best Wallets.
Your secret recovery phase isn't just random words; it is sophisticated encryption of your private keys, crafted into a sequence of easily memorable words. It will look something like this in Best Wallet:
These 12 words are representative of your new Best Wallets' private keys. The reason it's encrypted like this is it is easier to remember 12 words than a long alphanumeric code. It's also easier to make accurate copies, which is an important part of backing up and securing your crypto funds.
Your secret recovery phrase can be used to import or recover all your additional Best Wallets. This means that you can access your crypto funds in these wallets even if you lose access to the app or your mobile device.
Can Best Wallet recover my crypto?
No, Best Wallet cannot recover any of your crypto, lost or otherwise. Because Best Wallet is truly non-custodial, you are in full control of your crypto. Best Wallet can't access or have a record of your wallet's private keys or secret recovery phrase.
Only you can recover your crypto by using your private key or secret recovery phrase.
How to recover your crypto
Let's delve into a practical scenario to show how easy it is.
You create a brand new wallet in the Best Wallet app and generate your secret recovery phrase. You write down this 12-word phrase on a piece of paper.
Initially, your new Best Wallet shows no transactions β it's a clean slate. You then use the Best Wallet Buy feature to purchase $500 worth of ETH. Your wallet now has $500 of ETH attributed to it.
You then lose your mobile device and access to your Best Wallet app.
But because you have a physical copy of your secret recovery phrase, you can easily recover your $500 worth of ETH lost in that wallet.
Just input your 12-word phrase into the Best Wallet app on a new device or another crypto wallet app to import your wallet and recover your lost crypto funds.
By importing your Best Wallet's secret recovery phrase into another wallet, you gain full access to your $500 worth of ETH tokens. You can then send, swap, or sell your crypto like normal. This is because the funds are associated with your wallet's private key and not the Best Wallet app.
In short, Best Wallet does not hold your funds nor can it recover any lost funds. This is true of all non-custodial crypto wallets.
Remember that the security of your cryptocurrency is entirely in your hands. Ensure you store your private key and secret recovery phrase securely and never share it with anyone.
If you have any questions about your crypto in Best wallet
If you're still confused about how Best Wallet interacts with your crypto, please email [email protected] and the support team will answer any questions you may have.