A paper wallet is a form of cryptocurrency storage in which the public address and private key are written down or printed on a physical medium, usually a sheet of paper. Such a wallet itself is not connected to the internet, so it belongs to the category of "cold" storage — that is, storing assets offline.

Its advantages and risks

The main advantage of a paper wallet is that the private key is physically inaccessible to online attackers: it cannot be stolen through a device hack or malware. This makes it an interesting alternative to web wallets, which are potentially vulnerable to attacks, and to software wallets, which can be lost along with the device.

• Paper is easy to damage, burn or lose — a backup copy and a secure storage location are essential.
• A recorded key cannot be recovered if the medium is lost.
• Topping up and spending funds requires careful handling of the key.

A paper wallet is considered one of the ways to store assets over the long term that are not intended to be used frequently. However, it requires discipline: security depends directly on how securely the physical medium with the private key is protected.