Private Key

Running a DApp often requires paying network fees (such as gas fees), whose level depends on on-chain congestion; users must safeguard their private keys themselves, and once lost, assets cannot be recovered and there is no customer service to help restore them.

Holding the private key means having control over the assets in the corresponding address, a characteristic often summarized as "Not your keys, not your coins".

The core security assumption of a hardware wallet is that the private key never leaves the device.

A private key is the core of control over a blockchain account; holding the private key allows one to sign transactions and thereby transfer assets; giving a private key to a language model is extremely dangerous because the model may be subject to prompt injection, unauthorized invocation, or exploitation by a malicious toolchain.

Wallets are divided into custodial and non-custodial types; non-custodial wallets let users directly hold the private key or mnemonic phrase, with assets actually stored on the blockchain, giving users full control over their assets.

A seed phrase is typically 12 or 24 English words and is cryptographically equivalent to the private key, representing ownership of the assets themselves.

In a non-custodial solution, private keys are always held by the user, the platform cannot access funds, and even if the platform is hacked or shut down, attackers cannot directly transfer user assets.

Legitimate wallet manufacturers will never proactively request a user's mnemonic phrase or private key.

Trusted digital identity typically relies on cryptographic signature mechanisms, where creators use a private key to digitally sign content, and anyone can verify the integrity and origin of the content via the public key.