A burner wallet is a short-term crypto wallet you spin up for one job, usually to interact with a new or untrusted app, then retire afterward. You keep only a small balance in it so your main wallet stays out of harm’s way.
A burner wallet can be a fresh account generated inside a hierarchical deterministic (HD) wallet or a temporary key pair created by your browser. Either way, it has its own public and private keys and is separate from your primary account. Many guides suggest keeping no identifying markers on it, like a human-readable address name, to limit linkability.
People reach for a burner when trying out a brand-new dapp, minting an NFT from an unknown project, or touching unaudited smart contracts and airdrops. If something goes wrong, only the small funds in the burner are at risk while your main holdings sit elsewhere.
Create a new account, add just enough crypto for gas and the task, complete the interaction, then move any leftover funds back to your regular wallet. Give the account a clear nickname so you don’t mix it up, and rotate to a fresh burner from time to time. When you’re done with it, stop using that address.
Because a burner is separate from your main wallet and avoids obvious identity hints, it helps reduce the trail that links new interactions to you. That said, all on-chain activity remains public, so a burner limits exposure rather than making transactions invisible.
A burner is not for storage. Don’t park large balances or long-term assets in it. Treat it as single-purpose and short-lived. Use your primary or hardware-backed wallet for holding funds.
A burner reduces blast radius but doesn’t eliminate risk. Phishing links, bad approvals, and malicious contracts can still drain whatever you put in. You also need to manage extra addresses and keep track of what each one has approved.
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