Updated Wallet naming conventions to help understand where funds are secured and stored

When you log into the Blockchain.com Wallet, you’ll notice that we rolled out new naming conventions to make it easier for new users to understand where their crypto is secured. At a high level, we’re differentiating between brokerage-style Accounts in which Blockchain.com holds and secures your funds and the self-custody (or non-custodial) Wallets, which let every user control the private keys — and therefore be in complete control of their money.

Wallets put you in control of your funds, but you take on the security of your private keys.

Your (self-custody or non-custodial) Wallet will now be your Private Key Wallet. For instance, you’ll have a Bitcoin Private Key Wallet, an Ethereum Private Key Wallet, and so forth. Each of these wallets will be protected by a 12 word Secret Private Key Recovery Phrase which grants access to whoever has it. We cannot access those funds or your password, and it’s up to you as the user to guard your Secret Private Key Recovery Phrase.

Take the safety of your 12-word phrase seriously. NEVER share it with anybody (including us). If you forget your password and phrase, no one (including us) can retrieve it for you, and you will lose access to your funds. If a bad actor gets access to this 12-word phrase, they will have full access to and control of the funds in your Private Key Wallet.

You will initially be shown your Secret Private Recovery Phrase when you set up a Private Key Wallet for the first time. It can seem almost random or strange for those unfamiliar with these types of keys, but it’s a powerful cryptographic tool. Here’s an example of a Secret Private Key Recovery Phrase, which we highly recommend writing down and storing in a (or multiple) secure, physical locations:

If you choose to store funds in your Private Key Wallets, you’ll be able to swap your crypto for crypto on-chain while keeping your funds in your Private Key Wallets. An example here is swapping your Bitcoin for Ether or vice-a-versa.

With Accounts, Blockchain.com securely holds your funds but gives you access to services like Interest Accounts, Buy/Sell, and Swap.

For funds secured and stored (or custodied) with Blockchain.com — providing access to buy, sell, swap, and Interest Accounts — they’ll be termed ‘Accounts.’ These Accounts work much the same way standard accounts work at other crypto firms: you can deposit cash (USD, GBP, and EUR) into a Cash Account, buy, sell, and swap with a Trading Account, and earn crypto in an Interest Account.

Since all funds in the Blockchain.com Exchange are sacred and stored (custodied) by Blockchain.com, we’re calling that the Exchange Account.

Accounts connect to your verified profile information, so our support team can help you if you ever lose your password or have an issue. As with any sensitive account data, we require that customers confirm their identity before addressing a problem with an Account.

Our mission is to empower anyone anywhere to control their own money. That starts with educating users properly to understand both the power and the responsibility of controlling one’s private keys. As we grow, we’ll continue to make our product easier to use, easier to understand, and easier to access.