What is a burner wallet in crypto?

A burner wallet is a crypto account you set aside for one risky job and are willing to lose. The name comes from burner phones. You keep most of your holdings somewhere else and send the burner only what a single transaction needs, so if the app you connect to turns out to be malicious, the loss stops at that small balance.

What is a burner wallet in crypto?

Ledger's glossary describes it as a temporary or disposable account whose keys and funds stay separate from your main wallet. Common uses include trying a new decentralized app, minting NFTs, claiming airdrops and paying for something on your phone at an event. Ledger also says a burner should carry no identifying markers, such as an ENS name, and should be used for one purpose only, because a long history can link it back to you.

The main threat it guards against is a harmful signature. Many thefts come from approvals that let a contract move your tokens, as explained in crypto phishing and wallet drainers. If you sign one from a burner, only the burner is exposed.

How do you make a burner wallet in MetaMask?

MetaMask's help pages define a wallet as a group of accounts controlled by one source of keys, such as a Secret Recovery Phrase or an imported private key. Adding a new account under your existing phrase gives you a fresh address quickly. Adding a second recovery phrase creates a fully separate wallet inside the same app. Accounts made from one phrase follow a standard derivation path, which is why one backup can restore many addresses, as covered in what an HD wallet is.

How do you make a burner wallet in Phantom?

Phantom's help center says you can create a new account from the account menu, name it, and tap Create. That account uses a recovery phrase already in the app. If you have imported several phrases, you can pick which one a new account comes from. Phantom also notes that wallets imported with a different phrase or a private key are not restored with your primary wallet, so each one needs its own backup.

Is a burner wallet safe?

A burner reduces risk rather than removing it. Ledger advises treating any funds in it as possibly lost and moving anything valuable back to your main account soon after use. Coinbase suggests giving burners a clear nickname and swapping to new ones from time to time.

Two limits matter. First, a burner made from the same recovery phrase as your main accounts is only separate at the account level. A stolen key for one account should not expose the others, but anyone who gets the phrase itself controls every account built from it. Second, a burner does not make a site trustworthy. Reading what you sign still matters, and blind signing is risky from any account. Approvals you granted from older accounts can be cleared with the steps in how to revoke token approvals.