What is Lace wallet and how does it work?

Lace wallet is a self-custody crypto wallet made by Input Output Global (IOG), the engineering company behind the Cardano blockchain. It started as a light wallet for ADA and Cardano tokens and has since added Bitcoin and the Midnight network. The user holds the recovery phrase, so IOG cannot move funds or restore access.

What is the Cardano wallet Lace?

IOG first showed the idea as "Project One" in 2021 and launched Lace 1.0 on Cardano mainnet in April 2023, describing it as a single place for assets, apps and DeFi. A light wallet does not download the full blockchain, so it is quick to set up. The browser extension went open source in May 2023, after a dispute over a Ledger recovery feature pushed wallet makers to publish their code.

CoinCentral reported that Lace 2.0, released in 2026, brings Cardano, Midnight and Bitcoin together, with shielded addresses for private transactions.

How does the Lace wallet extension work?

The Lace FAQ lists extensions for Chrome, Brave and Microsoft Edge plus apps on Google Play and the App Store. As of November 2026 the Chrome listing is published by IOHK USA LLC. Copycat download pages exist, so checking the publisher matters, as shown in how to spot a fake crypto wallet app.

Staking happens on the wallet's Staking screen. Lace added multi-delegation in September 2023, which splits ADA across up to five stake pools by creating extra stake keys from the same account. Background on delegation is in how to stake Cardano.

Lace wallet vs Yoroi, what is the difference?

Both were Cardano light wallets, but they came from different companies. Lace is built by IOG, while Yoroi was built by EMURGO. Yoroi was renamed SecondFi in 2026 and is now shutting down after a theft, as explained in what is Yoroi wallet. Lace remains in active development, with a Chrome release dated November 6, 2026.

Is Lace wallet safe?

IOG says an external auditor, FYEO, reviewed the code before launch, and the source is public. Lace also works with hardware wallets. In September 2025 it fixed Trezor restore and signing problems caused by differing key paths, and in August 2026 it added Keystone, which signs through QR codes with no live connection.

The main risks are the usual ones for a hot wallet. Anyone who gets the recovery phrase controls the funds, and a fake extension can steal it at setup.