# Glossary Short, plain-language definitions. Each term links to the page that explains it in depth or the KeepKey feature that uses it. ### Address The shareable destination for funds, derived from your public key (e.g. `bc1q…`, `0x…`). Safe to hand out. → [Keys & Addresses](/docs/learn/keys-and-addresses) ### BIP-39 The open standard for the 12/24-word recovery phrase. Makes your backup portable across compatible wallets. → [Your Recovery Phrase](/docs/learn/recovery-phrase) ### BIP-85 A standard for deterministically generating many separate child wallets from a single recovery phrase. → [BIP85 Derived Seeds](/docs/desktop/bip85) ### Blockchain The public, shared ledger a network's transactions are recorded on. Your coins live here, not on your device. → [What Is a Crypto Wallet?](/docs/learn/what-is-a-wallet) ### Bootloader The small, trusted program on the device that verifies firmware is signed by KeepKey before running it. → [Security](/docs/security) ### Cold wallet / cold storage A wallet whose keys stay offline. A hardware wallet is the common form. → [What Is a Crypto Wallet?](/docs/learn/what-is-a-wallet) ### Confirmation A block added on top of the one containing your transaction; more confirmations mean it's more final. → [Transactions & Fees](/docs/learn/transactions-and-fees) ### Custodial An arrangement where a company holds your keys for you (e.g. an exchange). The opposite of self-custody. → [What Is a Crypto Wallet?](/docs/learn/what-is-a-wallet) ### dApp A "decentralized application" you connect a wallet to. KeepKey reaches EVM dApps via the browser extension. → [Browser Extension](/docs/bex) ### Derivation path The standardized route (BIP-32/44) used to generate many keys/addresses from one recovery phrase. → [Keys & Addresses](/docs/learn/keys-and-addresses) ### Entropy True randomness, measured in bits. A 12-word phrase encodes 128 bits — the full security the protocol can use. What matters is that those bits were genuinely random when generated. → [12 vs 24 Words](/docs/learn/seed-length) ### ERC-20 The token standard for assets that live on Ethereum (e.g. USDC). Tokens, not their own chains. → [Networks, Coins & Tokens](/docs/learn/networks-and-tokens) ### EVM The Ethereum Virtual Machine; also the family of chains (Polygon, Base, Arbitrum…) that share Ethereum's format. → [Networks, Coins & Tokens](/docs/learn/networks-and-tokens) ### Fee (network fee) What you pay the network's miners/validators to process your transaction. Goes to the network, not to KeepKey. → [Transactions & Fees](/docs/learn/transactions-and-fees) ### Firmware The software that runs on the KeepKey device itself; open-source, signed, and updatable. → [Firmware](/docs/firmware) ### Gas Ethereum's name for the network fee, paid in ETH and priced by the computation a transaction uses. → [Transactions & Fees](/docs/learn/transactions-and-fees) ### Hardware wallet A dedicated device that generates and stores keys offline and signs transactions internally. KeepKey is one. → [What Is a Crypto Wallet?](/docs/learn/what-is-a-wallet) ### Hot wallet A wallet whose keys live on an internet-connected device (phone/browser app). Convenient, more exposed. → [What Is a Crypto Wallet?](/docs/learn/what-is-a-wallet) ### Native coin The currency a network runs on and pays fees in (BTC for Bitcoin, ETH for Ethereum). → [Networks, Coins & Tokens](/docs/learn/networks-and-tokens) ### Native SegWit (bech32) The recommended Bitcoin address format, starting `bc1q…`. Lower fees than Legacy (`1…`) or Nested SegWit (`3…`), and accepted almost everywhere. → [Bitcoin Address Types](/docs/learn/address-types) ### Network / chain A standalone blockchain with its own rules and money. You can't send one network's coin over another. → [Networks, Coins & Tokens](/docs/learn/networks-and-tokens) ### Non-custodial / self-custody You — not a company — hold the keys. The reason a KeepKey exists. "Not your keys, not your coins." → [What Is a Crypto Wallet?](/docs/learn/what-is-a-wallet) ### Passphrase An optional secret that creates a separate hidden wallet and is never stored on the device. → [PIN & Passphrase](/docs/learn/pin-and-passphrase) ### PIN The code that unlocks the physical device; KeepKey's entry grid shuffles to defeat snoopers. → [PIN & Passphrase](/docs/learn/pin-and-passphrase) ### Private key The secret that controls funds. Generated on-device and never exposed. Whoever holds it owns the coins. → [Keys & Addresses](/docs/learn/keys-and-addresses) ### Public key Derived from the private key; used to produce your shareable address. Reveals nothing about the secret. → [Keys & Addresses](/docs/learn/keys-and-addresses) ### Recovery phrase (seed phrase / mnemonic) The 12/24 words that *are* your wallet. Back them up on paper; never type or photograph them. → [Your Recovery Phrase](/docs/learn/recovery-phrase) ### Script type (address type) The style of lock securing your bitcoin — Legacy, SegWit, Native SegWit, or Taproot. Each derives from the same recovery phrase and shows as its own sub-account. → [Bitcoin Address Types](/docs/learn/address-types) ### Secure element A tamper-resistant chip some wallets use. KeepKey deliberately omits one in favor of open, auditable hardware. → [Security](/docs/security) ### Signing Using your private key to authorize a transaction without revealing the key. On KeepKey it happens on-device. → [Transactions & Fees](/docs/learn/transactions-and-fees) ### Token An asset that lives on top of a host network (e.g. an ERC-20 on Ethereum). You pay its fees in the host's native coin. → [Networks, Coins & Tokens](/docs/learn/networks-and-tokens) ### Transaction A signed instruction to move funds. Irreversible once confirmed. → [Transactions & Fees](/docs/learn/transactions-and-fees) ### Wallet Software/hardware that stores your keys and lets you sign transactions — it holds keys, not coins. → [What Is a Crypto Wallet?](/docs/learn/what-is-a-wallet) ## More help - [Signing and Approvals](/docs/learn/clear-signing) - [Troubleshooting](/docs/desktop/troubleshooting) - [Feature and release status](/docs/firmware/release-status)