Do I need more than one wallet?

Two is a reasonable habit: one that holds, one that connects to things.

Most losses in self-custody happen through a signature given on a website, not through a broken wallet. Which suggests an obvious split.

A holding wallet that never connects to any site, never signs anything, and only receives and sends. Ideally on a hardware device.

A spending wallet that does the connecting, the claiming and the experimenting, holding only what you would accept losing. A malicious approval signed there has nothing valuable to approve.

This costs nothing and is the single cheapest protection available in the whole subject. It does not require a second device — most wallet software supports several accounts from the same phrase, although a separate phrase is stronger.

Wallet drainers and signatures explains the attack it defends against.

Last checked 19 Oct 2026.