Main Takeaways
- A crypto wallet is how you access and control your assets on a blockchain.
- When you control your wallet (known as self-custody), no platform can freeze your funds or restrict your access.
- On Sui, a self-custody wallet feels as familiar as any app you already use.
Overview
This is the second article in our getting-started series. If you haven't read the first, "Getting Started on Sui: What Is Sui," it's worth checking out before diving in here.
If you're new to crypto entirely, a wallet is how you hold and access digital assets on a blockchain. Think of it as your account on the network, except that, unlike a bank account, no company runs it on your behalf. You own it directly.
This piece covers what that means and why it matters.
For those who've already bought crypto, the large majority will have done so through a centralized exchange. Those platforms give you something that looks and feels like a wallet: a balance, a transaction history, a place to buy and sell. But there's a meaningful difference between holding crypto on an exchange and holding it yourself.
What a wallet actually is
The term "wallet" is somewhat misleading. A crypto wallet doesn't store your assets the way a physical wallet stores cash. Your assets live on the blockchain. What your wallet holds is something more like a key, proof that you are the owner of those assets.
Think of it this way: your assets are in a lockbox on a public network. Anyone can see the lockbox exists, but only the person with the key can open it. Your wallet holds that key.
There are two parts to it:
- Public key: your wallet address. This is what you share when someone wants to send you something.
- Private key: the secret part that authorizes transactions. It never leaves your wallet. When you approve something, it produces a signature confirming you authorized it.
There’s also a seed phrase (usually 12 or 24 words), which is a human-readable backup of your private key. Whoever has those words has access to your wallet, so keeping them offline and private is essential.
How this differs from an exchange
When you hold crypto on an exchange, you don't hold any keys. The exchange does. Your balance is an entry in their database, not an asset you directly control.
That's not inherently bad; exchanges are convenient and built for trading. But it means you're trusting their infrastructure, their security, and their policies. If the exchange is hacked, goes offline, or restricts your account, your access will be affected.
With self-custody, that changes. You hold the keys, so no platform stands between you and your assets.
What self-custody looks like on Sui
On most blockchain networks, setting up a self-custody wallet involves writing down a seed phrase, keeping it somewhere safe, and hoping you never lose it. That's still an option, and still a secure route.
On Sui, getting started doesn't require that upfront. You can create a real self-custody wallet by signing in with a Google or Facebook account. Your credentials never touch the blockchain thanks to zkLogin.
Several wallets on Sui support this feature, but if you're not sure where to start, Slush is a good first option. Developed by Mysten Labs, the core contributors behind Sui itself, Slush was built with the same philosophy as the network, that getting onchain shouldn't require a steep learning curve. Here are Slush guides to help walk you through setup.
Once you're up and running, you can always move on to storing your own seed phrase directly. But the first step doesn't have to be that.
Why this matters for what comes next
Owning your wallet is what makes everything else possible. Sending assets, using apps, accessing financial tools, all of it starts here. An exchange account is a starting point, but it's a closed system. A self-custody wallet is an open one.
An analogy to help you think about it is that an exchange is like a bank account. Useful, familiar, but someone else holds your money. A self-custody wallet is more like cash; you hold it, you control it, and you can do with it what you like.
That openness is what unlocks the unique opportunities found on Sui.
Now that you know what a wallet is, and why self-custody matters, the natural next question is: how do you actually use one? The next piece in this series will discuss what it means to sign a transaction, in plain terms.
Stay tuned!
