Your wallet does not hold any coins

If you are active in crypto-related subreddits you'll soon notice a (understandable) misconception:

New users tend to think that their coins are stored in their wallet. Therefore, they ask questions like: "what happens to my coins if I delete my wallet? How can I move my voins to my new PC etc.

I find it necessary to stress the follwing fact:

Your wallet does not hold any coins. Your coins are not stored in your wallet

Your wallet does not hold any coins. Your coins are not stored in your wallet

Your wallet does not hold any coins. Your coins are not stored in your wallet

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But where are my coins?

Coins are "stored" in the blockchain. The blockchain is a really long list of every transaction between (coin) adresses. Since all transactions are known, and adresses are public, the amount of coins at a given adress is known, too.

Think of a coin adress as a letterbox made of (indestructable) glass: everybody can see how much is inside, everybody can stuff coins into it, but only the person(s) with the private key can take something out.

But what does a wallet do?

The most important feature of a wallet is to (securely) hold the (private) keys to the corresponding adresses on the blockchain. Therefore it allows you to access (sent/spent) your coins. Think of it like a big keychain.

To generate keys and adresses your wallet uses a seed phrase of 12 (or 24) english words. Entering the same seed phrase always generates the same keys/adresses. Setting up a new wallet starts with a random seed phrase.

Questions?

• How do I move my coins between devices/different wallet software? -> You just enter your current seed phrase into the new software/ the same software on another device.
• So do I lose my coins if I delete my wallet? -> No, since they are still in the blockchain. Without a wallet you are not able to do anything with your coins, though [edit 3]: The advice does not apply to:
• non-deterministic (or non-HD) wallets
• multiwallets
• imported keys (thanks u/vsync)

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• This means I can have the same wallet on different devices (i.e. pc/tablet/phone)? -> Yes. Be aware, that you have to keep all those devices secure.
• So if lose my seed phrase, my coins are gone? -> Your wallet will show you your seed phrase, so you are good as long as it is still installed. If you neither have your wallet or your seed phrase - then yes, nobody can access them anymore.
• Does that mean that anybody who knows my seed phrase can move my coins? -> Yes!!

TLDR? [edit]

• coins are stored at adresses on the blockchain, not in a wallet
• a wallet gives you access to your blockchain adresses
• the whole access thing is "compressed" in a 12 (or 24) words seed phrase

Therefore:

• protect your seed phrase!
• don't lose your seed phrase!!
• everybody who asks for your seed phrase is a scammer!!!

[edit2]

on behalf of u/vsync the following addendums:

• "Best advice is read your platform's documentation and try test restores (again, good advice for any backup)."
• "If your wallet software offers to let you back up private keys, consider doing so. Backups in general are a great idea too."

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And thanks for all the awards :)