What is a crypto wallet?
What a crypto wallet actually holds, the difference between hot and cold storage, and why your seed phrase is the only thing that matters.
Keys, not coins
A crypto wallet does not really hold coins; the coins live on the blockchain. What the wallet holds are your keys: the secret that proves the coins are yours and lets you spend them. Whoever has the keys controls the coins, which is why keeping them safe is everything.
Address vs private key
Your address is public, like an account number you can share to receive funds; a Pearl address starts with prl1. Your private key (or seed phrase) is secret and must never be shared. When you mine, you only ever give the pool your public address; it never needs, and should never be given, your keys.
Getting a wallet for mining
To mine a coin you need a valid receiving address for it. Download the official wallet from the project's own source, generate your address, and use it in your miner. The pool validates the address at login, so a typo is rejected rather than silently sending your earnings nowhere.
Keeping payouts safe
Because payouts are non-custodial and go straight to your address, your security is your own responsibility and entirely in your hands. Back up your seed phrase offline, never type it into a website, and never share it with support or a bot. Do that, and no pool or site can touch your coins.