An Asteria token will live in a wallet that you control. That freedom comes with a responsibility: nobody — Asteria included — can recover a token from a wallet whose keys are lost or stolen. This page covers the essentials, well before the marketplace opens.
Self-custody in one minute#
- A wallet holds keys, not tokens. Tokens are recorded on the blockchain. Your wallet keeps the private key that proves you control an address, and uses it to sign transactions.
- The recovery phrase is the master key. Most wallets generate a seed phrase — usually 12 or 24 words — from which every key can be rebuilt. Whoever has those words controls the wallet.
- Self-custody means no reset button. There is no "forgot password" link on a blockchain. Lose the phrase and the device together, and the tokens are out of reach for good.
- Custodial is the alternative. A company holds the keys on your behalf, like a bank holds money. Asteria is designed around self-custody; whether a custodial option is offered at launch is being decided during Phase 1 of the roadmap.
Choosing a wallet#
Wallets come in a few broad categories. Many people use two: an everyday wallet for browsing and a hardware-backed "vault" for things they want to keep.
| Type | What it is | Good for | Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Browser extension | Lives in your web browser and talks to web apps | Convenience when using marketplaces | Exposed to malicious sites and extensions |
| Mobile app | A wallet on your phone, often with QR scanning | Use on the go | A lost or compromised phone puts it at risk |
| Hardware wallet | A dedicated device that keeps keys offline and asks you to confirm every signature on its own screen | Long-term holding of items you care about | Costs money; slower to use |
| Multisig wallet | A smart-contract wallet that needs several signatures | Shared or organisational holding | More complex; support varies between networks |
Asteria does not endorse any wallet provider. Whatever you choose, look for:
- support for the network Asteria will use (to be announced) and for ERC-721 tokens;
- clear transaction previews that show what you are about to sign, in plain language;
- compatibility with a hardware wallet;
- an active, reputable team, and preferably open-source or independently audited code;
- an installation you started yourself, from the provider's official website or official app-store listing.
Seed phrase safety#
Install from the source
Type the provider's address yourself or use the official app-store listing, and check the publisher's name. Search ads are a common route to fake wallets.
Write the phrase down, offline
Paper or metal, in the exact order. Never in a photo, a screenshot, a cloud note, an email or a chat message.
Store two copies, apart
Keep them in two secure places, so a single fire, flood or burglary cannot take both.
Test the backup
Before holding anything that matters, restore the wallet from your written phrase on a spare device — and confirm that the same address appears.
Separate hot and cold
Keep valuable tokens in a hardware-backed wallet you rarely connect, and use a separate wallet for everyday browsing.
Scams to watch for#
Fake mints#
Lookalike sites announce an "Asteria mint" or "early access" and ask you to connect and sign. Asteria has not launched a sale of any kind. When the sale opens, it will be announced on the official website and documented in these docs first.
Impersonation#
Fake support accounts, fake moderators and lookalike profiles reach out by direct message, often within minutes of a public question. They are friendly, fast and urgent. Real support will never ask for your phrase, your keys or remote access.
Malicious approvals and signatures#
Some transactions do not move a token immediately — they grant permission to move it later.
setApprovalForAlllets another address transfer every token you hold from a collection. Only approve marketplaces you deliberately chose.- Off-chain signatures, such as marketplace orders, can authorise transfers without any gas fee. A request to "just sign a message" can be as powerful as a transaction.
- Review and revoke approvals you no longer use, through your wallet or a block explorer's token-approval page.
Bait tokens and address poisoning#
Unknown tokens may appear in your wallet with links to "claim" something — do not interact with them. Scammers also send tiny transfers from addresses that resemble ones you use, hoping you will copy the wrong one from your history. Always check a full address, not only its first and last characters.
| Red flag | What to do |
|---|---|
| A countdown pushing you to mint "before it's gone" | Stop. Check the official site and these docs. |
| A direct message offering help or an allocation | Do not reply. Asteria does not open conversations by DM. |
| A request for your seed phrase, in any form | Close the page. It is a scam, every time. |
| A signature request you cannot read | Reject it. Ask through official channels. |
What Asteria will never do#
- Ask for your seed phrase or private key.
- Ask you to install software or a browser extension to claim a token.
- Contact you first by direct message about a mint, an airdrop or a support issue.
- Ask for remote access to your computer or phone.
- Ask you to send cryptocurrency to "verify" a wallet.
- Pressure you to act through an unofficial link.
How to verify official links#
- Start from the official site. Bookmark it and use the bookmark. Avoid reaching it through search ads or links in messages.
- Read domains letter by letter. Lookalikes swap characters (
rnform), add words (-mint,-claim) or use letters from other alphabets. - Contract addresses come from these docs. When contracts are deployed, their addresses will be published on the Smart contracts page. Until then, there are none.
- Cross-check announcements. A real announcement appears on the official website and is consistent across official channels.
- When unsure, do not sign. Use the contact address in the site footer and wait for an answer.
If something goes wrong#
- Create a new wallet with a new phrase on a clean device, and move whatever remains.
- Revoke approvals on the compromised wallet.
- Report the scam site or account to the platform hosting it, and tell us so we can warn others.
- Beware of "recovery services" that promise to get stolen tokens back. Most are a second scam.