Search
Results for “Encryption vs Digital signature”
Encryption
Encryption turns readable data into scrambled text, called ciphertext, that only someone with the right key can turn back. In crypto it protects things kept privately, such as a wallet file or backup, while Bitcoin and Ethereum transactions themselves are signed, not encrypted, and are public.
What it means for you. A wallet password usually encrypts the key stored on your device; it is not the key. Forget the password and the seed phrase can still restore the wallet; keep only an encrypted file without the seed phrase, and the password becomes the only way back. Anyone who copies that file can try guessing a weak password offline, without limits.
Sources: NIST CSRC glossary: encryption, NIST IR 8547 (initial public draft): Transition to Post-Quantum Cryptography Standards, NIST CSRC glossary: digital signature · checked 4 October 2026
Digital signature
A digital signature is a piece of data, made with a private key, that proves the holder of that key approved a specific message, such as a transaction. Anyone can check it with the matching public key, and changing even one character of the message makes the check fail.
What it means for you. A blockchain treats a valid signature as your approval, whether or not you understood what you signed. Some signatures authorise other addresses to move your tokens later even though nothing leaves your wallet at the time, so check what a wallet or site is asking you to sign.
Sources: NIST FIPS 186-5: Digital Signature Standard, NIST CSRC glossary: digital signature · checked 4 October 2026