How to Read a Wallet Interface

Wallet interfaces look different and show the same underlying information. Knowing what each field means makes the confirmation screen readable.

The main screen

Your balance, per asset and per network. The same asset on two networks appears as two entries, which confuses people constantly.

The network selector. Usually at the top. Everything below it applies to the selected network only.

Your address, shown truncated. Tap to see it in full or to display a QR code.

Send and receive. Receive shows your address. Send asks for a destination.

The confirmation screen, which is the one that matters

This appears before anything irreversible happens. Five fields.

What you are doing. Transfer, approval, or contract interaction. Good wallets label this clearly. An approval where you expected a swap is worth stopping for.

The destination. Check characters from the middle, not only the ends.

The amount.

The network fee. If it looks unusual, something is wrong: wrong network, a more complex operation than you expected, or congestion.

Advanced details. Gas limit and fee settings. Leave the limit alone; lowering it causes failures that still cost money.

The two checks before signing

Is the network right. This is where the most expensive routine mistakes are made, and the field is easy to overlook.

Is the destination right, checked in the middle. This defeats the attacks that produce lookalike addresses.

The feature worth having

Transaction simulation, which several wallets now offer. It shows the expected balance changes before you sign.

That catches malicious contracts requesting more than they claim, approvals disguised as other operations, and swaps that would return far less than quoted. If your wallet offers it, leave it on. If it does not, that is a reason to consider one that does.

The settings worth finding

Token approvals, if your wallet shows them. Otherwise use a block explorer.

Custom network endpoint, which determines whether your balance queries reveal your addresses to a third party.

The recovery phrase, which should require separate authentication to view. If it does not, enable that if possible.

The habit

Read the confirmation screen. It takes eight seconds.

Almost every expensive mistake described across this site is visible there before it happens: the wrong network, the unlimited approval, the substituted address, the peak-hour fee.

For funds moving between a venue such as a platform that lets you withdraw to your own wallet and your wallet, the same principle applies on the withdrawal screen, where the network selector is the field that matters most.