Frequently asked questions
Questions, answered.
Everything about vanity addresses, how Glyphforge keeps your key yours, pricing, and the chains we support. Search or browse by topic.
36 questions
Getting started — the basics
- Glyphforge makes "vanity" crypto wallet addresses — a real address with your chosen word built into it, like
0xCAFE…instead of a random string of characters. It works across major blockchains, and you walk away holding the only key to it. Think of it as a custom license plate for your crypto wallet, except it's the actual address. - Normally a wallet address is a long random string nobody can remember. A vanity address has a recognizable word or pattern inside it that you chose, while still being a completely valid address you can send to and receive from. It just looks like yours.
- No — and this is the most important difference. ENS and web3 domains are nicknames that point to an address (and that you rent and can lose). A Glyphforge address is the real address itself, with the word baked into it permanently. You own it outright; there's nothing to renew and nothing pointing anywhere.
- Recognition and trust. A memorable address is easier to recognize, share, and verify — useful for creators, projects, businesses, donations, or anyone tired of copying a random jumble. It signals that the address is intentional and yours.
- No. You type a word, we do the hard part, and you copy your address and key into a wallet app. We walk you through saving your key safely. If you can use a crypto wallet, you can use Glyphforge.
Trust & security (please read these)
- We built Glyphforge specifically so we can't. On the free tier, your key is created on your own device and never sent anywhere — we never even see it. On paid tiers, the system is designed so we either never handle your key or lock it to you before it's sent. We can't take what we never hold.
- No. That's the single rule the whole service is built around: your private key is never seen, stored, logged, or transmitted by Glyphforge. The free generator proves it — it runs entirely in your browser with no server involved.
- When you use the free generator, all the math happens on your computer, inside your web browser, with no connection to our servers for the key. We couldn't capture your key even if we wanted to — it's only ever in your hands.
- Profanity used weak, predictable randomness, so attackers could reverse-engineer the keys and drain wallets. Glyphforge uses cryptographically secure randomness (the gold standard) and audited cryptography, and free keys never leave your device. We treat that disaster as exactly what not to do.
- It's gone, permanently — there is no reset and no recovery, by anyone, ever. That's true of all self-custody crypto, not just us. This is why we make you confirm you've saved your key before you leave: back it up in more than one safe place.
- A generated key is a "hot" key — only as safe as the device it was made on and how you store it. It's great for everyday or moderate use. For large or long-term holdings, import the key into a serious wallet and follow strong security practices (we'll always tell you this honestly).
- No. The number of possible addresses is astronomically large — far beyond the number of grains of sand on Earth, many times over. Collisions don't happen in practice; your address is effectively unique to you.
- For the free generator: essentially nothing about your key — it never reaches us. For paid orders (coming), we keep only what's needed to process the order (like payment status and the public address), never your private key.
Pricing & payment
- Short, easy patterns (3–5 characters) are free in your browser. Beyond that, pricing scales with difficulty: Standard (6–7 chars) ~$15, Premium (8 chars) ~$49, Elite (9 chars) ~$249, and Custom (10+) by quote. Paid tiers are rolling out; prices are indicative for launch.
- Each extra character makes the address roughly 16 times harder to find. A 5-character pattern is quick; a 9-character one can take enormous computing power. You're paying for that compute — the rarer the pattern, the more work it takes to forge.
- Free patterns are short enough to generate on your own device in seconds to a minute. Paid patterns are too hard for a browser, so our specialized hardware does the grinding — while still never holding your key. Same result, just more horsepower for rarer addresses.
- Card and crypto (rolling out with the paid tiers). Smaller orders by card, larger ones by crypto. For card orders we only charge you when your address is actually delivered — if we can't deliver it, you aren't charged.
- If we can't deliver your address, you aren't charged (card holds are released). Once an address has been successfully generated and delivered, the compute is already spent, so those orders aren't refundable. We're upfront about the difficulty and time before you commit.
- Past a certain length the cost of finding the pattern explodes into the thousands of dollars and beyond, so fixed pricing stops at 9 characters — anything longer is a custom quote. It's an honesty thing: we won't pretend a 12-character pattern is cheap or fast.
How it works & using your address
- Type your word, choose where it appears (start or end) and the chain, and start. We search until we find a matching address, then show you the address and its private key. You save the key, confirm you've stored it safely, and it's yours.
- Short patterns: seconds to a minute, right in your browser. Longer paid patterns: more, depending on difficulty — we always show you an estimate before you commit so there are no surprises.
- Import the private key into a crypto wallet app (most wallets have an "import account / import private key" option). From then on it behaves like any normal wallet — your vanity address is just the receiving address.
- Any standard wallet for that chain that lets you import a private key (for Ethereum, that's most major wallets). Your Glyphforge address is a normal address — it isn't tied to us in any way after you receive it.
- Yes, completely. It's a fully valid wallet address; the only difference is that it has your word in it. Send, receive, and use it anywhere a normal address works.
- Yes. Once you hold the key, the address is yours forever — no renewals, no subscriptions, nothing pointing anywhere that could expire. It exists on the blockchain like any other address.
Choosing your word
- Pick something short and meaningful — a name, brand, or word people will recognize. Shorter is cheaper and faster. Decide whether you want it at the start (most eye-catching) or the end of the address. And check the chain's allowed characters (next question) — a little creativity goes a long way.
- It depends on the chain. Ethereum addresses only use the digits 0–9 and the letters a–f (they're "hexadecimal"). So words like
CAFE,BEEF,DECAF,FACE,DEAD,C0DE,0DDBA11, orB0BAwork, butKYLE(it has K, Y, L) won't. Other chains use different, larger alphabets — Solana, for example, allows far more letters. - Because Ethereum's alphabet is limited to 0–9 and a–f. If your name has other letters, use "leetspeak" tricks: 0 for O, 1 for I or L, 3 for E, 5 for S, 4 for A. Or choose a chain with a wider alphabet where your name fits naturally. The generator will guide you.
- We support the start (prefix) and end (suffix) of the address, which are the parts people actually notice. Matching in the exact middle is far harder to verify at a glance, so we focus on the ends.
- For the free Ethereum generator, matching is case-insensitive (so
CAFEandcafeboth count) — that makes it faster and friendlier. Some chains and advanced options are case-sensitive; we'll always tell you which applies.
Chains
- The plan covers Ethereum (and EVM chains), Solana, Bitcoin, XRP, Stellar, Cardano, Polkadot, Tron, Cosmos, Algorand, and XDC. Ethereum is live first, with the others rolling out — that's the "every chain" vision behind "find your name on every chain."
- That's exactly the goal — to let you claim your word across chains so your identity is consistent everywhere. Remember each chain has its own alphabet, so a word might be spelled slightly differently from one chain to the next.
- Pick the chain you actually use or where your audience is. Ethereum is the most widely recognized; Solana allows more natural-looking words because of its larger alphabet. If you're unsure, start with the chain your wallet already uses.
Account, transfers, and the rest
- Not for the free generator — just type and go. Paid orders (coming) will need only the minimum to process and deliver your order.
- A marketplace is planned for later. Importantly, you can't "transfer a key" safely — so it will be designed to transfer control of an address to a buyer securely, never by emailing private keys around. More on this as it launches.
- Generating your own wallet address is a normal, everyday part of using crypto. Glyphforge is an independent tool and is not affiliated with any blockchain, wallet, or company. Nothing here is financial advice — you're responsible for your own keys and decisions.
Still have a question?
Our assistant is on the way — it'll know everything on this page and help you choose a word, understand pricing, or pick a chain. In the meantime, the free Ethereum generator is the best place to start.
Try the free generator