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How to Create an Ethereum Wallet with MEW
How to Create an Ethereum Wallet with MEW

Whether you prefer a web, hardware, mobile, or browser wallet, MEW has you covered

Katya Michaels avatar
Written by Katya Michaels
Updated over 3 months ago

Getting started with crypto is easy with MEW, whether you are looking to manage your crypto using a hardware wallet, a mobile wallet app, or a browser extension.

Need to create a new wallet? Continue reading to explore our mobile and browser wallets.

Already have a wallet? MEW Portfolio dashboard supports all popular hardware, mobile, and browser wallets. For more information, see How to Access Your Wallet with MEW Portfolio.

All MEW wallets are self custodial and open source. What does that mean? See these articles on our blog:
>> Why Self Custody Matters

Jump to:

Create a wallet with MEW

Go to MyEtherWallet.com and select Create a new wallet.

For a quick and secure setup, we recommend one of the two:

  • the MEW wallet app, if you prefer to manage your crypto on mobile

  • our multichain web3 browser wallet Enkrypt, if you need the flexibility of dozens of networks and prefer to manage crypto on your computer

The MEW wallet app

MEW wallet is our official mobile app, and is the best option for the security and convenience on the go. You'll be able to use the MEW wallet independently on your mobile device, and together with MEW Portfolio on web for additional features.

Then check out the following articles for help with setting up.

Enkrypt, MEW's multichain web3 browser wallet

Enkrypt is our browser extension wallet, available for Chrome, Firefox, Brave, Edge, Opera, and Safari. It supports assets on Ethereum and all EVM-compatible networks, including all popular Layer2s and custom RPC, plus Polkadot, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Doge, and many more natively integrated networks.



Download the extension at Enkrypt.com and see the following guides for setup:

Get a hardware wallet

To hold larger amounts of crypto assets for the long term, we recommend ordering a Trezor or Ledger hardware wallet. These cold-storage wallets are the highest standard of security in crypto.

Scroll down from 'Create your crypto wallet now' and open the 'Other ways to create a wallet' dropdown to see additional options.

Click 'Buy a hardware wallet' and then select Ledger or Trezor. You will be taken to our partners page for the purchase. Always make sure to purchase hardware wallets directly from the manufacturer to avoid receiving a fake or tampered-with device.

Once you have your hardware wallet, you can use it with MEW Portfolio to manage your crypto assets and take advantage of ETH staking.

See the following articles for details:


Software wallets

These are not recommended ways to create and access your wallet. We highly suggest you only use MEW offline when using these options.

For more information on why we don't recommend them, see ‘MEW says ‘Not Recommended’ when I Access my Wallet.. Why?

If you need to create a new wallet, we strongly recommend downloading MEW wallet app or Enkrypt browser extension instead.

Before we continue, a few words of caution:

  • Never share this information with anyone. This information gives complete and permanent access to your wallet.

  • Do not keep this information on a device connected to the internet. Hackers can and will find it in your hard drive or in the cloud.

  • Choose strong passwords and write everything down, in multiple locations.

  • We never have access to your keys and cannot recover this information for you.

Keystore/JSON

Need more information about Keystore files? Go ahead and check out our ‘What is a Keystore/JSON file’ article.

  1. Head to MyEtherWallet.com and click 'Create a New wallet'

  2. Scroll down from 'Create your crypto wallet now' and open the 'Other ways to create a wallet' dropdown to see additional options.

  3. Select 'Create a software wallet', and then Choose 'Keystore file'.

  4. Enter a strong password, and write it down on paper. We cannot recover or reset your password for you. Write it down!

  5. Download your JSON File, preferably to a USB device. Do not open this file. It is meant to be used by our interface.

  6. Now you’re done, and ready to access your wallet!

To print a paper wallet and/or find your private key, take a look at the ‘Finding your Private key on MEW web’ article.

Mnemonic Phrase (also known as a Seed or Recovery phrase)

Need more information about Mnemonic phrases? See the ‘What is a Recovery phrase’ article for guidance.

  1. Head to MyEtherWallet.com and click 'Create a New wallet'

  2. Scroll down from 'Create your crypto wallet now' and open the 'Other ways to create a wallet' dropdown to see additional options.

  3. Click 'Create a software wallet' then choose the 'Mnemonic Phrase’ option.

  4. Choose a 12 or 24-word phrase, and WRITE IT DOWN! Do not store this on your computer or phone. It is meant to be written down multiple times.

  5. There is an option for an extra word here, for added security. Choosing to include an extra word keeps your phrase more secure, but it limits the accessibility of your phrase with other wallets. Other wallets may not allow for an extra word, making your phrase incompatible. We cannot recover or reset your phrase or extra word for you. Write it down!

  6. Click on 'I wrote them down' once you're written it down.

  7. Now pass a quick test, and click verify when you’re done!

You're all set! Go ahead and access your new Ethereum wallet.

To print a paper wallet and/or find your private key, take a look at the ‘Finding your Private key on MEW web’ article.


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