Anchor Wallet: an honest review and setup guide

7 min read

Anchor Wallet at a glance

Greymass is a long-standing team in the EOS ecosystem. It also builds Unicove, the web portal that vaulta.com links to for balances, staking, RAM and the EOS→A swap. Unicove is an interface, not a key store, so it needs a wallet to sign. Anchor is the wallet it was built around, which is why the two work together so smoothly.

Anchor is not a dead project from 2018 either. The old greymass.com/anchor address now redirects to the dedicated anchorwallet.io site, the app has been redesigned with a passkey-based browser version, and the desktop app keeps getting new releases on GitHub, with version 1.4.0 being the latest we saw.

Key features of Anchor

Passkey browser wallet, no install

The newest way to use Anchor is the browser app at vaulta.anchorwallet.io. Instead of a password and a seed phrase, it creates a passkey that lives in your device keychain (think Face ID, Touch ID or Windows Hello). The keys never leave your device. For newcomers this removes the scariest step of crypto, writing down a long phrase on the first day, though you should still export a backup once you hold real money.

Free account creation

An EOS account has to be created on-chain and needs about 3 KB of RAM to exist. Anchor removes that hurdle. Sign in with Google or Apple and it creates a 12-character account with resources sponsored by the network. The Google or Apple step is there as an anti-sybil check, so one person cannot spin up thousands of free accounts. If you already hold tokens, you can pay the account cost yourself instead. More on how accounts work in our EOS account creation guide.

dApp login with WharfKit

WharfKit is Greymass’s open-source SDK that dApps use to connect wallets. It replaced the older Anchor Link and UAL standards. When a DEX, game or NFT market shows a "Login" button with Anchor as an option, WharfKit is usually what is running behind it. You approve each transaction in Anchor and can see exactly which contract action you are signing.

Resource handling

EOS has no gas fee, but every transaction uses CPU and NET, and storing data uses RAM. Anchor shows your resource usage and helps you rent more when needed. Greymass also runs Fuel, a resource cosigning service that pays CPU and NET for Anchor users in many situations, and it was active on-chain when we checked. For the full picture, see EOS RAM, CPU and NET explained.

Ledger support on desktop

Anchor Desktop works with the Ledger EOS app. You can connect a Ledger to an existing account or create a brand-new account whose keys live on the device. That combination is the most secure setup available for A today.

How to set up Anchor Wallet step by step

The whole process takes about five minutes. We will use the browser app because it needs nothing installed, but the mobile and desktop apps follow the same logic.

1. Open the official app

   Type anchorwallet.io into your address bar yourself and pick the browser app, the iOS or Android app, or the desktop download. Do not use links from ads, DMs or YouTube comments.

2. Create a passkey or wallet

   In the browser, Anchor asks your device to create a passkey. On desktop or mobile, you set an app password that encrypts the keys locally.

3. Create a free account or import one

   Choose to create a new Vaulta account and sign in with Google or Apple. Anchor generates a 12-character name. If you already have an account, import its private key instead.

4. Back up your keys

   Export your owner key or recovery details and store them offline, ideally on paper or metal in two separate places. Never put them in email, cloud notes or screenshots.

5. Fund the account with a test amount

   Withdraw a small amount of A from an exchange to your account name. Some exchanges also ask for a memo; for your own wallet, leave it empty unless instructed.

6. Connect to Unicove and dApps

   Open Unicove, click login and choose Anchor. From there you can stake, swap, buy RAM or vote.

Using Anchor to swap EOS to A

If you held EOS before the rebrand and kept it in your own wallet, it is still sitting there as legacy EOS. The swap is 1:1, has no fees or slippage and no deadline. With Anchor you have two easy routes:

• Through the official portal. The swap page that vaulta.com points to runs on Unicove. Log in with Anchor, enter the amount and sign.
• Directly in a transfer. Advanced users can send EOS straight to the core.vaulta contract and receive A back. Only do this if you understand what you are signing.

Exodus users were told by Exodus itself to move to Anchor for exactly this step. Our swap EOS to A guide has step-by-step instructions plus answers about how exchanges handled the migration, and the Vaulta explainer covers the background.

Staking and voting with Anchor

Anchor itself focuses on keys and signing. For staking, most people use Unicove with Anchor connected. Staking A puts your tokens into the REX pool, where they earn a share of the 250 million token staking rewards reserve. Recent on-chain data put the yield at around 7–8% a year, but the rate changes constantly as more or fewer tokens are staked. The important catch is the 21-day unstaking period. Read the EOS staking guide before you lock anything.

Staked accounts can also vote for up to 30 block producers, the 21 operators that run the network. Voting is optional since the REX 2.0 upgrade, but it is how token holders shape governance. Learn more in our DPoS and block producers explainer.

Anchor Wallet pros and cons

Anchor vs other EOS wallets

For a broader comparison including imToken, TokenPocket and MetaMask via the Unicove snap, see our EOS wallet guide.

Security tips for Anchor users

• Bookmark the real sites: anchorwallet.io, vaulta.anchorwallet.io and unicove.com. Phishing pages often copy their design.
• Read every signing request. Anchor shows the contract and action. If a "free airdrop" asks you to update permissions, reject it.
• Keep owner and active keys separate. Use the active key daily and keep the owner key offline for recovery.
• Check transactions on an explorer. Use Unicove or EOS Authority to confirm a transfer, as described in our EOS explorer guide. Do not use bloks.io, which now redirects to a different network.

Our verdict

Anchor is the wallet we would recommend to almost anyone holding EOS or A. It is free, self-custody, keeps up with the Vaulta changes and connects cleanly to the official portal. Pair it with a Ledger on desktop for larger balances, keep your owner key offline, and you will have a setup that is both convenient and hard to break into.

Frequently asked questions

eoscoin.org is an independent review and information site. Nothing here is financial, investment or legal advice. Crypto assets are highly volatile — do your own research before making any decision. Disclaimer · About