# Choose and secure a Pearl wallet https://www.learnpearl.org/wallet/ · Checked October 20, 2026 · Beginner A Pearl wallet doesn’t hold coins inside the app. Your PRL stays recorded on the network; the wallet protects the keys that can move it. Here’s how to set one up properly. ## Key takeaways - The official option for most people is Pearl Desktop Wallet (v3.0.0), for Windows, macOS and Linux, from GitHub releases. - Your recovery seed is the wallet. Write it down offline, and never photograph or paste it. - Pearl mainnet addresses start with prl1. Send a small test before anything meaningful. - In Wallet v3, a stuck payment is retried with Rebroadcast, never sent twice. ## Three things to know first - There is no “forgot password” for a blockchain. Lose the seed and the coins may be gone. - Payments can’t be undone. Check the address before you send. - Nobody from Pearl, an exchange or a pool will ever need your seed. Anyone asking is a scammer. > **Where real help is.** Pearl’s official support is a ticket you open yourself through [its help center](https://help.pearlresearch.ai/hc/en-us/articles/49189248497937-How-to-contact-Pearl-support), plus its public Discord and X. Pearl says it never messages you first, has no Telegram support, and never asks you to send PRL to receive PRL ([how Pearl will and won’t contact you](https://help.pearlresearch.ai/hc/en-us/articles/49188487208081-How-Pearl-will-and-won-t-contact-you)). ## Official wallet options - **Pearl Desktop Wallet:** Graphical app · v3.0.0: Windows (.exe), macOS (.dmg, Intel and Apple Silicon), Linux (.deb) - **Oyster:** Wallet daemon · For servers and scripts; JSON-RPC and gRPC interfaces - **oystercli:** Terminal app · Guided wallet setup and control in your terminal - **Light client:** SPV · Follows the chain with compact filters; the official installers and the desktop wallet turn it on > **Always download from the release page.** Filenames and versions change. Get the latest release from [GitHub](https://github.com/pearl-research-labs/pearl/releases) rather than a copied direct link, and compare it with the release’s `checksums.txt`. The current desktop wallet is v3.0.0, published October 13, 2026. On Apple Silicon Macs, macOS may call Wallet v3.0.0 “damaged” because the build isn’t notarized ([issue #425](https://github.com/pearl-research-labs/pearl/issues/425), open on October 20, 2026): check the checksum and follow the issue rather than switching off macOS’s protections. ## A safer wallet setup 1. **Download the official release.** Choose the installer for your exact operating system and processor. 2. **Create a new wallet.** Use a unique, strong local password. It protects the app on this computer; it does not replace the recovery seed. 3. **Back up the seed offline.** Write every word clearly, in order, and double-check them. Store the paper away from the computer and from cloud accounts. 4. **Let the wallet sync.** Wait until it shows an up-to-date view of the network before trusting the balance. 5. **Test receiving and recovery.** Receive a small amount, then confirm your backup actually restores the wallet before storing anything meaningful. ## Your recovery seed is the wallet - Anyone with the seed can control the PRL associated with it. - A support representative never needs your seed to diagnose a problem. - Screenshots, password managers, email drafts and cloud notes make extra copies that can leak. - A lost app can be reinstalled; a lost seed may make funds permanently unreachable. - Plan inheritance and emergency access on purpose: written down, explained and tested. ## Receiving and sending Pearl mainnet addresses start with **prl1**. The official wallet makes Taproot addresses, with a Bech32m checksum that catches most typos. Addresses starting with tprl1 or rprl1 belong to test networks; never send real PRL to them. Check the prefix yourself: as of October 20, 2026, the wallet’s command-line send commands still accept test-network addresses on mainnet, and the [fix](https://github.com/pearl-research-labs/pearl/pull/448) isn’t in a release yet. A fresh receive address for each payment is good practice. Your wallet tracks them all under the same seed. A payment usually gets its first confirmation within a few minutes, one or two blocks. Each block after that makes it harder to reverse, so wait for more on large amounts; exchanges set their own counts ([Pearl’s help center](https://help.pearlresearch.ai/hc/en-us/articles/49190639921425-How-long-do-confirmations-take-and-how-many-are-safe)). > **If a payment looks stuck, don’t send it again.** Since v3.0.0, the desktop wallet shows a payment that may already be on the network as pending, with its transaction ID, and points you to Activity → Rebroadcast. Creating a second payment can pay the recipient twice. ## Using a wallet for mining Create a dedicated receive address for mining payouts and confirm that your pool or miner accepts Pearl mainnet addresses. Don’t assume an address from another network works because it looks similar. Mining straight to an exchange adds two dependencies: the pool must keep paying that deposit address, and the exchange must keep crediting Pearl deposits. A self-custody wallet is usually the cleaner path. ## If the balance looks wrong - Make sure the wallet has fully synced and is connected to peers. - Check that you restored the right seed and account. - Remember that every receive address you’ve used belongs to the same wallet. - Read the latest release notes and open issues before reinstalling anything. - Never share the seed while asking for help. ## Sources - [Pearl Desktop Wallet v3.0.0 release notes](https://github.com/pearl-research-labs/pearl/releases/tag/pearl-wallet-v3.0.0) (Pearl Research Labs, primary) - [Official Pearl releases](https://github.com/pearl-research-labs/pearl/releases) (Pearl Research Labs, primary) - [Pearl monorepo on GitHub](https://github.com/pearl-research-labs/pearl) (Pearl Research Labs, primary) - [How to contact Pearl support (help center)](https://help.pearlresearch.ai/hc/en-us/articles/49189248497937-How-to-contact-Pearl-support) (Pearl Research Labs, primary) - [How Pearl will and won’t contact you (help center)](https://help.pearlresearch.ai/hc/en-us/articles/49188487208081-How-Pearl-will-and-won-t-contact-you) (Pearl Research Labs, primary) - [How long do confirmations take, and how many are safe? (help center)](https://help.pearlresearch.ai/hc/en-us/articles/49190639921425-How-long-do-confirmations-take-and-how-many-are-safe) (Pearl Research Labs, primary)