Wallet and self-custody
The extension contains a self-custody wallet. This page says exactly what that means.
Where the keys are
- Keys are generated inside the extension, on your device. A 12-word recovery phrase is shown once at creation. Importing an existing 12, 18 or 24-word phrase or a raw private key is also supported.
- The vault is encrypted with your password. Key derivation is PBKDF2-SHA256 at 600,000 iterations; encryption is AES-256-GCM, both from the browser’s own cryptography module. The password must be at least 8 characters.
- Unlocking lasts for the browser session. Signing stays available until you quit the browser.
- Nothing about the key leaves the device: not the phrase, not the password, not a derived key. No Pools Markets server can sign for you. There is no configuration in which it can.
- The email you verify is the account login. It carries positions, settings and your Earn code across devices. It cannot restore a wallet; only the phrase can.
What Pools Markets does not do
- It does not inject a wallet provider into the pages you visit. Sites cannot see or request your wallet.
- It does not connect to MetaMask, Phantom or any external wallet.
- It does not hold your stake. An entry goes from your address straight into the on-chain outcome pool, and the payout comes back from the contract to the same address. See Positions, payouts and fees.
- It does not collect private keys, and the store data disclosure says so.
Losing access
If you lose the device and do not have the recovery phrase, or you forget the vault password and do not have the phrase, the wallet cannot be recovered by anyone, including Pools Markets. There is no custodian to reset, freeze, rotate or co-sign. Write the twelve words down at creation and keep them offline.
Imported private-key accounts are not part of the phrase. Restoring from the phrase does not bring them back; keep their key separately.
Exporting
Wallet → Security holds Export recovery phrase and, per account, Export private key. Both require the vault password. Never enter either into a website, and never share them with anyone claiming to be support. Pools Markets will not ask for them.
Networks
| What | Networks | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Predict, receive, send, swap | Robinhood Chain (ETH), BNB Chain (BNB), Solana (SOL) | Live |
| Receive and send only | Arc (USDC), Ethereum, OP Mainnet, Unichain, Polygon, Sonic, World Chain, HyperEVM, Sei, Base, Arbitrum, Avalanche | Rolling out |
| Unified USDC (Circle Gateway) | Deposit USDC from a supported chain into one balance; transfer it out to any supported chain | Rolling out |
Balances are shown per network and are never combined across chains. A pool settles on the chain it was created on.
Sending and swapping
- Send checks balance and network fee before signing and refuses a transaction whose simulated fee exceeds a fixed safety ceiling.
- Swap routes through Uniswap on Robinhood Chain, PancakeSwap on BNB Chain and Jupiter on Solana, through a pinned executor contract. It carries a 0.50% Pools Markets fee deducted from the output, shown on the review screen together with the quote, minimum received, slippage and network fee.
- Unified USDC deposits need two signatures, an approval and the deposit, and network fees are paid on the source chain. Circle takes its fee from the amount; the transfer arrives at your own address on the destination chain with no extra gas.
- A send, swap or deposit whose outcome is unknown enters a recovery state and blocks a second attempt until it is resolved. The extension never blindly resends.