Security is an ever-evolving aspect of cryptocurrency and decentralized finance. As more users enter the space, it becomes harder for everyone to stay up to date on the best practices for keeping their funds secure. Even after taking significant precautions, many users may not be aware that vulnerabilities can still exist within their wallet. The one question that every crypto holder should ask is: How much control do I really have over my wallet?

Today we’re going to highlight a simple tool that blocks hackers from accessing your wallet, maximizing your crypto security.

To set up your own Trust Wallet, follow these simple steps on How to Create a Multi-Coin Wallet. Trust Wallet is a self-custodial wallet that allows users to store and manage millions of crypto assets, including NFTs, and is depended on by millions of users every day to securely store their cryptocurrency.

Token and NFT Approvals

Every time you interact with a decentralized finance (“DeFi”) protocol, whether that’s a token or an NFT, you give it an approval to access the contents of your wallet. In order to send tokens from your wallet, the protocol’s smart contract needs your explicit permission. Once granted, this approval is typically infinite and indefinite.

That token’s smart contract then has permission to transact freely within your wallet, which is a risky proposition. It is increasingly common for malicious developers to code a backdoor into smart contracts, making it possible for them to drain funds from your wallet.

Fortunately, in the same way that you can approve a token to transact with your wallet, you can revoke that token's permissions and approvals.

This can be done using EverRevoke, a free and intuitive decentralized application (“dApp”) that only requires blockchain gas fees to operate. By using EverRevoke, Trust Wallet users can protect themselves while exploring the world of DeFi.

EverRevoke is a robust platform to review and revoke token and NFT permissions from a single place across multiple blockchains. Accessible from Trust Wallet’s dApp Browser, users can see the tokens they have previously interacted with across multiple blockchains.

For tokens, you can see allowances given and verify tokens via block explorer, in addition to sites like CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap. For NFTs, you can easily access the smart contract via block explorer, see the token ID, and identify which platforms currently have approval.

How to Access EverRevoke Through Trust Wallet

Step 1:

In order to access and utilize EverRevoke, you’ll need to open Trust Wallet and navigate to the ‘Browser’ tab in the bottom right of the application.

Step 2:

Once you’ve selected the browser, head to the search bar at the top of your screen and search for EverRise.com/Revoke

Step 3:

Before connecting, ensure that you are connected to the correct blockchain by selecting the chain you wish to interact with at the top left of the Trust Wallet app.

Step 4:

Once you have selected the drop down menu, you are presented with the list of chains that Trust Wallet supports.

Select the chain you wish to secure and you will be taken back to EverRevoke. EverRevoke currently supports Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, Avalanche, and Fantom.

Step 5:

Once you are inside the EverRevoke dApp, head to the top of the page and click the orange connect button. You will then see a list of wallet providers. Make sure you click on Trust Wallet, and you will automatically connect to the service.

Step 6:

The dApp will populate with all existing token approvals. You will see the contract address which links to the scan page, the amount of tokens that can be transacted with the approval, the protocol that was given the approval, and a button to revoke the approval.

Step 7:

Clicking on the Revoke button will bring up a summary of the approval. Clicking Revoke again will prompt a transaction with your wallet to revoke the permission from the blockchain. Since you are interacting with the blockchain, there is a minimal gas fee associated with the process. Keep in mind that EverRevoke is free to use, and any fees associated with revoking approvals are from the blockchain itself.

Step 8:

After completing the transaction from your wallet, you can refresh the page to confirm that the token approval has been revoked!

Why is Revoking so Important?

You might be asking yourself — why should I revoke approvals if I haven’t interacted with any questionable tokens? The answer is: any open approvals in your wallet present a risk. Let’s take a look at some recent attacks that could have been avoided by using EverRevoke.

OpenSea

In February of 2022, scammers stole over $1.7M USD from 30 high profile NFT traders on the OpenSea NFT marketplace. The hacker exploited smart contract approvals that enabled the marketplace to sell assets from a user’s wallet. Users had signed for a malicious smart contract that was then left open, allowing the hacker to utilize the contract’s approvals to drain each wallet that had approved the nefarious code.

Remember that the NFT’s and funds lost were not just the ones that traders had listed on the marketplace, but also assets stored within their personal wallets. This highlights the importance of revoking smart contract and token approvals. If a hack of this magnitude can impact large platforms, it can happen anywhere.

BadgerDAO

BadgerDAO is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (“DAO”) that enables Bitcoin to be utilized in DeFi. In December 2021, over $120M USD worth of assets were stolen from users of the BadgerDAO protocol. Ten days earlier, hackers had injected malicious code into the BadgerDAO website, which triggered a prompt for visitors to approve a transaction.

Every user who signed the approval prompt gave the hackers access to the contents of their wallet. The hackers waited for approvals from a large number of users before executing their scheme. When a wallet containing $50M USD worth of assets signed the malicious approval, the hackers triggered their exploit and drained funds from all affected users.

Key Takeaways

Even if you completely trust the protocols you interact with, unlimited token approvals can leave you susceptible to exploits. The best practice is to not leave permissions open for tokens that you are planning to hold for an indefinite amount of time.

If you are a frequent and high volume trader, it may make sense to keep token approvals open. Day traders looking to maintain maximum wallet security should consider separating their assets into multiple wallets. By having different trading and holding wallets, you can help secure your long term assets while still engaging in frequent trading.

About EverRise

EverRise is a web3 technology company focused on increasing accessibility to decentralized finance by bringing security solutions to the space. Through an innovative ecosystem of decentralized applications, EverRise provides users and developers the tools to access the widest possible market with the maximum level of security. EverRise is working towards the mass adoption of safety protocols across BNB Chain, Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, and Fantom networks and currently offer 6 security dApps: EverBridge, EverOwn, EverMigrate, NFT Staking Lab, EverSwap and EverRevoke, with more on the way.

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