April 5, 2023

Yoroi Wallet Product Update: Byron-Era Wallet Sunset + FAQs

Keisha Dwyer

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In the upcoming days, Byron-era wallets will no longer be supported in Yoroi Wallet. 

The Byron era was the first development period for the Cardano blockchain upon its formal launch in September 2017. 

Before the highly anticipated Cardano blockchain Shelley hard fork in 2020 which brought smart contract capabilities and the deployment of decentralized applications (dApps), all wallets were Byron-era wallets. Cardano wallets created during this early era were so-called legacy Byron-era wallets and they do not support ADA stake delegation, Cardano custom tokens, smart contracts, or NFTs.

As Yoroi Wallet will end support for the legacy Byron-era wallets for users, this blog will answer some commonly asked questions from Yoroi users regarding this topic.

Q&A

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What is going to happen to my Byron-era wallet once Yoroi support ends?

You will need to migrate your crypto holdings from the Byron-era wallet over to a Shelley-era wallet to continue using Yoroi Wallet. 

This is a simple process that can be done in a short amount of time.

If you miss the support deadline, you will need your recovery phrase for your Byron-era wallet to be able to access your wallet after Yoroi support for Byron wallets ends.  We recommend users utilize Daedalus Wallet, which still supports Byron-era wallets.

What is a Shelley-era Wallet?

Shelley-era wallets are the current standard of Cardano wallet addresses. Shelley wallets have 24-word recovery phrases and are the only type of wallet that support staking delegation and rewards-earning.

How do I migrate my Byron-era wallet to a Shelley-era wallet?

Migration is simple. To migrate, you will need to create a Shelley-era wallet and send all of your ADA tokens from your Byron-era wallet to one of your new Shelley-era wallet public addresses. 

For complete instructions, please visit here.

Is there a deadline to complete the wallet migration?

Yes. If you intend to continue using Yoroi Wallet, please migrate as soon as possible. 

That said, if you restore your Byron-era wallet in another wallet, you can create a new Shelley wallet in Yoroi and move your ADA over to your new wallet at any time.

What happens if I miss the Yoroi ending support deadline?

Your crypto funds will be safe. However, to access them, you will need to restore your wallet in another wallet such as Daedalus to move your ADA crypto.

What does this mean for Yoroi Wallet?

This marks a new path for Yoroi Wallet and frees up valuable resources within our infrastructure that allows us to build forward-thinking Web3 solutions that our users care about the most. 

Our goal is ultimately to drive innovation and bring value to the Cardano ecosystem and its millions of users. 

By ending support for legacy services, Yoroi Wallet’s infrastructure will be upgraded and will provide every user with an exceptional user experience, incredibly fast transactions, and provide access to a full suite of decentralized services.

What is a recovery phrase or recovery key?

Recovery phrases (recovery keys) are a popular solution by many wallets as a means to restore wallets using a 12 to 25-word series of random words. 

These words are your lifeline to your wallet if you lose access to the device or wallet which holds your Cardano assets.

Only those with access to the recovery phrase or key can restore the wallet, so it is important to securely store them in a location known only to the users.

How do I restore my Byron-era wallet in Daedalus?

To restore your Byron-era wallet in Daedalus, please see this guide from IOG.

I can’t find my recovery phrase, what do I do?

Unfortunately, if you cannot find your recovery phrase, there is no way to recover your wallet. However, if you still have access to the wallet in question, you can move your assets to a new Shelley-era wallet.

Download a Shelley-era wallet In Yoroi and give us your feedback

Yoroi Wallet, the first light wallet built for Cardano by founding entity EMURGO, is an open-source and self-custodial wallet, meaning the user has complete control over their Cardano ADA and can use it to transact and stake their ADA however they like.  

To help our users get the most out of staking their ADA, Yoroi gives users access to all the different stake pools available in the Cardano community, not just our own.

To help keep you safe, remember that neither EMURGO nor any third party can recover your Yoroi Wallet for you. 

Only those with access to the correct recovery phrase can recover the wallet. If the recovery phrase is lost, there’s no way to recover it.

EMURGO and Yoroi Wallet would also love to hear back from the community. We have created a Yoroi community feedback form to gather ideas and ways to improve the Yoroi user experience. Please find the Yoroi community feedback form here.

If you need further assistance, contact Yoroi’s customer help desk here and a customer support specialist will respond within 24 hours.

About Yoroi Wallet

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