Have you ever worried about connecting your cold wallet to a website or app for the first time? It’s a common concern in Web3!
Interacting with new services often means signing transactions or granting permissions, which can, in a worst-case scenario, see you lose your valuable assets. It’s a security dilemma – you want to use your digital assets freely, but you also want to keep them as secure as possible.
Thankfully, Coldlink could be the solution to this.
Key Takeaways
- Coldlink allows users to prove that they own an asset without connecting the wallet it is held within
- This allows valuable NFTs to be both secure and easy to use at the same time
- Coldlink currently supports Ethereum and Solana, with plans to expand support in future
- The system is powered using a secure API and private database, with a USD cost for each Coldlink
- Coldlink is a product of DFZ Labs – the team behind the Deadfellaz NFT collection
What is Coldlink?
Coldlink is – in their own words – a “universal verification and delegation tool”.
First made available in early 2025, Coldlink allows users to prove that their cold wallet holds particular assets without directly connecting that wallet to an on-chain website, app or service.
This works through linking that cold wallet to another identifier. This could be a hot wallet, or even a non-blockchain entity such as an NFC chip, or even your X handle.
Through using Coldlink, users can have the security benefits of a cold wallet and the flexibility of a hot wallet – rather than having to compromise by choosing one or the other.
By protecting user assets in this way, Coldlink offers both a common-sense and powerful solution. Blockchain enthusiasts can reap the benefits of owning valuable NFT collectibles, safe in the knowledge that Coldlink is providing a intermediary service that is helping to keep their most valuable assets safe and secure.
Who created Coldlink?
Coldlink is a product of DFZ Labs – best-known as the creators of the 10,000-piece, Ethereum-based Deadfellaz NFT collection.
DFZ Labs is led by co-founders Psych (CEO) and Betty (Director). Together, they bring over a decade of experience from creative industries into Web3, and are using that experience to create a suite of intriguing products.
The idea for Coldlink came from a need to solve a problem within the Deadfellaz community – a way for holders to access games, assets and information without putting their Deadfellaz NFTs at risk.
On top of Coldlink, DFZ Labs are also publishing Death Touch – a digital trading card game based on the Deadfellaz NFT collection.
How does Coldlink work?
Through the Coldlink tool, users select their cold wallet, set a link duration, choose an identifier they’d like to use – such as a hot wallet, X handle, or NFC chip – and pay a small fee, then you’re good to go.
This process takes less than 60 seconds and is affordable, with the average cost being less than $1 USD for a link that lasts up to one full year.
The back-end systems are off-chain and developed by the DFZ Labs team, meaning no smart contracts are involved and the core processes take place away from the blockchain. With DFZ Labs as a trusted developed, this has plenty of benefits – although there are decentralisation considerations to take into account.
How do you create a Coldlink?
Users can create a Coldlink in less than 60 seconds:
- Visit the Website: Open your web browser and navigate to coldlink.xyz.
- Start the Process: Click the “Create a Coldlink” button.
- Select Blockchain: Choose the main blockchain for your cold wallet.
- Enter Wallet: Enter the public address of your cold wallet.
- Set Link Duration: Choose how long you’d like the link to be active – from 1 day to 1 year.
- Choose Identifier: Select another wallet address, X handle or NFC chip as an identifier. Click “Submit”.
- Make A Payment: Pay the displayed fee from your cold wallet to the payment address shown.
- Link Activated: Once payment is verified, the link becomes active. Your Coldlink is now live!
What does Coldlink allow you to do?
This method of creating secure, off-chain, verified links has many real-world applications – many of which help to connect your assets to Web3 whilst keeping them safe. Some examples include:
- Secure Token-Gating: By linking your cold wallet to a hot wallet, the hot wallet can be used to verify ownership of high-value assets, claim airdrops, gain access to holder-only sites and much more.
- Cross-Platform Identity Linking: By linking your cold wallet to your X profile, other users have a verified way to prove that both your X profile and your wallet address are authentic.
- Connecting Digital to Physical: By linking your cold wallet to an NFC chip, users can create physical devices that can verify what NFTs they hold. This can be used to make IRL event access easier, or even link your cold wallet to a P.O. box to receive real-world goods without sharing your home address.
- Share Asset Perks: Unable to attend a token-gated IRL event? Use Coldlink to temporarily link your cold wallet to an NFC chip, and give that NFC chip to a trusted friend. They can use that NFC chip to access the event, whilst keeping your assets secure.
What are the benefits and risks of using Coldlink?
Coldlink has plenty of advantages, but also a number of potential drawbacks:
Benefits:
- Reduced Risk: By connecting your cold wallet to a third-party identifier, you decrease the number of apps, services and tools which your cold wallet needs to interact with. This inherently makes your high-value assets more secure, and reduces the risk of falling victim to scams or fraudulent transactions.
- Affordability: Coldlink is both simple to set up and affordable, making it an option for all Web3 users regardless of the funds at your disposal.
Risks:
- Centralization: Coldlink is a centralised service by design – and whilst that gives it much of its strength, it will also be a drawback to many in the Web3 community that value decentralization. With DFZ Labs in control of the core database and API, a number of potential issues arise:
- Single Point of Failure: If the Coldlink servers have issues, the service could stop working.
- Potential for Censorship: As the central operator, DFZ Labs theoretically has the power to refuse to record or verify certain links, or pass that information to third parties (e.g. at legal request).
- System Security: The security of Coldlink relies on DFZ Labs’ ability to protect its systems.
- Trust Requirement: Utilising Coldlink requires users to trust that the DFZ Labs team has the best of intentions, and that their security is top-notch. With centralisations comes less transparency, so building and retaining this user trust over time is key.
- Transparency: During its launch phase, key technical documentation was reported as being inaccessible. Though this does make the system more secure in theory, it also makes it difficult for independent security experts to verify how secure the system is.
What does the future hold for Coldlink?
DFZ Labs has big plans to continue development of Coldlink, and expand its feature set:
- Broader Blockchain Support: A key goal is to extend support beyond Ethereum and Solana NFTs. The team has announced that Layer-1 blockchains such Bitcoin, Cardano and XRP, and Layer-2 networks such as Abstract Chain will be added in the near future.
- More Linking Options: Additional identifiers are also set to be supported by Coldlink, with the end goal to have the ability to link blockchain addresses to “anything, anywhere”. This includes Discord IDs, Steam IDs, Telegram IDs, and additional physical items such as event tickets.
- Strategic Integrations: Coldlink has submitted a formal proposal to ApeCoin DAO for a custom version of Coldlink. This would allow ApeCoin holders to use $APE as payment for Coldlink, with a portion of the revenue returned to the DAO treasury.
The long-term success of Coldlink will depend on its initial uptake, the success of its expansion, and whether DFZ Labs can build and maintain trust within the broader Web3 industry.
Centralised infrastructure is always a tough sell to the Web3 crowd. If DFZ Labs can show that Coldlink is not only valuable, but is both secure and reliable too, their products could gain a solid reputation for quality, value, and a community-first ethos.
Should you use Coldlink?
Coldlink is certainly a practical tool, using a smart approach to tackle a major hurdle where security meets flexibility – but this convenience, at a glance, comes with a trade-off of centralisation.
If your main goal is to avoid the dangers of third-party applications by connecting your cold wallet to less services, and you trust the DFZ Labs team, Coldlink could be an extremely valuable tool for you.
If decentralisation is your north star, and transparency is a major factor for you, you might prefer to stick with traditional methods of security – though expect your user experience to take a hit.
At any rate, Coldlink asks a serious question about how the Web3 industry should balance security and flexibility – especially as the conversation around mass onboarding continues to rage on.
Forward-thinking tools such as Coldlink – whether you would use them or not – are an important step in Web3 moving forward towards a brighter future, and there’s no doubt that its legacy – even at this early stage – could have a lasting impact on the blockchain industry.
Riding crypto waves since 2012, bridging digital and physical worlds through prose.