How to track a crypto portfolio without connecting a wallet
By Overfit Labs · Updated · Educational only, not financial advice.
You don't need to connect a wallet, sign a message or hand over exchange API keys just to see what your holdings are worth. Two simple methods cover most needs, and both keep your keys entirely out of the picture.
Option 1: manual holdings
Enter the coin, the amount and, optionally, your total cost basis. A tracker multiplies by a live price. This works for anything: exchange balances, hardware wallets, tokens no API supports. The downside is that you have to update it when you trade.
Option 2: public addresses (watch-only)
A public address (e.g. a BTC address starting with bc1, 1 or 3, an ETH 0x… address, or a Solana address) can be looked up on public blockchain explorers by anyone. A tracker can read the balance without any permission, and nothing it does can move funds.
Never enter these anywhere
- Seed / recovery phrase (12 or 24 words)
- Private keys
- Exchange API keys with withdrawal permission
A legitimate portfolio tracker never needs them. Anyone asking for them, whether a site, an app, a "support agent" or a DM, should be treated as a scam.
Privacy trade-offs
- Blockchains are public. Anyone who knows your address can see its balance and history, and whoever answers the lookup sees which addresses you query.
- A tracker that stores your addresses on its own servers can link them to you. A browser-only tracker keeps the list on your device instead.
- Reusing one address everywhere makes your activity easy to link. Many wallets generate a new address per receive for this reason. An xpub covers all of them, but it also reveals your whole wallet history, so share it carefully.
Cost basis and P&L
Record what you paid, including fees, when you buy. Without it a tracker can show value but not profit. For tax purposes, check the rules where you live; a tracker is not a tax report.
In Daily Edge
The Daily Edge portfolio takes manual holdings and public BTC, ETH (native plus 10 major ERC-20s) and SOL addresses. It refuses input that looks like a seed phrase or private key, keeps everything in your browser, and fetches balances directly from public APIs. xpub isn't supported yet.