Authentication
a.k.a. 2FA, Two-factor authentication, MFA
Proving you are who you say you are before an account or wallet lets you in.
Authentication is the bouncer at the door: show proof, or you're not getting in. That proof can be something you know (a password), something you have (your phone or a security key) or something you are (a fingerprint, see biometric security).
On exchanges, turn on two-factor authentication (2FA), which demands two of those at once. An authenticator app or a hardware key beats text-message codes, because criminals can hijack a phone number by sweet-talking a mobile carrier. In your own wallet, the real authentication is your private key: whoever holds it is "you" as far as the blockchain cares.
Protecting an exchange account with a reused password and text-message codes, then losing it to a SIM swap.
Keep this word for good
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