Wallet infrastructure
Lit Protocol vs Privy
Wallet permissions your counterparties can verify.
Compare enclave wallet policies with permissions recorded in customer-controlled smart contracts.
Scope: Privy TEE wallet infrastructure and Lit in ChainSecured mode.
Lit assessment
Why choose Lit
With Lit, your on-chain account governs which code can use a wallet. A counterparty can inspect those permissions directly and identify the exact Lit Action they authorize. Choose Lit when wallet control must be reviewable across organizations, with custom signing logic and a shared record of permission changes.[1][2][3]
Tradeoffs to weigh
Privy already has cryptographic authorization and enclave protection. Lit’s distinction here is the location and visibility of authority. Customer wallet governance and Lit hosted runtime governance remain separate responsibilities.
Architecture, side by side
| Dimension | Privy | Lit (ChainSecured mode) |
|---|---|---|
| Key protection | Two Shamir key shares are combined temporarily inside an AWS Nitro enclave.[4] | Keys are derived and used inside the TEE. The runtime reads smart contracts on Base to authorize execution.[5] |
| Wallet policy | Authorization signatures and wallet policies restrict requests. Most policy enforcement runs in the enclave; Privy documents some API-level checks outside it.[6] | A customer-controlled on-chain account governs permissions. Groups associate wallets with permitted, content-addressed Lit Actions.[1][2] |
| Runtime changes | Code deployments use multiple reviewers, hardware security keys, protected builds, testing, and staged approvals.[4] | Runtime upgrades require an on-chain hash approval and a separate deployment. The approval history is publicly inspectable.[7] |
Key protection
Wallet policy
- Privy
- Authorization signatures and wallet policies restrict requests. Most policy enforcement runs in the enclave; Privy documents some API-level checks outside it.[6]
- Lit (ChainSecured mode)
- A customer-controlled on-chain account governs permissions. Groups associate wallets with permitted, content-addressed Lit Actions.[1][2]