Kava Wallet: KAVA on Cosmos and Kava EVM, Staking and Memos

Two address types on Kava: kava1 and 0x

Under Kava in Keylo you will find a kava1 address. Keylo derives it on m/44'/459'/0'/0/0, using Kava's own coin type 459, which is the same derivation Keplr and Trust Wallet use for Kava's Cosmos side. This is the account that can stake, receive memo deposits from exchanges and hold IBC assets.

Under Kava EVM you will find a 0x address. It is the same 0x address Keylo shows on Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain and every other EVM network, derived on m/44'/60'/0'/0/0 like MetaMask. It holds KAVA and ERC-20 tokens on Kava EVM and pays EVM gas.

Because the two come from different derivation paths, they are separate accounts with separate balances, exactly as Kava's own documentation describes for Keplr and MetaMask. Every 0x account on Kava also has a kava1 form of its own, and you can see that pairing by looking the 0x address up on Mintscan. That kava1 form is not the kava1 address Keylo shows under Kava; it is a second way of writing your EVM account.

How to create a Kava wallet with Keylo

Importing works for both sides. A phrase from Keplr or Trust Wallet shows the same kava1 account, and the same phrase from MetaMask shows the same 0x account on Kava EVM. If your old wallet used a different coin type or account index for Kava, the kava1 address will differ, and those funds stay reachable in that wallet.

1. 1

   Go to Keylo's registration page on any device with a modern browser.

2. 2

   Sign up with your name, email, phone and password, and confirm your email.

3. 3

   Your browser creates a 12-word recovery phrase and encrypts it with a password-derived key before Keylo stores the encrypted copy.

4. 4

   Find Kava in your assets for the kava1 address, and Kava EVM for the 0x address. Each is labelled with its network.

5. 5

   Back up the phrase from Settings after re-entering your password, and keep it offline.

How to receive KAVA on the right side

If KAVA does not appear where you expected, look under the other Kava network in Keylo before worrying. A deposit made to your 0x address shows up under Kava EVM, not under Kava, and the reverse is also true. Funds sent on another chain entirely, such as KAVA tokens on BNB Smart Chain, will not appear on either side.

1. 1

   Decide which side the KAVA is coming from: the Cosmos side or Kava EVM.

2. 2

   For the Cosmos side, open Kava and tap Receive to copy your kava1 address. For Kava EVM, open Kava EVM and copy your 0x address.

3. 3

   Ask the exchange or sender to withdraw on the matching network. Exchanges that support both list them as separate networks, often simply Kava and Kava EVM.

4. 4

   Check Activity under the network you used. Cosmos-side entries link to Mintscan and EVM entries to Kavascan.

How to send KAVA

On Kava EVM, Keylo also warns you when the recipient is a contract address, a useful check because pasting a token contract instead of a person's address is a classic mistake. If an EVM transaction is pending longer than expected, Keylo can speed it up by replacing it with a higher fee. Cosmos-side transfers finalize within seconds.

1. 1

   Open Kava for kava1 transfers, or Kava EVM for 0x transfers, and tap Send.

2. 2

   Paste the recipient's address in the format that network expects: kava1 on Kava, 0x on Kava EVM. Keylo validates the format and checksum.

3. 3

   On the Kava network, add the exchange's memo if you are depositing to an exchange. Kava EVM transfers do not use memos.

4. 4

   Enter the amount or tap Max.

5. 5

   Review the summary with the recipient, any memo, the exact amount and the network fee, then confirm to sign in your browser.

Fees on Kava and Kava EVM

Both sides pay fees in KAVA, but they calculate them differently. On the Cosmos side, a transaction pays its gas limit times a gas price in ukava, where 1 KAVA is 1,000,000 ukava, and unused gas is not refunded. On Kava EVM, fees work like Ethereum: a plain KAVA transfer uses 21,000 gas, token transfers use more, and the fee is gas used times the gas price in KAVA.

In both cases fees for everyday actions are a small fraction of a KAVA, and Keylo shows the exact amount before you sign. Keep a little KAVA on whichever side you use, because an EVM account holding only USDt cannot pay its own gas. Keylo adds no fee of its own to normal sends.

USDT and other tokens on Kava

Tether's USDt on Kava lives primarily on Kava EVM as an ERC-20 token, and Kava's protocol can convert it to a Cosmos-side coin for IBC use. In Keylo, ERC-20 tokens appear under Kava EVM with your 0x address, while native Cosmos-side denominations, including IBC assets, appear under Kava with your kava1 address.

As on any EVM network, anyone can deploy a token named USDT. Check the contract address on Kavascan against the one Tether publishes before accepting it as payment. On the Cosmos side, compare the full denomination on Mintscan rather than the display name.

How to stake KAVA

Delegated KAVA stays in your account, bonded to the validator, and only you can move it. When you undelegate, it enters a 21-day unbonding period with no rewards and no transfers, then returns automatically. Redelegation is instant, but redelegated KAVA must wait 21 days before it can be redelegated again.

Under current parameters, validators that double-sign are slashed 5% and those with long downtime 0.01%, with delegators sharing the loss. Spreading stake across a few reliable validators limits the impact of any single failure, and a jailed validator's delegators can redelegate away immediately.

1. 1

   Make sure the KAVA you want to stake is in your kava1 account under Kava. KAVA on Kava EVM cannot be staked from Keylo.

2. 2

   Open Kava and go to staking.

3. 3

   Choose a validator after comparing commission, uptime and governance participation.

4. 4

   Delegate an amount, leaving some KAVA free for fees, and confirm.

5. 5

   Later, claim rewards, redelegate or undelegate from the same screen.

Moving KAVA between the two sides and to other networks

Keylo treats Kava and Kava EVM as two networks and does not convert between them, and it offers no swaps or bridges for either. Kava's own web app has tools for depositing KAVA from a Cosmos wallet into an EVM account and withdrawing it back. Exchanges that support both sides are another simple route: deposit on one side, withdraw on the other.

Kava also credits native KAVA sent on the Cosmos side to the kava1 form of an EVM account, which is how exchanges pay MetaMask users. If you use that route, send only native KAVA, never tokens, and test with a small amount first. The chains page lists every network Keylo supports, and Keylo support can help if a transfer lands somewhere unexpected.

Kava safety tips

• Match the address to the side: kava1 for the Cosmos side, 0x for Kava EVM. Never mix them up in a withdrawal form.
• Include the exchange's memo on Cosmos-side deposits.
• Verify USDt and other token contracts on Kavascan before trusting them.
• Keep some KAVA on each side you use so you can always pay fees.
• Turn on two-factor authentication and an anti-phishing code, described on Keylo security.
• Ignore airdrop offers that ask for your phrase or for KAVA up front.

Frequently asked questions