> For AI agents: the documentation index is at https://sdk.nimbusprivacy.xyz/llms.txt, and every page is available as Markdown at its URL with .md appended.

# Don't confuse (/resources/dont-confuse)

## Private balance and wallet balance

The **wallet balance** is what Alice's Solana wallet holds. Anyone can read it on chain.

The **private balance** is what she holds inside Nimbus. Only her device can read it, after a sync.
A deposit moves tokens from the first to the second, and a withdrawal moves them back.

## The account signature and a transaction signature

The **account signature** is the one message Alice's wallet signs to open her private account. It
never goes on chain, and it moves no money. Every key of her private account comes from it, so
treat it as a secret.

A **transaction signature** approves one Solana transaction, such as a deposit. It is public once
the transaction lands.

## Reserved and pending

**Reserved** funds are held by a payment Alice started that has not settled yet. They come back
once the payment can no longer land. Releasing a payment that never sent anything frees them at
once.

**Pending** funds were paid to Alice, and are not spendable yet. A new deposit reads as pending
until Solana finalizes it.

Both are part of her private balance, and neither can be spent right now.

## Confirmed and finalized

**Confirmed** means a supermajority of Solana's stake has voted for the block. It is fast, and very
rarely rolled back. The SDK waits for it by default.

**Finalized** means the block can no longer be rolled back. It takes several seconds longer. Pass
`commitment: "finalized"` to a payment to wait for it.

## Registering and opening a session

**Registering** is a Solana transaction. Each wallet does it once, ever, before its first deposit.
The wallet pays its network fee.

**Opening a session** signs a message on this device. It happens each time the user signs in,
unless the signature is remembered. Nothing goes on chain, and it costs nothing.

## Private Send and a deposit to someone else

A **Private Send** pays Bob from Alice's private balance. A relayer submits it. The chain shows
neither Alice, nor Bob, nor the amount.

A **deposit to someone else** pays Bob from Alice's wallet. The chain shows Alice's wallet, the
token and the amount. Only who receives it stays private.

## Next

- [Glossary](https://sdk.nimbusprivacy.xyz/resources/glossary): Every term these docs use, in plain words.
- [What's public](https://sdk.nimbusprivacy.xyz/explainers/visibility): What each payment shows on chain.


Last updated 21 October 2026