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# Crypto Initialization
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Core initialization functions to prepare the WebAssembly crypto backend before using cryptographic operations.
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## Capabilities
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### Crypto Wait Ready
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Waits for the crypto WebAssembly backend to initialize and returns a promise indicating success or failure.
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```typescript { .api }
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/**
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 * Wait for the crypto WebAssembly backend to initialize
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 * @returns Promise that resolves to true on success, false on failure
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 */
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function cryptoWaitReady(): Promise<boolean>;
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```
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**Usage Example:**
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```typescript
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import { cryptoWaitReady } from "@polkadot/util-crypto";
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// Wait for crypto to be ready before performing operations
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const isReady = await cryptoWaitReady();
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if (isReady) {
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  // Safe to use crypto functions
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  console.log("Crypto backend is ready");
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} else {
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  console.error("Failed to initialize crypto backend");
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}
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```
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### Crypto Is Ready
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Synchronously checks if the crypto WebAssembly backend is ready for use.
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```typescript { .api }
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/**
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 * Check if the crypto WebAssembly backend is ready
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 * @returns true if ready, false otherwise
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 */
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function cryptoIsReady(): boolean;
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```
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**Usage Example:**
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```typescript
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import { cryptoIsReady, cryptoWaitReady } from "@polkadot/util-crypto";
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// Check if already ready
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if (cryptoIsReady()) {
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  // Use crypto functions immediately
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} else {
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  // Need to wait
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  await cryptoWaitReady();
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}
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```
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## Notes
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- Always call `cryptoWaitReady()` before using any cryptographic functions
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- The WebAssembly backend provides performance-critical implementations
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- In browser environments, the backend may take time to load and compile
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- Functions will throw errors if used before the backend is ready