HD wallet
A Hierarchical Deterministic (HD) wallet deterministically generates all addresses and private keys from one seed, as specified in BIP32.
Before HD wallets you had to back up each private key separately — practically unworkable. BIP32 introduced a tree structure: from one seed comes a 'master key', under it accounts, under those addresses. A 12-24 word backup suffices for all current and future addresses. Nearly every modern wallet is HD.
Example
From one seed the wallet generates paths like m/84'/0'/0'/0/0 (first receive address), m/84'/0'/0'/0/1 (second), and so on. Backing up the seed restores everything.
Frequently asked questions
Can I migrate from HD wallet X to HD wallet Y?
Yes, as long as both use the same BIP paths (BIP44 legacy, BIP49 P2SH-segwit, BIP84 native segwit, BIP86 taproot). Each path generates different addresses from the same seed.
Related terms
Further reading
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