Seed phrase
A seed phrase is a sequence of 12, 18 or 24 English words forming a master seed from which all private keys of an HD wallet are derived.
The BIP39 standard defines a vocabulary of 2,048 English words. A 12-word seed has 128 bits of entropy (2^128 combinations), a 24-word seed 256 bits. From the seed the wallet generates all addresses via BIP32/BIP44. Back up the seed and you can restore the entire wallet on any compatible wallet worldwide.
Example
Example seed (never use): 'abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon about'. This specific combination is a known test case with no real funds.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I store my seed phrase?
On paper or metal, in multiple physical locations (home + bank vault). NOT: photo, cloud, email, screenshot, digital document.
Related terms
Further reading
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