Bitcoin Stack Exchange
Bitcoin Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [seed]

Seed numbers can often be derived from a list of words known as a seed phrase, recovery phrase or backup phrase.

In accordance with BIP32: A wallet seed is a 512-bit piece of binary data, that is calculated deterministically from a mnemonic seed phrase. This binary seed can then be used to deterministically derive private/public keys to create an HD-wallet.

178 questions
17
votes
4 answers

Is 12-word seed phrase safe enough?

Is 12-word seed phrase (as used by Electrum for example) safe enough for generating an offline wallet? My understanding is this: 2048 words pool make 11 bits of entrophy per word. 12 words in seed make total 132 bits of entrophy. Is this considered…
shx2
  • 803
  • 1
  • 8
  • 14
10
votes
4 answers

What's the difference between 12 word seed and 24 word seed?

Why was the format switched to 24 words for some newer wallets?
ripper234
  • 26,452
  • 30
  • 111
  • 246
10
votes
5 answers

Does BIP39 mnemonic construction avoid repeating words?

Will all 24 words of a seed-phrase be unique by specification? Or is it possible for a word to occupy two positions (ie the word "tool" is #8 AND #20 in a valid, securely generated seed)
pinhead
  • 4,932
  • 2
  • 23
  • 38
8
votes
1 answer

How to generate specific private keys from 12-word backup and wallet address?

A single seed can lead to billions of addresses. Some wallets are unable to scan and find all used addresses. Is it a way to infer the private key from 12-word backup and wallet ID / (public key). It seems the only way to restore my balance is based…
János
  • 388
  • 1
  • 3
  • 11
8
votes
2 answers

Electrum: "restoring" a wallet from a seed

Suppose I set up a wallet with a deterministic seed passphrase. I then use it, moving bitcoins around, sending some change to change addresses. Electrum will apparently create more addresses when required; suppose it does so. I later on 'restore'…
occulus
  • 214
  • 3
  • 9
7
votes
1 answer

Do we have to trust at least one DNS seed?

If I understand correctly, when new bitcoin node wants to join the network, it must be introduced by guiding nodes -- DNS seeds. DNS seeds can thereafter help new node discover more existing nodes. So during the bootstrap phase, DNS seeds are the…
Bo Ye
  • 183
  • 3
7
votes
1 answer

How does the client know the number of keys and coins when recovering from a seed?

When I have a seed and use it to recover my keys, how does a client find out which keys I had and their respective amounts? To clarify, I understand how a deterministic key works and that we can generate more keys from it. What I'm not sure is how…
Daniel
  • 267
  • 1
  • 9
7
votes
2 answers

What are seednodes?

A follow up from a comment on this answer. What are seednodes, and how do they differ from fallback nodes?
ThePiachu
  • 42,931
  • 25
  • 138
  • 347
6
votes
4 answers

How do I import a Multibit HD wallet with seeds into Electrum?

I installed Electrum to replace the broken and intolerable Multibit HD. I entered my 18 seed words, but it wouldn't allow me to click Next. I clicked Options > BIP 39 and it enabled Next. It created the wallet, but I don't see my balance or…
Chloe
  • 588
  • 1
  • 10
  • 22
6
votes
1 answer

How does Electrum make a keypair out of a seed?

Electrum uses a seed of 12 words to generate a keypair and then hierarchically generates addresses out of that keypair. I know how to generate hierarchic addresses from a keypair, but what I don't understand is how Electrum generates a keypair from…
Mr Jones
  • 538
  • 2
  • 11
6
votes
2 answers

How much entropy is lost alphabetising your mnemonics?

Yes I know this is a horrible idea and not BIP39 compliant, but please help satisfy my curiosity with this "thought experiment" and applied maths exercise. Two questions, one for 12 words, the other for 24. Assuming "perfectly random" entropy to…
HansBKK
  • 405
  • 1
  • 10
5
votes
2 answers

Why does electrum need connection to server when recovering a wallet from a seed?

Why does electrum client need connection to server when recovering a wallet from a seed? Isn't the generation of private keys done locally?
marci003
  • 53
  • 4
5
votes
1 answer

Does this explanation of the security of an electrum seed check out?

The explanation in question is given here and reproduced below as well: Electrum currently use the same wordlist as BIP39 (2048 words). A typical seed has 12 words, which results in 132 bits of entropy in the choice of the seed. Following BIP39,…
Abdussamad
  • 2,649
  • 12
  • 19
5
votes
1 answer

Where can I view my HD wallet seed in bitcoin core 13.2

Where/how do I view my seed in core 13.2? I understand that as of 13.0, the hd wallets are used by default.
gdoober
  • 226
  • 3
  • 5
5
votes
2 answers

Why can the same 12 words produce different seeds in an Electrum wallet file?

I was looking through an Electrum wallet file (from Electrum 1.9.6 for Windows if it matters) trying to understand what information was contained in it, and I couldn't initially figure out exactly where the private keys were stored (or even if they…
Michael McGowan
  • 3,364
  • 3
  • 24
  • 23
1
2 3
…
11 12