What is a Seed Phrase? The Importance of a Seed Phrase

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What is a Seed Phrase?

A Seed Phrase (recovery phrase) is a sequence of random keywords generated when you create a new blockchain wallet. The Seed Phrase acts as a key, allowing you to recover your blockchain wallet and access the coins/tokens stored in it.

If a blockchain wallet is likened to a password manager, the Seed Phrase is the master password to access the wallet. The Seed Phrase helps users recover their blockchain wallet in cases where they forget the password, lose the wallet, or it gets deleted from the device. Additionally, the Seed Phrase is also known by other names such as Recovery Phrase or Mnemonic Phrase.

How is a Seed Phrase generated?

When you create a new wallet, it will generate a Seed Phrase containing 12 words (for hot wallets) to 24 words (for cold wallets) randomly. All hot and cold wallet providers do not generate Seed Phrases themselves but use a common standard called BIP39 (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 39). BIP39 provides a list of 2048 English words, and each Seed Phrase is generated from a subset of this list. You can refer to the list of 2048 words here.

The Seed Phrase is generated randomly by an algorithm when you create a new wallet. Only the user knows their Seed Phrase, and the wallet providers do not have access to it. An example of a 12-word Seed Phrase is: “bean, wolf, endorse, federal, addict, flame, gasp, hill, insect, lawsuit, meadow, omit”.

Importance of the Seed Phrase

The Seed Phrase plays a crucial role in the security and recovery of your blockchain wallet. Some reasons highlighting the importance of the Seed Phrase include:

Recovery and Backup

The Seed Phrase allows you to recover the coins/tokens stored in your blockchain wallet. If you forget your password or your device gets damaged, the Seed Phrase is the only way to restore your wallet and access your assets. Storing the Seed Phrase safely is essential to ensure you can recover your assets in case of any mishap.

Security and Control

The Seed Phrase contains crucial information such as the private key of the wallet, which is the most important element for controlling and protecting the assets in your blockchain wallet. If someone else obtains your Seed Phrase, they can access and use your assets without your permission. Therefore, protecting the Seed Phrase from unauthorized access is vital to ensure the security of your crypto assets.

Independence from Devices

The Seed Phrase is not tied to any specific device. This means you can recover your blockchain wallet using the Seed Phrase on any device.

Safety and Loss Prevention

The Seed Phrase is generated randomly and has a length of 12 to 24 words, making it difficult for others to guess and access your assets. Additionally, the Seed Phrase helps prevent asset loss due to device damage, loss, or forgotten passwords.

Can someone guess my Seed Phrase?

The answer is no! Because there are 2048 unique words in the BIP39 list, guessing a 12-word Seed Phrase (in the correct order) would mean guessing a number from 1 to 5,444,517,900,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. This is an incredibly large number, making it nearly impossible even for the most powerful supercomputers to guess.

Therefore, the idea that a human brain can find out your Seed Phrase is virtually impossible!

Common mistakes when storing a Seed Phrase

Many people have the habit of taking screenshots and storing them in their photo folder or copying the Seed Phrase to electronic applications like Messenger, Zalo, etc. However, these methods do not ensure safety and security. Important information stored as images or sent via applications can easily be tracked, stolen by hackers, malware, or accidentally deleted.

Moreover, storing the Seed Phrase by taking photos also means that anyone who accesses your phone can view them. If you store the Seed Phrase on the cloud, it will be uploaded to cloud storage, and if someone gains access to your cloud storage, they will have access to your Seed Phrase. These storage methods can also be difficult to handle when you need to verify.

Safe ways to store a Seed Phrase

Write the Seed Phrase on paper and keep it in a safe place: This is the most traditional and simplest way to store the Seed Phrase. After writing it down, you should keep the paper in a safe place like a safe deposit box.
Store the Seed Phrase using password management software: You can use password management applications like KeePass, LastPass, or 1Password to store the Seed Phrase. However, be cautious to use trusted and secure password management applications.
Do not share the Seed Phrase with others: Never disclose your Seed Phrase to anyone. If someone knows your Seed Phrase, they can access and use the assets in your blockchain wallet without your permission.

Conclusion

A Seed Phrase (recovery phrase) is a sequence of random keywords containing 12 words (for hot wallets) to 24 words (for cold wallets) generated when you create a new blockchain wallet. The Seed Phrase plays a crucial role in the security and recovery of your blockchain wallet in various situations such as device damage, loss, or wallet deletion from the device.