A seed phrase is a sequence of words from which a compatible crypto wallet can restore its root key material and derived addresses. It provides a human-readable representation of secret information used by many HD wallets.

One of the best-known standards for generating such phrases is BIP-39, although exact formats and recovery mechanisms depend on the wallet implementation. A seed phrase is not simply an application password: when supported by the relevant wallet standard, it can contain enough information to recreate the wallet’s key hierarchy.

Why a seed phrase is critical

Anyone who obtains the complete seed phrase may potentially restore the corresponding wallet on another device. It should therefore not be sent through messaging applications, stored in ordinary cloud documents, or entered into unknown websites.

A seed phrase should have a backup that is protected against accidental deletion, device loss, and physical damage. The backup itself is a highly sensitive object because its compromise can be equivalent to compromise of the wallet keys. Seed-phrase protection is therefore a separate aspect of wallet security.