<p>Tl;dr: what you have is</p>
<ul>
<li>a seed-phrase for a Bitcoin wallet (where you look after your own cash)</li>
<li>a receiving address associated with a Coinbase account (where you let Coinbase have ownership of your cash in return for an IOU)</li>
</ul>
<p>You don't have a private key (and you don't need one so long as you keep that seed-phrase written down somewhere safe - not on a computer)</p>
<hr />
<blockquote>
<p><strong>I received 12 keywords</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>That is almost certainly a seed phrase, also called a recovery-phrase or backup-phrase.</p>
<p>Your master private key is generated from that seed phrase.</p>
<p>In a hierarchical deterministic (HD) wallet, that master private key is used to generate many pairs of private keys and public keys.</p>
<p>For the most common types of Bitcoin transaction, a public key is used to generate a bitcoin address to which money can be sent.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>and a hash (starting with 17) which I always thought was my bitcoin key.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>A string of around 32, 33 letters and digits starting with a &quot;1&quot; is an old-style of Bitcoin address that is still valid and popular. It is a Bitcoin address, not a private key.</p>
<p>To see some examples look at some reference pages such as</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Invoice_address" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Invoice_address</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Private_key" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Private_key</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Seed_phrase" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Seed_phrase</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Note that the same private key can be shown to you in several different ways (encodings, display-formats).</p>
<p>From the above you should be able to reassure yourself that what you have is a 12-word seed-phrase for your wallet and an  unrelated bitcoin address for your Coinbase account.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-03T02:51:03.203Z
Thanks RedGrittyBrick.  I believe I understand it all now--and it explains what I have observed.  I had been thinking that what was really the Coinbase destination address for my account was co-equal with the seed phrase, ither woud work m
Cab
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-03T03:11:50.267Z
Thanks @RedGrittyBrick.  I believe I understand it all now--and it explains what I have observed.  I had been thinking that what was really the Coinbase destination address for my account was co-equal with the seed phrase, either would work to access my coin.  Thanks for taking your time to answer my beginner question.
Cab
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-02T11:12:41.927Z
2021-03-02T11:27:07.640Z
2021-03-02T11:27:07.640Z
RedGrittyBrick
<p>A few years ago I sent my BTC from Coinbase to Electrum on windows PC.  That apparently went fine because Electrum showed the correct balance.  Then I received 12 keywords and a hash (starting with 17) which I always thought was my bitcoin key.  I saved these on paper and deleted Electrum, thinking OK I have all I need on paper.</p>
<p>Now  want to transfer my BTC back to Coinbase.  I entered my 12-seeds in Electrum and the balance was right. I hit {Receive] in Coinbase and I get a window giving me the Coinbase(?) address to send my BTC to from Electrum.  But this address is the same as what I thought was my private key (starting with 17).  This is weird especially because 1) How would Coinbase still know this number and 2) Electrum says [Pay it] to (what I thought was) my private key.  What am I missing here.  I don't have many bitcoin but the price is too high for me to make a mistake and get an education.</p>

<private-key><electrum><coinbase.com>
Coinbase tells me to send from electrum to my private key?
Cab
# Coinbase tells me to send from electrum to my private key?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-03-02)

A few years ago I sent my BTC from Coinbase to Electrum on windows PC. That apparently went fine because Electrum showed the correct balance. Then I received 12 keywords and a hash (starting with 17) which I always thought was my bitcoin key. I saved these on paper and deleted Electrum, thinking OK I have all I need on paper.

Now want to transfer my BTC back to Coinbase. I entered my 12-seeds in Electrum and the balance was right. I hit {Receive] in Coinbase and I get a window giving me the Coinbase(?) address to send my BTC to from Electrum. But this address is the same as what I thought was my private key (starting with 17). This is weird especially because 1) How would Coinbase still know this number and 2) Electrum says [Pay it] to (what I thought was) my private key. What am I missing here. I don't have many bitcoin but the price is too high for me to make a mistake and get an education.

**Tags:** private-key, electrum, coinbase.com


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-03-02. Score: 0

Tl;dr: what you have is

* a seed-phrase for a Bitcoin wallet (where you look after your own cash)
* a receiving address associated with a Coinbase account (where you let Coinbase have ownership of your cash in return for an IOU)

You don't have a private key (and you don't need one so long as you keep that seed-phrase written down somewhere safe - not on a computer)

---

> **I received 12 keywords**

That is almost certainly a seed phrase, also called a recovery-phrase or backup-phrase.

Your master private key is generated from that seed phrase.

In a hierarchical deterministic (HD) wallet, that master private key is used to generate many pairs of private keys and public keys.

For the most common types of Bitcoin transaction, a public key is used to generate a bitcoin address to which money can be sent.

> **and a hash (starting with 17) which I always thought was my bitcoin key.**

A string of around 32, 33 letters and digits starting with a "1" is an old-style of Bitcoin address that is still valid and popular. It is a Bitcoin address, not a private key.

To see some examples look at some reference pages such as

* <https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Invoice_address>
* <https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Private_key>
* <https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Seed_phrase>

Note that the same private key can be shown to you in several different ways (encodings, display-formats).

From the above you should be able to reassure yourself that what you have is a 12-word seed-phrase for your wallet and an unrelated bitcoin address for your Coinbase account.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks username_1.  I believe I understand it all now--and it explains what I have observed.  I had been thinking that what was really the Coinbase destination address for my account was co-equal with the seed phrase, ither woud work m  
> **username_0**: Thanks @username_1.  I believe I understand it all now--and it explains what I have observed.  I had been thinking that what was really the Coinbase destination address for my account was co-equal with the seed phrase, either would work to access my coin.  Thanks for taking your time to answer my beginner question.  

---

