<p>See also this article about Deterministic Cryptocurrency wallets:  <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency_wallet#Deterministic_wallet" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency_wallet#Deterministic_wallet</a>
and BIP39 Mnemonic code or sentences on: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin_Core#Bitcoin_Improvement_Proposals" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin_Core#Bitcoin_Improvement_Proposals</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-29T17:25:29.847Z
Please elaborate on the contents of the links as relevant to the question within your answer. As it stands, if the link disappears, or is edited significantly, it may no longer answer the question.
Raghav Sood
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-28T22:12:43.743Z
2018-11-29T06:49:59.347Z
2018-11-29T06:49:59.347Z
Flippy Flink
<p>No, it is not true. Both are impossible due to math. The mnemonic is just an encoding of a number that is randomly generated (i.e. just like a private key) so it has the same security properties of that 256-bit number.</p>

<p>If you ignore that it encodes a number, consider this: a seed phrase encoding a 256-bit number needs 24 words in the mnemonic. There are 2048 possible words which means that there are <code>2048^24 = 2.964... × 10^79</code> possible mnemonics. There are <code>2^256 = 1.157... × 10^77</code> possible 256-bit numbers. There are actually <em>more</em> possible mnemonics than there are values to be encoded in the mnemonic. Thus the mnemonics are just as secure as a randomly generated private key (256-bit number) itself.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-16T19:01:52.163Z
Assuming BIP39, a 24 word mnemonic actually encodes exactly 256 bits of entropy (`2048^24/2^(24/3) = 2^256`), since 1 bit of every 3 words is used as a checksum.
Paul
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-16T03:56:06.260Z
2018-01-16T03:56:06.260Z
Ava Chow
<p>Is it true that the "seed words" bruteforce more reliable for to get profit than searching of a "random number" for to open some profitable outputs?</p>

<p>The last one is impossible due to math, but the first one?</p>

<security><private-key><seed>
Is it possible to bruteforce the seed?
Denis Leonov
# Is it possible to bruteforce the seed?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-01-16)

Is it true that the "seed words" bruteforce more reliable for to get profit than searching of a "random number" for to open some profitable outputs?

The last one is impossible due to math, but the first one?

**Tags:** security, private-key, seed


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-01-16. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

No, it is not true. Both are impossible due to math. The mnemonic is just an encoding of a number that is randomly generated (i.e. just like a private key) so it has the same security properties of that 256-bit number.

If you ignore that it encodes a number, consider this: a seed phrase encoding a 256-bit number needs 24 words in the mnemonic. There are 2048 possible words which means that there are `2048^24 = 2.964... × 10^79` possible mnemonics. There are `2^256 = 1.157... × 10^77` possible 256-bit numbers. There are actually *more* possible mnemonics than there are values to be encoded in the mnemonic. Thus the mnemonics are just as secure as a randomly generated private key (256-bit number) itself.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Assuming BIP39, a 24 word mnemonic actually encodes exactly 256 bits of entropy (`2048^24/2^(24/3) = 2^256`), since 1 bit of every 3 words is used as a checksum.  

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### Answer by username_1 on 2018-11-28. Score: 0

See also this article about Deterministic Cryptocurrency wallets: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency_wallet#Deterministic_wallet>
and BIP39 Mnemonic code or sentences on: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin_Core#Bitcoin_Improvement_Proposals>

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Please elaborate on the contents of the links as relevant to the question within your answer. As it stands, if the link disappears, or is edited significantly, it may no longer answer the question.  

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