<p>The mnemonic words that is given to you by the wallets is a representation of entropy. This entropy is then passed through PBKDF2 hashing function to generate seed. The industry standard for this conversion of mnemonic to seed is documented in <a href="https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0039.mediawiki" rel="nofollow noreferrer">BIP 39</a> and most wallets follow that method. The seed is then passed to <code>HMAC-SHA512</code> to get a master extended private key. </p>

<p>Until this point the implementations are standard and you are unlikely to face any issue with different wallet implementations. But after this step, the derivation gets a bit trickier. There are a number of methods to go from here. You could use <a href="https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0032.mediawiki" rel="nofollow noreferrer">BIP 32</a>, <a href="https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0044.mediawiki" rel="nofollow noreferrer">BIP 44</a>, <a href="https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0049.mediawiki" rel="nofollow noreferrer">BIP 49</a> or the <a href="https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0084.mediawiki" rel="nofollow noreferrer">BIP 84</a> derivation methods to generate individual private keys from the master private key. Then there will be distinction between hardened and non-hardened derivation between different wallets. Each derivation path will give you a completely different set of keys as compared to other paths. </p>

<p>There is a spreadsheet tracking these derivation paths of numerous wallets <a href="https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=584F122BA17116EE!313&amp;app=Excel" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a> (please verify the data yourself as it may be dated or incorrect). I have pasted the derivation paths of different wallets below from the linked spreadsheet.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/vSILm.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/vSILm.png" alt="image"></a></p>

<p>So, when using a wallet you should note the derivation path the wallet followed in order to recover it later. Also note that use of a passphrase along with the mnemonic words will generate a completely different set of keys as compared to only using the mnemonic words.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-20T19:48:54.027Z
2019-08-21T16:52:15.007Z
2019-08-21T16:52:15.007Z
Ugam Kamat
<p>I recently started a wallet with Coinbase Wallet, and I was asked to backup a 12 word "recovery phrase" that is supposed to be able to recover my wallet in the event that I delete the app from my phone. I have previously used other wallet apps, which often give "recovery phrases" of varying word count. I read online that the phrase is passed through an algorithm and used to recover a key or a group of keys.</p>

<p>I am now curious if these recovery phrases are platform independent (meaning you can recover your keys just by way of knowing the phrase), or if the app must exist with a specific algorithm in order to recover keys (your keys are lost if the recovery implementation is destroyed, e.g. Coinbase shuts down operation and removes their app).</p>

<wallet-recovery><bip32-hd-wallets><mnemonic-seed>
Is the "recovery phrase" generated by a wallet app platform independent?
jay w
# Is the "recovery phrase" generated by a wallet app platform independent?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-08-20)

I recently started a wallet with Coinbase Wallet, and I was asked to backup a 12 word "recovery phrase" that is supposed to be able to recover my wallet in the event that I delete the app from my phone. I have previously used other wallet apps, which often give "recovery phrases" of varying word count. I read online that the phrase is passed through an algorithm and used to recover a key or a group of keys.

I am now curious if these recovery phrases are platform independent (meaning you can recover your keys just by way of knowing the phrase), or if the app must exist with a specific algorithm in order to recover keys (your keys are lost if the recovery implementation is destroyed, e.g. Coinbase shuts down operation and removes their app).

**Tags:** wallet-recovery, bip32-hd-wallets, mnemonic-seed


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-08-20. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

The mnemonic words that is given to you by the wallets is a representation of entropy. This entropy is then passed through PBKDF2 hashing function to generate seed. The industry standard for this conversion of mnemonic to seed is documented in [BIP 39](https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0039.mediawiki) and most wallets follow that method. The seed is then passed to `HMAC-SHA512` to get a master extended private key.

Until this point the implementations are standard and you are unlikely to face any issue with different wallet implementations. But after this step, the derivation gets a bit trickier. There are a number of methods to go from here. You could use [BIP 32](https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0032.mediawiki), [BIP 44](https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0044.mediawiki), [BIP 49](https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0049.mediawiki) or the [BIP 84](https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0084.mediawiki) derivation methods to generate individual private keys from the master private key. Then there will be distinction between hardened and non-hardened derivation between different wallets. Each derivation path will give you a completely different set of keys as compared to other paths.

There is a spreadsheet tracking these derivation paths of numerous wallets [here](https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=584F122BA17116EE!313&app=Excel) (please verify the data yourself as it may be dated or incorrect). I have pasted the derivation paths of different wallets below from the linked spreadsheet.

[![image](https://i.sstatic.net/vSILm.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/vSILm.png)

So, when using a wallet you should note the derivation path the wallet followed in order to recover it later. Also note that use of a passphrase along with the mnemonic words will generate a completely different set of keys as compared to only using the mnemonic words.


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