What’s the difference between a private key and a seed phrase? (2024)

FAQs

What’s the difference between a private key and a seed phrase? ›

A private key is a long string of digits that gives its owner access to cryptocurrency on a specific blockchain address. A seed phrase is typically a set of 12 random words that is used to garner access to a self-custody wallet. An infinite number of private keys can be stored under a single seed phrase.

Your private key is what links you uniquely to your blockchain address, while your seed phrase is a fingerprint of all your blockchain assets that you can use as a back-up if you lose your crypto wallet. Blockchain can be a tricky space to master, with new terms to understand and new risks to be aware of.

What's the difference between a private key and a seed phrase? A private key is per account, whereas the seed phrase is per wallet, used to generate all private keys in the account. Hence you cannot restore all accounts if you have only 1 key.

Here are a few important points to keep in mind:

Wallets that are imported with a private key will only have the option to view the private key. The seed phrase option is not available for these wallets. Private key accounts are not tied to the wallet's seed phrase.

As the names suggest, the private key is an encrypted key (string of letters and numbers) that grants access to the funds within your crypto wallet. When you first create your wallet, you will be given both the private key and a recovery "seed" phrase.

Ledger does not store your private keys, nor ever asks for it.

You could let your digital wallet generate a seed phrase for you. Or for very high security, you could "roll your own" seed phrase with dice or a calculator as offline methods. It is extremely important that your seed phrase be randomly generated, so that it cannot be guessed or reverse-engineered.

Private key encryption is often used to encrypt data stored or transmitted between two parties. For example, when you log in to a website using a username and password, the password is often encrypted using a private key before it is transmitted to the web server.

If for some reason you forgot to record your 12-word Secret Recovery Phrase or you lost the original copy, as long as your MetaMask account is still unlocked, you can reveal your Secret Recovery Phrase so you can back it up again. Navigate to Settings > 'security & Privacy'.

If you have multiple accounts created under one Secret Recovery Phrase, they will only be automatically restored in certain circ*mstances. Please note this does not apply to imported accounts or hardware wallets, which must always be manually re-added.

How to convert private key to phrase? ›

You can not convert your private key to a seed phrase. If you have the seed phrase, you can import/restore your wallet. You can't convert your private key to a seed phrase. However, you can import/ restore your portmanteau, If you have the seed expression.

Now on to the second scenario: you remember your Phantom wallet password but have misplaced your recovery phrase. Unlock your wallet on the device where you remember the password once inside, navigate to the settings, tap on your account, and select 'Show' secret recovery phrase.

A secure passphrase helps keep your private key from being copied and used even if your computer is compromised. The downside to passphrases is that you need to enter it every time you create a connection using SSH.

Private keys are used to sign transactions, spend, and prove ownership over Bitcoin, whereas seed phrases act as a recovery tool for your wallet in case of issues. These components are crucial for ensuring the security and accessibility of self-custody of your digital assets.

The Secret Recovery Phrase is the secret that controls the wallet. If someone has this secret, they have complete access to the wallet. MetaMask does not keep your SRP : you are the custodian of your wallet. MetaMask representatives will never ask for your Secret Recovery Phrase, even in a customer support scenario.

Generally, a seed phrase only works with the same wallet software that created it. If storing for a long period of time it's a good idea to write the name of the wallet too.

A private key, also known as a secret key, is a variable in cryptography that is used with an algorithm to encrypt and decrypt data.

SSH passphrases protect your private key from being used by someone who doesn't know the passphrase. Without a passphrase, anyone who gains access to your computer has the potential to copy your private key. For example, family members, coworkers, system administrators, and hostile actors could gain access.

Users only need to save the mnemonic phrase to control all the cryptocurrencies in their wallet accounts. The mnemonic phrase generates the private key, the private key is used to authorize the management of digital assets; backing up the mnemonic phrase is backing up the private key.

As long as you have your seed phrase, you'll have access to all of the crypto associated with the wallet that generated the phrase — even if you delete or lose the wallet. A private key is a unique, alphanumeric string that corresponds to a single cryptocurrency address.