BIP39 Wallet
The BIP 39 wallet is one that uses a mnemonic phrase – a group of words that are easy to remember – as a backup to restore your wallet and coins if your wallet is compromised, lost or destroyed. . Your wallet will provide you with this phrase when you create a new wallet. It is also known as seed set, recovery set, wallet backup, etc. When setting up a new wallet, the instructions usually advise you to write a 12-24 word phrase that will serve as a recovery method if your wallet breaks or stops working. In addition, you should also list the source channel used by the wallet (BIP 44, BIP 49 and BIP 84) and the coins you store (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.) Your 12-24 sentence can be entered into any wallet with the same structure/format standard (BIP 39), source path and coin support to access your coins (yours or even anyone's). Please note that it is possible for your coins to be in multiple wallets at the same time. A "good wallet" is a wallet with clear and easily accessible documentation of supported BIP standards, resource paths, and recovery processes. This allows the user to successfully withdraw their funds in another wallet if support is discontinued or no longer available.
BIP39 Wallet List
Below is a list of some popular hardware and software wallets that not only use the BIP 39 standard, but provide adequate documentation of the recovery event. Note: We do not explicitly or implicitly endorse any of the wallets listed.
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BIP39: Mnemonic code for generating deterministic keys
Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIP). BIPs are documentation for features, ideas, information, changes, improvements, etc. about how Bitcoin works.
Each of these BIPs is labeled with a number.
BIP 39 or Bitcoin Improvement Proposal: 39 is one of the many design ideas approved by the economic majority of the Bitcoin community and has become the standard for many popular wallets. BIP 39 is also the use of a mnemonic phrase - a group of words that are easy to remember - that serves as a backup to restore your wallet and coins if your wallet is compromised, lost or destroyed.
The BIP 39 documentation describes the specific steps the wallet must take (ie, the algorithm) to generate this mnemonic phrase. It includes specific requirements, structure, practice, vocabulary, etc.
In addition to its specific structure, it must use a specific list of words to create your mnemonic sentence. This is known as the BIP 39 word list.
BIP39 Word List
The words in your mnemonic sentence are not common words. They are taken from a specific list of 2048 words known as the BIP 39 word list. For starters, wallets that use the BIP39 standard will give you 12-24 phrases randomly selected from the standard BIP 39 word list. In this list, the first 4 letters in each word are unique. To clarify by "unique", we literally mean the first 4 letters (not the first 4 different letters). For example, the word "apple", "appl" does not appear anywhere in the BIP 39 word list. For words containing only 3 letters, there is no 4th letter. For example, the word "add" no longer has any letters after it and should be the word "add". The word "addict" is in the BIP 39 word list, but you use "addi" for "addict". In other words, no two words in this list have the same first 4 characters. This means if you have the first 4 letters, you know the rest of the word by looking up the first 4 letters in the BIP 39 word list. Some wallets will complete the rest of the word after entering the first 4 letters.
BIP39 Wallet Recovery
Remember that your coins are not stored in your wallet. They are stored on the blockchain (i.e. universal network) and can be accessed using your initial word. Your wallet stores "access" to the coins, not the coins themselves. When withdrawing from an existing wallet, the wallet software will ask if you already have the phrase or if you can import one. You enter your current mnemonic initial phrase and voilà, your coins are restored... right? It's actually not that simple (but it really should be!). Let's go into the background of why this is so.
BIP39 is Not Enough to Recover Your Coins
Unfortunately, a wallet that supports the BIP 39 mnemonic doesn't mean it can recover your coins. This is only part of the requirement. BIP 39 is like the ability to "read" and understand the word seed. However, your wallet also needs to understand how to "find" your coins using a 12-24 word phrase and "knowledge" of the coin you're looking for. When importing an existing seed set, you need to know about a compatible wallet: If it supports the structure in which the seed set was originally created (e.g. seed format, e.g. BIP 39) The resource channels it supports (i.e. the ability to find your coins) Coins it supports (e.g. bitcoin, ethereum, etc.) To understand what we mean by this, let's first clarify what a "wallet" actually is. Hierarchical deterministic wallets Your wallet is a whole set of numbers (that can "store" coins) linked together starting with a random number. This random number can be converted (using math) to another number. This number can be converted to many other numbers (and so on and so forth) Eventually you'll get to a set of numbers at the end of the changes. These numbers can be combined with coins (by sending coins to these numbers). That's right, these numbers are your addresses. You can think of your wallet as a tree (like a real one on the ground) Your seed phrase is a secret recipe for making very specific seeds for very specific trees. BIP 39 is the "language" in the regulation (to be read). The seed is the stem. From that stem are branches. Each branch has its own name (branch 1, branch 2, branch 3, etc.). These branches also have branches (branch 1-1, branch 1-2, etc.), and branch branches also have branches (and so on). And there are leaves on top of all the branches. Your coins can be "stored" in arks (your addresses). It's very confusing, isn't it? That is right. Departure routes You need some sort of "map" to navigate the branches and find the leaves (and therefore your coins). This "map" is known as the resource path. Origin paths tell your wallet how to find your coins, which lead it up the tree, and are described in Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIP). The most common source channels are BIP 44, BIP 49 and BIP 84. Your wallet must support the same resource path you use (ie "have a card") to store your coins. If a wallet supports a specific resource path, it should be well documented or referenced on its website. If another wallet doesn't support a resource path that your original wallet supports, it doesn't mean you've lost your coins. It just means you can't access it (because it doesn't know how to find it!). Coin support You may have noticed that not all wallets support all currencies. Your wallet should not only know how to find your coins, but also support the coin you are looking for. Coin types are cryptocurrencies (e.g. bitcoin, ethereum, etc.) Currency support should be well documented or referenced on the wallet developer's website. Again, just because a wallet supports a particular coin doesn't mean they're gone. You need to find another wallet that can be used to regain access.
