What is a seed phrase?

Seed phrase: A series of twelve or twenty four words that can restore a wallet. Whoever has it has your money. Never share it and store it offline.

When you create your own wallet, you get a list of 12 or 24 ordinary words. Those words are a readable form of your key. With that phrase you can restore the wallet on any other device.

Whoever has the seed phrase has access to all your coins. It does not matter where that person is or which device they use.

Many people write the phrase on paper or stamp it into metal, and keep it in a safe place. A photo or a file in the cloud is easier to steal.

Example
Say you have 3,000 euros worth of crypto in a wallet on your phone. Your phone breaks. With your seed phrase you restore the wallet on a new phone and the coins are back. Without the phrase that 3,000 euros is out of reach forever.

Watch out
Never share your seed phrase, not even with someone who claims to be from a help desk or exchange. That is always a scam.

Read more in the guide Hardware wallet: keeping your keys yourself, but how?.

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