One recovery phrase can control Bitcoin, Ethereum and many other coins, each with its own separate addresses. Derivation paths make that possible. This advanced guide is part of our section on what a recovery phrase is, and it assumes that you know the difference between seed phrases and private keys.
The tree of keys
The BIP32 standard turned wallets into a tree. From a single master seed, a wallet can produce child keys, and those children can produce their own children.
The important property is that the same seed always produces the same tree. So your backup never needs updating as you add new accounts.
What a path looks like
A path is like a street address for a key. Here is a common one for Ethereum:
m / 44' / 60' / 0' / 0 / 0
| Part | Meaning |
|---|---|
m | The master key from your seed |
44' | The purpose, here the BIP44 standard |
60' | The coin, with 60 for Ethereum |
0' | Your account number |
0 | Change, with 0 for receiving addresses |
0 | Index, the first address |
The apostrophe marks "hardened" levels, which add extra separation between branches.
Common paths
| Network | Standard | Typical path |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin legacy | BIP44 | m/44'/0'/0'/0/0 |
| Bitcoin nested SegWit | BIP49 | m/49'/0'/0'/0/0 |
| Bitcoin native SegWit | BIP84 | m/84'/0'/0'/0/0 |
| Bitcoin Taproot | BIP86 | m/86'/0'/0'/0/0 |
| Ethereum | BIP44 | m/44'/60'/0'/0/0 |
| Solana | SLIP-0010 style | m/44'/501'/0'/0' |
Why this matters to you
If you restore your phrase in a new wallet and see a zero balance, your funds have probably not gone. The new wallet may simply be looking down a different path. That is the most common reason for a "missing balance" on restore.
Before panicking, read restoring an old wallet. And beware of anyone who offers to "fix" your wallet, because they may be a recovery scammer.
Practical tips
- Use your wallet's standard settings.
- Note the wallet name and version alongside your backup. The path is not a secret, but keep your words separate from any notes that hint at their purpose.
- Remember that a passphrase changes the whole tree, so the same path gives different keys.
Read about wallet compatibility for more on moving between wallets.