This seed is used to generate a master private key (xprv) which then can be imported to any BIP 32 compliant HD wallet.

BIP 32īIP 32 is a method of determining key pairs from a single seed. To restore the backup, simply copy your backed up wallet.dat over an existing one in the bitcoin data location. You may also copy it to a cloud storage such as Mega or Dropbox but make sure it's encrypted.Īnyone that gets access to the unencrypted file will be able to steal your coins. It may be a USB drive, CD, another computer or your private home cloud storage. Locate wallet.dat and copy it to another device only you have an access to.

If you can't find the location please refer to this page. Mac OS X: ~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/ It has a different location based on an operating system. It's a file that holds keys to spend outputs, addresses, transaction information, and other metadata such as contacts. This method is used by Bitcoin Core (and few others) and comprises of backing up a wallet.dat file. If you lose the backup and can't access your wallet for some reasons, your bitcoins are permanently gone! Wallet.dat Make sure you're familiar with your wallet before loading it with bitcoins. Different software supports different methods. There are generally 3 ways to backup a Bitcoin wallet. It may also help you retrieve your funds after your device was stolen or lost. A wallet backup protects your bitcoins against computer or software failure.

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