What cryptography *magic* makes mnemonic seed words work? How is randomness generated? Can seed words be imported into more than one wallet?

More on wallets and mnemonic code words – https://github.com/bitcoinbook/bitcoinbook/blob/f8b883dcd4e3d1b9adf40fed59b7e898fbd9241f/ch05.asciidoc

BIP39 – Mnemonic code for generating deterministic keys https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0039.mediawiki
BIP32 – Hierarchical deterministic wallets https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0032.mediawiki

These questions are from the MOOC 9.4 session which took place on March 9th, 2018. Andreas is a teaching fellow with the University of Nicosia. The first course in their Master of Science in Digital Currency degree, DFIN-511: Introduction to Digital Currencies, is offered for free as an open enrollment MOOC course to anyone interested in learning about the fundamental principles.

If you want early-access to talks and a chance to participate in the monthly live Q&As with Andreas, become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/aantonop

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Andreas M. Antonopoulos is a technologist and serial entrepreneur who has become one of the most well-known and respected figures in bitcoin.

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He is the author of two books: “Mastering Bitcoin,” published by O’Reilly Media and considered the best technical guide to bitcoin; “The Internet of Money,” a book about why bitcoin matters.

THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v1: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Internet-Money-collection-Andreas-Antonopoulos/dp/1537000454/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

[NEW] THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v2: https://www.amazon.com/Internet-Money-Andreas-M-Antonopoulos/dp/194791006X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

MASTERING BITCOIN: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Bitcoin-Unlocking-Digital-Cryptocurrencies/dp/1449374042

[NEW] MASTERING BITCOIN, 2nd Edition: https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Bitcoin-Programming-Open-Blockchain/dp/1491954388

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35 COMMENTS

  1. I have a question to complete this video ! in additional to the 12/24 words why can't we choose a 13th or 25th words, wich is a password to protect seedphrase? if someone steal my 12 words I will scream and suicide. So adding a password to complete the seedphrase is a good idea, and with that way we can show seedphrase without be scared, how do to that?

    Sincerely a Fan!

  2. Thank you for this video sir. One of my biggest fears of cold storage was that "what if" I loose the wallet and the manufacturer of the wallet goes out of business & and that wallet is no longer available. I have a much better understanding of what a mnemonic seed is now and with that understanding brings peace of mind. The cold wallet isn't important. The seed phrase is all that is needed, and it can be used on any cold wallet to restore my Bitcoin. Thank you for explaining it in simple English. Truly grateful.

  3. Hey Andreas, I don't know if this is the right place to ask questions but I wanted to ask one.
    Do you think bitcoin is going to lose value/volume when other alts can be traded/exchanged for fiat in the near future?​ if that ever happens

  4. One caveat on moving the seed from one wallet to the other is they need to use the same derivation path. For Bitcoin not so much a problem, but for altcoins some wallet provider use different derivation paths (e.g. Trezor vs Ledger for Ethereum)

  5. Andreas, what if a person choose some aleatory seeds, and after that he could access funds from other person? Could it be possible to create a program to create aleatory seeds and trying to discover other person wallet? Thanks.

  6. my 12 words that restore BOTH Coinomi and Jaxx LTC DON'T restore Loafwallet LTC … the 12 words created a new LTC wallet with Loafwallet

    Coinomi and Jaxx have 1 balance (12 words) … and Loafwallet has another balance (same 12 words)

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