GLOSSARY

BIP-39

BIP-39 — BIP-39 is the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal that defines a standard for representing a wallet's master seed as a sequence of 12 or 24 English words drawn from a fixed 2,048-word list.

Last updated: 2026-04-26

In depth

A BIP-39 seed phrase encodes 128 or 256 bits of entropy plus a checksum. The 12-word form is 128 bits + 4-bit checksum (132 bits / 11 = 12 words); the 24-word form is 256 bits + 8-bit checksum.

The wordlist is fixed and standardised — every word starts with a unique 4-letter prefix so partial entry can autocomplete unambiguously.

The seed is then expanded to 512 bits via PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512 with the optional passphrase as salt, producing the master key for BIP-32 derivation.

How Kronos uses bip-39

Kronos generates a BIP-39 seed on-device using @scure/bip39 with a CSPRNG. The seed never leaves your phone. BIP-32 derivation produces per-coin private keys.

Frequently asked

Is BIP-39 cross-compatible across wallets?

Yes — a BIP-39 seed restored into any compliant wallet (Trust, Phantom, MetaMask, Ledger, Trezor) yields the same addresses for the same derivation paths.

What if I lose the seed?

Funds are unrecoverable. Always store the seed offline in two locations.

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