A passphrase is an optional word or phrase you add on top of the seed phraseSeed phraseA list of 12 or 24 words that backs up every key in your wallet, so whoever has the words can restore the wallet and take the crypto. in a crypto wallet. It is sometimes called the 25th word, because it comes after a 24-word seed phrase, although the passphrase can be any word or phrase. The passphrase is part of the BIP39 standard from 2013, which most wallets follow, and most hardware walletsHardware walletA small device that keeps private keys offline and signs transactions inside the device, so the keys never reach your computer or phone. support it.
How does it work?
The seed phrase and the passphrase are combined to calculate the wallet's keys. Each passphrase therefore produces a different wallet, with its own private keysPrivate keyA secret number that proves you own the crypto in your wallet. Whoever holds the private key controls the crypto. and addresses. No passphrase is ever really "wrong": if you type the wrong one, a different, empty wallet opens and no error appears.
This has two benefits:
- Protection if the words are found. Someone who gets hold of your seed phrase can't reach the crypto without the passphrase.
- A decoy wallet. Some people keep a small amount in the wallet without a passphrase and the rest in the wallet with one. If someone forces them to open the wallet, they can show the first one.
What is the risk?
The passphrase is stored nowhere except where you keep it. If you forget it, or write it down wrongly, nobody can help. Capital letters, lower case and spaces all matter. More security means more responsibility.
Common advice:
- Write the passphrase down and keep it in a different place from the seed phrase.
- Test restoring the wallet with both before you put much in it.
- Tell whoever will inherit the crypto that a passphrase exists. Otherwise an heir could open an empty wallet and think nothing is left.
A passphrase only applies to Self-custodySelf-custodyHolding the private keys to your crypto in your own wallet, so nobody else controls it but all the responsibility for the keys is yours.. It has nothing to do with the password you use to log in to a crypto exchange.
Everything in Myntkaup Learn is written and regularly reviewed by the Myntkaup editorial team. It is for education and is not investment advice. Editorial policy. Updated 2 November 2026.