Backing Up Your Wallet

What is the safest way to back up a Bitcoin seed phrase?

The safest starting backup is two metal copies of your seed phrase stored in separate secure locations. Paper is acceptable during setup, but not for long-term storage. Never photograph, scan, type, or upload seed words. Test recovery before trusting the backup with serious funds.

Metal Backup

Paper degrades, burns, and smudges. Steel doesn't.

Stamp your 24 seed words into a steel plate using a SEEDPLATE and a punch set. The result is fireproof, waterproof, and crush-resistant.

Make two copies. Store each in a separate physical location — different buildings, minimum. A fire destroys one location, you still have the other.

Watch the SEEDPLATE video guide for a walkthrough.

What NOT to Do

• Don't use paper as your only backup. Paper is fine for initial setup; metal is for long-term storage.
• Don't take photos of your seed words. Your phone syncs to the cloud. Your cloud gets hacked.
• Don't type your seed into a computer, website, or note-taking app. Ever.
• Don't store both copies together. Two backups in the same safe is one backup.

Encrypted MicroSD Backup

COLDCARD can back up its entire device state — seed, settings, accounts — onto a MicroSD card, encrypted with AES-256 and protected by a 12-word backup password the device generates.

To create one: Advanced/Tools > Backup > Backup System.

The COLDCARD displays a 12-word backup password. Write this down and store it separately from both the MicroSD card and your seed phrase. Without this password, the backup file is useless. With it, someone can fully restore your wallet.

MicroSD backups capture your complete device configuration, not just the seed. But they supplement metal, not replace it — MicroSD cards can fail over time.

SeedXOR (Optional)

SeedXOR is a COLDCARD feature that splits your 24-word seed into multiple parts. Each part looks like a valid 24-word seed phrase. You need all parts combined to reconstruct the original seed.

Instead of storing a complete seed at each location, you store one part at each. An attacker who finds a single part cannot access your bitcoin — they need every part.

How It Works

• 2-of-2 split: Seed splits into two parts (A and B). You need both to reconstruct. Either part alone looks like a normal seed phrase but unlocks a different, empty wallet.
• 3-part or 4-part splits also available for wider geographic distribution.

To split: on COLDCARD, go to Advanced/Tools > Danger Zone > Seed Functions > SeedXOR > Split Seed.

Warning: SeedXOR is all-or-nothing. Lose any single part and your seed is gone. Unlike multisig, there is no tolerance for losing a piece.

SeedXOR vs Shamir's Secret Sharing

Shamir's Secret Sharing allows threshold schemes (2-of-3, 3-of-5) where you don't need every share. SeedXOR is simpler but requires all parts. For fault tolerance, use multisig instead.

Recovery Context

Seed words recover keys. They do not always explain the wallet. If you use a passphrase, multisig, or watch-only wallet, write down the XFP, derivation path, and descriptor too. See the Recovery Kit.

Backup Strategy Summary

For most people: two metal plates in two locations is the right starting point. Add SeedXOR or multisig when your holdings justify the complexity.