Difference between revisions of "Backing up your wallet seed"

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Bisq is a non-custodial exchange. This means you control your funds with your private keys stored in your wallet. It is imperative that you backup your Bisq wallet password, seed words and date. You are solely responsible. '''There are no other copies!'''
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It is critical that you '''back up your wallet seed'''. The Bisq wallet is totally controlled by you, and you only—wallets are created and stored by the Bisq software right on your machine.
  
With your wallet seed words and date, you can recover your Bisq wallet and its contents if it is lost or destroyed. Alternatively, if you do '''not''' have your wallet seed words and date, you cannot restore your wallet, and '''all your funds are lost forever'''.
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For this reason, you should keep your Bisq wallet's seed words safe and [[Encrypting_your_wallet|encrypt your Bisq wallet]] as well. There are no other copies of this data, so you're on your own if you lose them.
  
<!-- Bisq has a built-in Bitcoin (BTC) wallet based upon the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP 44). BTC wallets have a m/44'/0'/0' derivation path and Bisq (BSQ) wallets have a m/44'/142'/0' derivation path. Your same seed phrase is used for BTC and BSQ wallets.-->
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__TOC__
  
'''Important:''' Write your seed words and wallet date using pen and paper to eliminate digital attacks. Saving them on your computer, even in a secure password manager, makes it possible for a hacker to obtain them.
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== Write down your seed words ==
  
==== Recording your seed words and date ====
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With your wallet seed words and date, you can recover your Bisq wallet and funds if the wallet is ever lost, destroyed, or corrupted.
  
To record your wallet seed words and date perform the following steps:
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{{Wallet_date_explainer}}
  
# Go to the '''Wallet seed''' section of the '''Account''' screen
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You can find your wallet's seed words in <code>Account</code> > <code>Wallet seed</code>. If you've encrypted your wallet, you'll need to enter the password before you can see your seed words.
# Write down the words in the '''Wallet seed words''' field and the '''Wallet date'''
 
Note: If you set a password, it is required to see your seed words and wallet date.  
 
  
<!-- Wallet date is required by bitcoinj, which is the library Bisq uses to interact with the Bitcoin network.-->
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'''Please ''actually'' write down your seed words and date with a pen and paper.''' Saving them on your computer, even if you do so in a secure password manager, makes it possible for a hacker to obtain them through sneaky schemes like keylogging. Going low-tech with pen and paper eliminates all such digital attack vectors.  
  
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[[File:Find-wallet-seed-words.png|thumb|left|600px|Location of wallet seed words and date.]]
  
[[File:Walletseed.png|thumb|left|500px]]
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<div style="clear: both;"></div>
  
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== What seed words do and don't do ==
  
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Backing up a Bisq wallet's seed words only ensures that you will always have access to the funds stored in that Bisq wallet.
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'''All other Bisq data must be backed up separately.''' Keys used for signing P2P messages (trade-related messages such as acknowledging payment sending/receiving, trader chat, dispute resolution, etc), Tor keys, payment account details, and more must be backed up separately.
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== Wallet derivation paths ==
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{{Wallet derivation paths}}
  
 
[[Category:Use Cases]]
 
[[Category:Use Cases]]

Latest revision as of 21:44, 17 June 2020

It is critical that you back up your wallet seed. The Bisq wallet is totally controlled by you, and you only—wallets are created and stored by the Bisq software right on your machine.

For this reason, you should keep your Bisq wallet's seed words safe and encrypt your Bisq wallet as well. There are no other copies of this data, so you're on your own if you lose them.

Write down your seed words

With your wallet seed words and date, you can recover your Bisq wallet and funds if the wallet is ever lost, destroyed, or corrupted.

The date is not strictly required, but it makes the recovery process drastically quicker. Without a date, bitcoinj (the library Bisq uses to interact with the Bitcoin network) will resort to traversing the entire Bitcoin blockchain from 2013 (sometime around block 260,000) in order to rebuild your wallet state, and it will take a very long time. Specifying the date your wallet was created cuts recovery time significantly by telling bitcoinj where to start traversing the blockchain.

You can find your wallet's seed words in Account > Wallet seed. If you've encrypted your wallet, you'll need to enter the password before you can see your seed words.

Please actually write down your seed words and date with a pen and paper. Saving them on your computer, even if you do so in a secure password manager, makes it possible for a hacker to obtain them through sneaky schemes like keylogging. Going low-tech with pen and paper eliminates all such digital attack vectors.

Location of wallet seed words and date.

What seed words do and don't do

Backing up a Bisq wallet's seed words only ensures that you will always have access to the funds stored in that Bisq wallet.

All other Bisq data must be backed up separately. Keys used for signing P2P messages (trade-related messages such as acknowledging payment sending/receiving, trader chat, dispute resolution, etc), Tor keys, payment account details, and more must be backed up separately.

Wallet derivation paths

Bisq’s built-in bitcoin wallet is based on BIP-44. BTC segwit addresses have a m/44'/0'/1' derivation path and legacy addresses have a m/44'/0'/0' derivation path. BSQ wallets have a m/44'/142'/0' derivation path.

The same seed phrase is used for BTC and BSQ wallets.

Please do not try to send BSQ to a non-Bisq wallet, or to otherwise create your own BSQ transactions. The rules to form a valid BSQ transaction are rather complex, and even the slightest error can result in invalid BSQ. Bisq will NOT provide support for any such cases.