Seed Phrase is a collection cryptographically generated of words, that is simply employed to access a user's Cryptocurrency wallet. Also known as seed recovery phrase, backup seed phrase, mnemonic seed, or mnemonic phrase, is utilized in recovering a cryptocurrency wallet. Seed Phrases are not linked to a particular cryptocurrency and can be used to access an entire portfolio of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), IQ token, Ethereum (ETH), and other blockchain-based assets.

Security issues & Seed Phrase

Users are to be oriented and aware of the risks that seed phrases pose to their cryptocurrencies. Users are to realize that:

• If they lose their seed phrase, then they lose access to their money.
• If someone else finds or steals their seed phrase, they gain access to the user's money.

Losing Seed Phrases

If a user ever loses access to his/her wallet, these can be loaded into any BIP32-compatible wallet to recover his/her funds. There are 2048 words on the BIP39 wordlist, which implies that a string of 12 words would have 128 bits of security.

This means that an attacker would need to perform 2128 operations to guess a 12-word seed. It may look like a small number, but it certainly isn’t. It’s practically infeasible for even the most well-resourced attackers to crack this sequence (for now). The longer the seed, the more secure it is.

Storing Seed Phrases

Storing a seed phrase on a device that is connected to the Internet (a Computer, a Tablet, a Smartphone) or on the cloud itself, for instance in an email or in a text file, is dangerous as connected devices are usually unsafe and can be hacked relatively easily.

Better Storing

Since a seed phrase needs to be stored on offline support, the natural method is simply to write it down and store it in a secure place.

Ideally, the seed phrase would need to be written down on a support that isn't vulnerable to common damage like humidity or fire. Paper is not a good choice, as it decays easily. A better solution that any user can find online is products to write their seed phrase on a stainless steel plate.

Conclusion

Seed phrases are not cryptocurrency-specific. They can be used across hundreds of cryptocurrencies; so that one seed can actually be used to recover an entire portfolio of coins and tokens. The majority of leading wallets allow the user to recover their funds with a seed phrase, provided they have correctly recorded it.