If you’ve ever explored using multiple hardware wallets, you might have noticed an option to generate your own seed words by rolling dice. That probably made you wonder, “How can I be sure these 12 words actually represent what the dice rolled?” Or even, “Are these words truly random, or could they be pulled from a pre-made list by the developers?” It’s a valid concern, and one worth exploring.
It’s possible to check the source code of many hardware wallets to ensure everything is above board and free of errors. But even with that, you might still have that nagging feeling: “How can I be absolutely certain the words my hardware wallet gives me aren’t just from some list, but are genuinely random?”
That question can lead you down the rabbit hole of randomness, and it’s absolutely a journey worth digging in to. How do you ensure that the seed words generated by your hardware wallet are truly random? And if you wanted to, how could you generate your own random words? Let’s go over this together.
The Basics of How Seed Words Work
First, let’s go over the basics. Your seed phrases that consist of 12 or 24 seed words are just a more human-friendly representation of a very long number—either a 128-bit or a 256-bit number, to be exact. These numbers are translated into words to make them easier for us to remember. But how do you make sure that number, and thus those words, are generated randomly?
When you set up a new hardware wallet, it asks whether you want to restore an old wallet or generate a new one. If you choose to create a new wallet, the device generates a set of seed words. But where do those words come from? The process happens behind the scenes, and most of us just accept the words it spits out without knowing how they were created or whether they’re truly random.
If you’re using an open-source hardware wallet, you can inspect the code to verify that everything is functioning correctly. But even then, you might wonder about the randomness behind it. This is where things get interesting—and where a little knowledge about binary numbers can help.
The Binary System and Randomness
Computers don’t think like humans. While we use a decimal system to count—1, 2, 3, 4, and so on—computers only understand binary: 0s and 1s. By combining these 0s and 1s in different ways, computers can represent everything from the text you’re reading right now to the seed words that secure your Bitcoin.
Let’s say you have a series of light bulbs. Each bulb represents a binary digit, or “bit.” If a bulb is on, it’s a 1; if it’s off, it’s a 0. With just one bulb, you can represent two states: on or off. Add another bulb, and you can represent four states: 00, 01, 10, or 11. The more bulbs (or bits) you add, the more numbers you can represent.
In Bitcoin, we often deal with 128-bit or 256-bit numbers, which are translated into seed phrases consisting of 12 or 24 seed words using something called BIP 39—a standard word list. There are 2048 possible words, each corresponding to a unique combination of binary digits.
How to Ensure Randomness
So, how can you make sure these words are truly random? One way is to generate the numbers yourself, rather than letting the hardware wallet do it for you. You can do this by rolling dice, flipping a coin, or even shuffling a deck of cards. Let’s break it down with an example using a coin.
If you flip a coin, heads could represent a 1 and tails a 0. By flipping the coin 11 times, you generate a binary number—like 10001101101. This sequence corresponds to one of the words in the BIP 39 list. Do this for each of the 12 or 24 words, and you’ve generated a seed phrase entirely on your own.
But what if the coin isn’t perfectly fair? If it’s biased towards landing on heads, for instance, that could skew the randomness. To avoid this, you could use several coins or dice and mix up the results to ensure true randomness.
Why Is This Important?
The importance of randomness can’t be overstated when it comes to securing your Bitcoin. There have been instances where people lost their funds because they used predictable patterns to generate their seed words—like using only words related to a specific theme, such as baking. Programs exist that scan for such predictable patterns, making it easier for hackers to guess the seed phrases and steal funds.
This is why generating your seed words as randomly as possible is crucial. Just as you wouldn’t use your birthdate as your bank password, you shouldn’t use predictable words as your seed phrase.
Final Thoughts
Randomness might seem like a complex topic, but at its core, it’s about ensuring that the security of your Bitcoin is as strong as possible. Whether you trust your hardware wallet to generate the seed words or decide to do it yourself using dice, coins, or cards, the key is to make sure that process is truly random. This reduces the risk of anyone guessing your seed phrase and helps keep your Bitcoin secure.
If you ever feel uncertain, remember that understanding the basics of how your seed words are generated can give you the peace of mind that your Bitcoin is safe.