How To Keep Bitcoin In Your Head
It is vital to secure your Bitcoin. One of the most secure ways to do this is by storing your Bitcoin in a wallet that utilizes a 12 or 24 word seed phrase. This ensures that the private key generated by the wallet are stored as a list of words which are easily understandable and can be memorized easily. Writing down your seed phrase on paper or storing it on your computer leaves it vulnerable to theft or loss. That’s why memorization is a valuable step in securing your Bitcoin.
Memorizing Your Seed Phrase
Use a reputable wallet
The first step in generating a secure seed phrase is to use a reputable wallet. You can find reputable wallets on our wallet recommendation page. A wallet is a software program that stores your Bitcoin and generates seed phrases. You should only use wallets that have been thoroughly vetted and are known for their security.
Generate a unique seed phrase
Once you've selected a wallet your prefer, the next step is to generate a unique seed phrase. A seed phrase is a series of words that are used to generate your private key, which is used to access your Bitcoin. A good seed phrase should be unique, and easy to remember.
Break Down Your Seed Phrase
To effectively memorize your seed phrase, break it into smaller groups of 3-4 words. For instance, if your seed phrase is "orange banana dog apple monkey sky plain water pizza elephant beautiful invoke," divide it into groups like "orange banana dog," "apple monkey sky," "plain water pizza," and "elephant beautiful invoke." This technique makes it easier to remember and reduces the risk of forgetting.
Create a Story with Your Word Group
To increase the memorability of your seed phrase, it's useful to break it down into smaller groups and create memorable stories or images for each group. Let's take the example seed phrase "orange banana dog apple monkey sky plain water pizza elephant beautiful invoke" and break it down into three-word groups: "orange banana dog," "apple monkey sky," "plain water pizza," and "elephant beautiful invoke."
Note
It’s crucial to remember the order of the words in each group. If you remember the words but not their correct order, you won’t be able to access your Bitcoin. Here is an example of a story for that seed phrase. Often the more silly stories are easier to remember. The ORANGE BANANA shaped DOG hunted furiously on the ground. He was looking for an APPLE to throw at the MONKEY in the SKY, which was annoying.
Our poor furry friend was thirsty. He wanted some PLAIN WATER and a little bit of PIZZA. He knew with this in belly he could visit his old friend the ELEPHANT and together they could use the BEAUTIFUL money, Bitcoin, to INVOKE a world of Freedom.
By creating these vivid and unusual images, you can easily remember each group of words in the right order. And if you need to recall your seed phrase in the future, you can simply think back to the stories and images you created, making it easier to remember and access your Bitcoin.
Practice Memorizing Your Seed Phrase
To ensure that you can remember your seed phrase easily, it’s important to practice recalling it regularly. You can do this by reciting it aloud or writing it down from memory. When practicing your story, try clapping on each seed word. This will help you brain remember which words in the story are the seed words. For instance, if your seed phrase is “orange banana dog apple monkey sky plain water pizza elephant beautiful invoke,” you can use the phrase “Oliver’s Big Ducks Always Make Silly Pizzas; Wearing Pink Elephants’ Boots Indoors” as a mnemonic device. By linking the first letters of each word with a memorable phrase, you can enhance your recall and keep your seed phrase secure.
Creating a Song from Your Seed Phrase Word Groups
1. Break It into Groups
Start by dividing your seed phrase into manageable word groups.
For example:
Phrase: "orange banana dog apple monkey sky plain water pizza elephant beautiful invoke"
Groups:
"orange banana dog"
"apple monkey sky"
"plain water pizza"
"elephant beautiful invoke"
4. Share (Optional Backup)
Teach your song to a trusted friend or family member as a backup. This way, your seed phrase is safeguarded even if you forget part of the melody.
2. Create a Melody for Each Group
Make each group memorable by setting it to a melody: Group 1: "My orange and banana have been eaten by your dog." Group 2: "Apples will rejoice when that monkey stops looking at the sky in this fog." Group 3: "But why on earth did the waiter serve me plain water instead of soda with my pizza?" Group 4: "Elephant, oh beautiful elephants, you invoke awe in me and Liza."
3. Practice and Repeat
Sing each group repeatedly to ingrain the song in your memory. Practice whenever you have downtime or need a quick mental break.
Border Wallets
Border Wallet is a new technology that makes memorizing seed phrases easy. This Bitcoin wallet utilizes pattern recognition to help you remember a seed phrase easily, securely, and reliably. The concept draws on the Picture Superiority Effect and uses user-generated patterns applied to a randomized map of seed words, offline and in a secure air-gapped setting. By drawing a pattern on words, you create the first 11 or 23 words of your seed phrase.
You can create your Border wallet by following the official Border Wallet guide or on Sparrow Wallet.
To create a border wallet on Sparrow Wallet, follow these steps:
- 1. Download and set up your Sparrow Wallet on your desktop.
- 2. Once your Sparrow Wallet is set up and online, click on File and choose "New or Imported Software Wallet."
- 3. Choose mnemonic words and click on the options bar to select Border Wallets Grid.
- 4. Click on "Generate Grid" to create the 12-word seed phrase required to generate the grid where you can draw your pattern.
- 5. Save the PDF copy of your grid.
- 6. Randomize the positions of the words as you draw a pattern on the grid that you can easily remember. (We advise that you create a 24-word pattern instead of 12).
- 7. Once you are satisfied with the pattern created, click "Ok". You will be prompted to pick the 12th or 24th word for your seed phrase to be complete.
- 8. Create a passphrase for your wallet that you can easily remember for additional security and click on "Create Keystore."
- 9. Click on "Import Key Store." you will be prompted to re-enter your passphrase.
- 10. Click on "Apply" to create your wallet. You will be prompted to set an optional password for your wallet. Taking advantage of every security measure for your wallet is important, so we advise you to create a password for your wallet.
- 11. Once your wallet password is set, you can go ahead and start sending and receiving Bitcoin!
Passphrase
Adding a passphrase to your seed phrase is valuable for securing your Bitcoin wallet. A passphrase is an additional layer of security that is used to encrypt your seed phrase and make it even more difficult for unauthorized users to access your wallet.
If your seed phrase falls into the wrong hands, anyone can gain access to your Bitcoin wallet and steal your funds. However, if you have added a passphrase to your seed phrase, the thief will also need to know the passphrase to access your wallet. This makes it much more difficult for anyone to steal your Bitcoin.
Summary
While it’s valuable to memorize your seed phrase and passphrase, it’s okay to write them down as long as you store them separately. It’s crucial never to write down your seed phrase and passphrase together. This is because if someone gains access to both, they can easily access your Bitcoin wallet and steal your funds.
Ultimately, the security of your Bitcoin wallet depends on how well you protect your seed phrase and passphrase. Be sure to take the necessary steps to keep them safe and secure at all times, including memorizing both or, keeping them separate in secure locations. Learn more about Bitcoin security here.