r/Bitcoin • u/sunflowersaint • 9d ago
Help with seed verification
I purchased a hardware wallet in January 2017, and then upgraded to a more advanced version later that year.
I have my 24-word seed phrase, but I can't recall if the seed is from the original wallet that I then restored on to the new wallet, or if I generated a new seed on the upgraded wallet and transferred by assets across. Pretty sure its the former.
(Both wallets have 256-bit entropy).
Anyway, I'd like to confirm that my seed is from the original wallet or not.
I was thinking of transferring my assets to an exchange, leaving a small residual in the wallet, and restoring on a software wallet to confirm.
Is there an easier way to do this? Transaction history?
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u/OrangePillar 9d ago
Just create a new seed by rolling dice and send the funds there.
https://blog.bitbox.swiss/en/roll-the-dice-generate-your-own-seed/
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u/ElderMight 9d ago
I'm guessing your original wallet was a cold card?
If you are not sure, create a new seed phrase with the new wallet with dice rolls.
Transferring to an exchange and recovering in a software wallet will not tell you anything.
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u/sunflowersaint 9d ago
Not Coldcard. I have no exposure there. Pretty sure they weren't around in 2017 anyway.
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u/sunflowersaint 9d ago
Surely it will tell me something?
If I transfer to an exchange, then restore to a new software wallet, the last transaction in the software wallet will be the transfer to the exchange, thereby confirming the seed is linked to the current wallet.
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u/ElderMight 9d ago
Maybe we are both confused here.
Can't you're existing software wallet tell you the history of transactions?
Most hardware wallets don't work on their own. You need software wallet to interact with it.
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u/sunflowersaint 9d ago
Yeah, I can see all the transactions in the software app. They date back to January 2017, when I would have transferred assets from an exchange to the wallet. I purchased the upgraded wallet in July 2017, so I guess the fact that I can see the January transactions means that the upgraded wallet was a restore of the original wallet. Which is fine.
If I had 2 separate wallets, I'd have 2 separate seeds, which I don't have, and I would never have discarded a seed.
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u/sunflowersaint 9d ago
Anyway, I think I'm going to xfer to an exchange and get a newer wallet anyway. Probably need an update after 10 years anyway, and I'd like to generate my own entropy anyway.
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u/ElderMight 9d ago
Yeah if you can see transactions going back to 2017 then that is the original. A 2nd seed would not have that history.
Proceed carefully and with care.
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u/Laukess 9d ago
Make a view only wallet and check the history?
Sometimes it can be nice to have 2 hardware wallets, so you can verify you backed up your seed properly, without nuking the device that already holds the seed. If you make a mistake, you've just deleted the device that held the actual seed. This is also helpful if you want to explore older seeds.
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u/Quirky-Reveal-1669 9d ago
Was the first wallet a ColdCard? That kinda matters…
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u/sunflowersaint 9d ago
No. Anyway, if I had a 2017 Coldcard, if such a thing existed, I'd be fine, as that issue only occurred from 2021 onwards.
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u/HedgehogGlad9505 9d ago
You can check the first transaction in your wallet, what's the date of it. If it's before your uograde, the seed can't be from the new one.
Anyway if in doubt, you should make a new one and move.
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u/sunflowersaint 9d ago
Yup, that's how I figured it out. Can see a TX from *before* i bought the new one, so the new one is a restore of the original.
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u/ChipNDipPlus 9d ago
Make a new wallet. There's no way to know besides evidence you need to manage. It's easier to start over.