Wasabi Docs

Wallet Generation

Introduction

With Wasabi you can generate an unlimited number of Bitcoin wallets very quickly, without any cost, and without asking anyone for permission. Each wallet has separate private and public keys in a unique backup, and they are not at all linked to the other wallets generated on the same computer. So, with several wallets, you can conveniently manage your bitcoin for different use cases without worrying about revealing that you control them.

Generating the wallet step-by-step

  1. Launch Wasabi Wallet. The very first time you run the software the Add Wallet dialog will be open automatically, but you can also access it by clicking on Add Wallet in the NavBar or Searchbar.

  2. Click Create a new wallet to generate a new wallet.

Add a Bitcoin wallet with Wasabi

  1. Give the wallet a name. This name is not shared with anyone, it is only stored locally on your computer. Click Continue.

Add Wallet Wallet Name

  1. Write down the 12 recovery words (mnemonic seed phrase) in the correct order and store them in a safe place. You have to use this seed phrase together with your password to recover your wallet (using Wasabi or another BIP 39open in new window compliant wallet).

    Back up your recovery words!

    Without the recovery words (Seed phrase) AND the password, you cannot recover your wallet. So, triple-check that you have a proper backup! Make sure the backup of your recovery words is stored separately from the password backup.

Wasabi Wallet recovery words

  1. You must confirm the Recovery Words by clicking on the right word in the right order, as a check to make sure that your Recovery Words are backed up. So, confirm the Recovery Words, and click Continue.

Wasabi Wallet confirm recovery words

  1. Write a long and random password (passphrase) and back it up. It encrypts your secrets, and you will need it every time you want to open the wallet, spend bitcoin from this wallet or recover your wallet.

    If you are uncertain about how to create a secure password, refer to Password Best Practices for helpful information.

    Back up your password!

    Without the password, you cannot spend your bitcoin or recover your wallet, even if you have the recovery words (Seed phrase). So, triple-check that you have a proper backup!

  2. Confirm the password and click the Continue button.

Wasabi Wallet Add Password

  1. Select the coinjoin strategy for this wallet and click Continue.

Add Wallet Coinjoin Strategy

  1. The wallet is succesfully added! Click Done.

Wallet Successfully Added

Important info about your wallet password

Wasabi integrates BIP 38: Password-Protected Private Keyopen in new window, which means that the secrets needed to spend the bitcoin are encrypted on the computer. If someone has compromised your operating system and hardware and he only has the encrypted secrets, then no bitcoin can be spent by him. You need both the encrypted secrets and the password in order to enable the private key which can sign a spending transaction. This means that the password is your last line of defense against anyone who tries to steal your bitcoin.

How are the secrets created

Wasabi uses BIP 38: Password-Protected Private Keyopen in new window

                      +--------------+
                      | Entropy      |
                      +--------------+
  +------------+             |
  | Word list  +------------>+
  +------------+             |
                      +------v-------+
                      | Mnemonics    |
                      +--------------+
                             |
                   +--------->
                   |         |
                   |  +------v-------+
                   |  | Seed         |
                   |  +--------------+
                   |         |
   +-----------+   |         |
   | Password  +---+  +------v-------+
   +-----------+   |  | Extended Key |
                   |  +--------------+
                   |         |
                   |         |
                   |  +------v-------+
                   |  | Private key  |     ** This step is needed to use bip38
                   |  +--------------+
                   |         |              +-------------+
                   +-------->+<-------------+  Network    |
                             |              +-------------+
                      +------v-------+
                      | Encrypted    |
                      | secret       |
                      +--------------+
                             |
                             |
                             |
                  +--------------------+
                  | Save encrypted     |
                  | secret+chaincode+  |
                  | Fingerprint+ExtPub |
                  +--------------------+