# What is a deterministic wallet?

**URL:** <https://forums.counterparty.io/t/what-is-a-deterministic-wallet/1211>\
**Category:** FAQ\
**Created:** [May 23, 2015, 11:07am UTC](https://forums.counterparty.io/t/what-is-a-deterministic-wallet/1211 "2015-05-23T11:07:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![something](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex004/user_avatar/forums.counterparty.io/something/32/240_2.png) [@something](https://forums.counterparty.io/u/something)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 11:07am UTC](https://forums.counterparty.io/t/what-is-a-deterministic-wallet/1211/1 "2015-05-23T11:07:07Z")

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A deterministic wallet is a system of deriving keys from a single starting point known as a seed. The seed allows a user to easily back up and restore a wallet without needing any other information and can in some cases allow the creation of public addresses without the knowledge of the private key.

Source and additional details: [https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Deterministic\_wallet](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Deterministic_wallet)

This means that your addresses can be derived from your 12-word passphrase.

If you unintentionally change (or misremember) your wallet passphrase, you may “successfully” login and discover that your wallet is “empty”, but that would be a new wallet you just created by using a different passphrase.