Derivation path

Also called: BIP32 path, BIP 32 derivation path, HD path, key path, derivation scheme, m/84'/0'/0', m/44'/0'/0'.

A derivation path like m/84'/0'/0'/0/0 locates one key inside an HD wallet: the sequence of child indexes taken from the master key.

A derivation path tells an HD wallet which key to use. It lists the steps from the master key m down the tree, one child index per level, separated by slashes.

Reading a path

Most wallets follow the five-level layout from BIP 44:

m / purpose' / coin_type' / account' / change / address_index

purpose: which standard, and so which address type, the branch follows (BIP 43).
coin_type: 0' for bitcoin, 1' for testnet.
account: separate accounts from one seed, starting at 0'.
change: 0 for receiving addresses, 1 for change.
address_index: counts up from 0.

An apostrophe (or h) marks hardened derivation. So m/84'/0'/0'/0/0 is the first receiving address of the first bitcoin account under BIP 84.

Common paths

Account path	Standard	Address type
`m/44'/0'/0'`	BIP 44	P2PKH, starts with 1
`m/49'/0'/0'`	BIP 49	P2SH-wrapped P2WPKH, starts with 3
`m/84'/0'/0'`	BIP 84	Native SegWit P2WPKH, `bc1q`
`m/86'/0'/0'`	BIP 86	Taproot P2TR, `bc1p`
`m/48'/0'/0'/2'`	BIP 48	Multisig P2WSH

Why it matters

A seed phrase doesn't record which path a wallet used. When a restored wallet shows a zero balance, it is often looking on the wrong path. Output descriptors fix this by writing the path down. Explore paths with our derivation path tool, read the derivation paths guide, or compare the standards in BIP 44 vs 49 vs 84 vs 86.

BIPs that define Derivation path

BIP 32 (HD wallets): Hierarchical Deterministic Wallets: Deployed. Defines hierarchical deterministic (HD) wallets, in which a single seed generates a whole tree of keys. Users can back up a wallet once and share watch-only parts, for example with a shop or…
BIP 44 (BIP44 derivation path): Multi-Account Hierarchy for Deterministic Wallets: Deployed. Defines a standard layout for HD wallets that organizes keys by coin type, account, and receiving versus change addresses. Because wallets share this layout, a recovery phrase from one wallet can…
BIP 43: Purpose Field for Deterministic Wallets: Deployed. Reserves the first level of an HD wallet's key tree for a "purpose" number that says which layout the rest of the tree follows. This lets different wallet standards coexist and helps software…
BIP 49 (nested SegWit derivation): Derivation scheme for P2WPKH-nested-in-P2SH based accounts: Deployed. Defines how HD wallets derive keys for SegWit addresses wrapped inside P2SH, which begin with "3". This let wallets offer cheaper SegWit transactions while staying payable from older software that…
BIP 84 (native SegWit derivation): Derivation scheme for P2WPKH based accounts: Deployed. Specifies the standard key path for HD wallets that use native SegWit addresses (those starting with 'bc1q'). Agreeing on this path means a user can restore the same seed phrase in different wallet…
BIP 86 (Taproot derivation): Key Derivation for Single Key P2TR Outputs: Deployed. Defines the standard key path for HD wallets that use single-key Taproot addresses (those starting with 'bc1p'). It plays the same role for Taproot that BIP 84 does for SegWit, so seed phrases…
BIP 48 (multisig derivation path): Multi-Script Hierarchy for Multi-Sig Wallets: Deployed. Defines a key-tree layout for multisignature HD wallets that separates different script types, such as wrapped and native SegWit. It helps multisig wallets and hardware devices agree on where keys…

Related terms

HD wallet: An HD (hierarchical deterministic) wallet derives a whole tree of keys from one seed, as defined in BIP 32, so a single backup restores every address.
Hardened derivation: Hardened derivation is a BIP 32 way of deriving child keys that requires the parent private key, written with ' or h, as in m/84'/0'/0'.
xpub (extended public key): An xpub is a BIP 32 extended public key: a public key plus chain code that can derive every address in an account, but can't spend from them.
Output descriptor: An output descriptor is a short text string that says exactly which scripts and addresses a wallet uses: script type, keys and derivation paths.
Seed phrase: A seed phrase is a list of 12 to 24 words, defined by BIP 39, that encodes the random number from which a wallet derives all of its keys.