Key takeaways
- The backup is usually a recovery phrase. It rebuilds the wallet’s keys, so it must be kept as secret as the keys themselves.
- Store it offline, on a durable medium, in at least two separate places.
- Test a restore on a spare device before you rely on the backup.
- Never photograph it, email it, save it in the cloud or give it to anyone claiming to be support.
- A lost wallet with no backup usually means lost coins, and no compensation scheme covers it.
For information only. Not investment advice. Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest.
The short answer
Back up your wallet by writing its recovery phrase on a durable, offline medium, storing at least two copies in separate secure places, and proving that the backup works by restoring it to a spare device. Never photograph it, email it or store it in the cloud. The backup is a key in its own right: whoever holds it controls the coins.
This guide sits in the CoinCorner learn hub. It builds on “Not your keys, not your coins”, and it assumes you have read what Bitcoin is and how keys control ownership.
What a backup actually is
A wallet does not hold coins. It holds keys that let you move coins recorded on the Bitcoin ledger. Most modern wallets are “deterministic”: they generate every key from a single starting secret called a seed. The seed is usually shown to you as a recovery phrase, a list of ordinary words (often 12 or 24) defined by the BIP-39 standard.
That is why one backup can restore a whole wallet. If your phone is lost or a hardware device breaks, you enter the phrase into a compatible wallet and the same keys, and so the same coins, reappear. Without the phrase, the coins on the ledger are still there, but nobody can sign to spend them. There is no helpdesk at network level that can reset this.
A backup is therefore not a copy of your “account”. It is a copy of the secret that is the account.
What to back up
The list depends on your setup. Check your wallet’s own documentation for the exact items, but the common ones are:
- The recovery phrase. Words, in the correct order, spelled as the wallet shows them.
- An optional passphrase. Some wallets let you add an extra word or phrase on top of the recovery phrase. If you use one, it is a second secret that must be backed up separately. Without it, the phrase alone opens a different, empty wallet.
- Multi-signature details. In a multi-signature wallet, more than one key must approve a spend. You typically need each co-signer’s recovery information and the wallet configuration (which keys, and how many must sign) to rebuild it.
- Notes on how to recover. A short, non-secret instruction sheet: which wallet software, which version, and where the other copies are.
A screenshot, or the wallet app’s own file on a single device, may help but is not a durable plan on its own.
How to back up, step by step
Prepare a private setting
Do this at home, with nobody watching and no cameras or screen-sharing running. Use the wallet’s official software, installed from the publisher’s own site.
Write the words by hand
Write each word clearly, numbered, in order. Check the spelling against the wallet’s display. Do not type them into a document, message or notes app.
Verify before you move any coins
Read the written copy back against the screen once, then again the next day. A single wrong or missing word can make a backup useless.
Make a second copy and separate them
Store the copies in different buildings or different secure locations, so that one event cannot destroy both.
Test a restore
On a spare device, restore from the backup and confirm that the receiving addresses match the original wallet. Then wipe the spare device.
Plan for the unexpected
Make sure a trusted person, or a legal document such as a will, can lead the right people to the backup if you cannot. Do not write the secret in the will itself, as a will can become public.
Choosing where and on what to store it
The aim is to survive fire, water, loss and theft. Each medium has trade-offs, summarised below in general terms. These are qualitative comparisons, not test results.
| Medium | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|
| Paper and pen | Cheap, offline, easy to make | Burns, fades, can be damaged by water or thrown away by mistake |
| Metal plate or stamped metal | Designed to resist fire and water | Costs money; the words are readable by a thief; check the maker’s claims yourself |
| Safe or safe-deposit box | Protects against casual theft and some disasters | Access can be limited, and a box held by a third party adds a trust relationship |
| Photo, email, cloud or notes app | Convenient | Exposed to malware and account takeover. Avoid. |
A tamper-evident bag or sealed envelope is a sensible extra, because it shows whether someone has opened the copy.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Storing the only copy next to the device. A burglary or fire takes both.
- Sharing the phrase with “support”. Genuine wallet makers do not ask for it. Be wary of anyone who does, and see the FCA’s guidance on crypto scams.
- Typing the phrase into a website. A site that asks for it to “verify” or “fix” a wallet should be treated as a scam.
- Splitting the phrase carelessly. Cutting the words into pieces can leave you unable to rebuild it, and gives a false sense of safety.
- Never testing. A failed recovery is often discovered only when it is needed.
- Forgetting the passphrase. It is a separate secret with no reset.
What a backup does not protect against
A backup restores access after loss. It does not stop theft, and it does not remove other risks. Multi-signature can reduce the damage if one key is lost or stolen, but it adds more things to back up; the Vault guide explains the trade-off for CoinCorner’s own design. No backup stops the price of Bitcoin falling, and a payment sent to the wrong address usually cannot be undone, as explained in how transactions are confirmed.
There is also no regulatory safety net. CoinCorner and cryptoasset investments are not regulated by the FCA, and are not covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. CoinCorner Ltd is registered with the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority as a designated business for anti-money-laundering oversight only, which is not a licence. If you lose both the wallet and the backup, nobody can restore the coins.
If you use CoinCorner rather than your own wallet
If you hold Bitcoin in a CoinCorner account or Vault, CoinCorner holds the keys, so there is no recovery phrase for you to back up. What you protect instead is your login, your devices and your recovery routes. Common account questions are in the FAQ, the fees page lists published costs, and the about page names the companies involved. If you later withdraw to your own wallet, apply the steps above before you send anything.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly should I back up?
Back up whatever your wallet needs to rebuild itself. For most wallets that is the recovery phrase, a list of words, plus any optional passphrase. Multi-signature setups also need the wallet configuration, or each co-signer’s public key information. Your wallet’s own documentation says which items apply.
Is a screenshot or cloud note a safe backup?
No. A recovery phrase that sits on a phone, in photos, in email or in cloud notes is exposed to malware, account takeover and theft. Anyone who obtains the phrase can move the coins, and Bitcoin transfers cannot normally be reversed. Use an offline medium instead.
How many copies should I keep?
At least two, in different physical places, so that one fire, flood or burglary does not destroy everything. Each extra copy is another place the phrase can be stolen, so more copies is not automatically safer. Weigh the two risks against each other.
How do I test a backup without risking my coins?
Restore the backup into a fresh wallet on a spare device and check that it produces the same receiving addresses. Many people first test with a small amount. Never type the phrase into a website or into software you did not install from the official source.
Does CoinCorner keep a backup of my Bitcoin?
If you hold Bitcoin in a CoinCorner account or Vault, you do not hold the keys yourself, so there is no recovery phrase for you to back up. You should still protect your account login. If you withdraw to your own wallet, backing it up becomes your job.
Is a wallet backup covered by any compensation scheme?
No. CoinCorner and investments in cryptoassets are not regulated by the FCA, and are not covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. If you lose both your wallet and your backup, there is no scheme to recover the coins.
Sources
The points above rest on the documents below. They were not re-opened line by line when this guide was written on 24 October 2026, so check each original before relying on a detail, because wallet software and standards change.
- Bitcoin Project, Developer Guides: Wallets: https://developer.bitcoin.org/devguide/wallets.html
- Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 39 (BIP-39), Mnemonic code for generating deterministic keys: https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0039.mediawiki
- Financial Conduct Authority, Crypto: The basics: https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart/crypto-basics
- Financial Conduct Authority, Crypto investment scams: https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/crypto-investment-scams