Derivation path finder

Why the same words can open an empty wallet

A recovery phrase is not a list of addresses. It is the root of a tree, and a derivation path is directions to one branch of it: m/84'/0'/0' means purpose 84 (native SegWit), coin 0 (Bitcoin), account 0. Every branch is valid and every branch holds different addresses. Restore your words into a wallet that walks a different branch than the one you used, and you get a flawless restore of a wallet with nothing in it.

That is why an empty restore is a derivation problem until proven otherwise, not a theft and not a fake phrase. The fix is to walk the right branch, and for that you need two facts you already have: which wallet made the words, and what your addresses looked like.

Your old address tells you the path

The first characters of a Bitcoin address give away its script type, and each script type has a standard path. An address starting with 1 is legacy, BIP44, m/44'/0'/0'. One starting with 3 is nested SegWit, BIP49, m/49'/0'/0'. bc1q is native SegWit, BIP84, m/84'/0'/0'. bc1p is Taproot, BIP86, m/86'/0'/0'. If your old wallet paid you at a 1 address and the restore shows bc1q addresses, nothing is lost: you are looking at a different branch of the same tree.

Wallets that did their own thing

The standard paths above are conventions, and older wallets often ignored them. MultiBit HD derived everything under m/0', receiving on m/0'/0 and change on m/0'/1, so its 12 words restored at the BIP44 default show nothing. Breadwallet used the same m/0' layout. Electrum does not use BIP39 at all for the words it creates: its seeds carry a version number, and Electrum derives a standard seed at m/ and a SegWit seed at m/0' on its own. Samourai spread coins across a deposit account and separate Whirlpool accounts deep in the m/84'/0'/2147483645' range, all behind a passphrase. The finder above has each of these, with the source for every path.

Which wallets let you type a custom path

A wallet that only restores its own default paths will show zero for words that came from somewhere else. Sparrow and Electrum both let you set the script type and any derivation path by hand, and both can scan for you: Sparrow's Discover Wallet tries each script type at its standard path and at m/0', and Electrum's Detect Existing Accounts runs a longer list that includes the Samourai and Copay layouts. Electrum has no Taproot option when restoring BIP39 words, so for bc1p addresses use Sparrow. Sparrow, in turn, refuses Electrum's own words, so restore those in Electrum.

When it is not the path

If the right path still shows nothing, work down this list before assuming anything is gone:

• A passphrase you forgot was set. Any passphrase opens a valid wallet, including no passphrase, and only the one you used opens yours. That covers a "25th word", a Trezor hidden wallet, Wasabi's password, and Samourai's passphrase. See recovering a 25th-word wallet.
• Electrum words restored as BIP39, or the reverse. Both produce a valid, empty wallet. The Electrum wallet inspector reads the seed type from an old wallet file.
• A different account number. Second accounts sit at m/84'/0'/1' and so on, and BIP44 account discovery stops at the first empty account.
• The gap limit. BIP44 and Electrum stop scanning after 20 unused addresses in a row. Raise it and rescan.
• A wrong word that still passes the checksum. Check the words with the seed phrase checker, using its offline copy.
• Coins that were never on these words. Imported keys and swept paper wallets are not derived from the seed.

The long version, with sources, is your seed phrase restored an empty wallet. For a Bitcoin Core wallet, which never had words, start at Bitcoin Core restored but no balance. For MultiBit files and paths, see the MultiBit reference.

What this tool doesn't do

It never asks for your words, never derives a key or an address, and never checks a balance. That is deliberate. A web page that takes your seed to "scan every path" is the exact thing you should never use, however helpful it looks, and building one here would teach the wrong habit. This finder tells you where to look; the looking happens in real wallet software on your own computer.

If you have tried the paths and the checklist and still see zero, that is the work I do: seed phrase recovery, Electrum and MultiBit wallets included. Get a free evaluation, and describe the wallet and the address types you remember, not your words. No fee unless your coins come back.