Historical retrospective · Bitcoin
BIP 85 proposed deriving application-specific entropy from a wallet seed
BIP 85 specifies deterministic derivation of entropy values that applications can turn into their own secrets or mnemonic phrases.
A hierarchy can make backup relationships more systematic while reducing the need for unrelated random seeds.
The proposal reflects a recurring wallet-design goal: reduce backup burden without making recovery opaque.
Derivation structures create correlated risk; losing or exposing a root seed can affect many derived credentials.
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