Wallets, seeds and private keys compatibility

[MonicaSeeds]

I created a wallet with Exodus and I transferred some BTC.   That worked well.

Then I installed Electrum and I tried to access my Exodus wallet previously created.  I used my 12 words seed but Electrum showed an empty wallet.

I investigated further and I found an option to import the wallet using my private key.  I took the private key info from Exodus and I imported the wallet in Electrum.  That imported wallet is view only because Electrum says I am not the owner of the key.  I cannot make any transfers from there.

Aren't seeds and private keys compatible between apps?  Any ideas?

[1714032384]

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[1714032384]

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[1714032384]

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[ranochigo]

They should be compatible but you need to choose the correct derivation path. Did you import an address or a private keys (Starts with either K or L)?

Try following this guide? https://support.exodus.com/article/159-import-your-bitcoin-wallet-into-electrum

[dkbit98]

Aren't seeds and private keys compatible between apps?  Any ideas?

Not all wallets are created equally and you can check walletsrecovery website for compatibility with supported derivation paths and BIP standards.
Exodus default derivation path should be m/44'|84'/0'/0'  and my suggestion is to always write this and wallet type when you are writing down seed words, but exodus is closed source and not exactly recommended.
https://walletsrecovery.org/

Then I installed Electrum and I tried to access my Exodus wallet previously created.  I used my 12 words seed but Electrum showed an empty wallet.

What was your BItcoin address format in Exodus wallet, starting with 1, 3 or bc1?

[ranochigo]

Not all wallets are created equally and you can check walletsrecovery website for compatibility with supported derivation paths and BIP standards.
Exodus default derivation path should be m/44'|84'/0'/0'  and my suggestion is to always write this and wallet type when you are writing down seed words, but exodus is closed source and not exactly recommended.
https://walletsrecovery.org/

Note that if it is a legacy address, it is m/44'/0'/0' or if it is a Segwit address it'll be m/84'/0'/0'. The | is used to demarcate the two standards.

Exodus doesn't generate Nested Segwit AFAIK.

[Husires]

I do not recommend to use your Exodus wallet seed in Electrom wallet. Exodus wallet is closed source and no one knows what is inside the code.
Create two separate wallets and you can send money between them as Bitcoin fees are low.

if you want to use the same wallet seed between many wallets it is better to use Bluewallet.
for altcoins you can use MeatMask but you need to make a new wallet seed

[BlackHatCoiner]

That imported wallet is view only because Electrum says I am not the owner of the key.

Do you mean a watch-only instead of view only? If electrum prompted you a message like that, it means that you didn't import a private key, but an address:

FYI, I just generated a seed phrase with exodus, imported it on electrum and it works find for the m/44'/0'/0' :

When you import a BIP39 seed on electrum, which is the one exodus generates, you have to check “BIP39 seed” on the options. Although I doubt if you've written your BIP39 seed phrase on the input field and it has found a valid checksum. The odds are small. Ensure you've done this, anyway:

[pooya87]

if you want to use the same wallet seed between many wallets it is better to use Bluewallet.
for altcoins you can use MeatMask but you need to make a new wallet seed

This is not a good idea, you should always let the wallet you are using generate the seed for you instead of using one among all of them. Specially if you are going to use a less popular wallet even though they were open source. Check the recent case with Cake wallet which happens to also be open source, they were generating week entropies for their seed.

[BlackHatCoiner]

Check the recent case with Cake wallet which happens to also be open source, they were generating week entropies for their seed.

As far as I read, the case with Cake wallet had to do with their random generator function, not with their way you'll import a seed. Besides the fact that it's closed-source, are there really any reasons not to import a seed phrase on another wallet?

A downside of generating a seed phrase on a closed-source wallet is the RNG, but you can settle it by ensuring that the seed is generated by an open-source one with tested functionalities such as Electrum. Sure, there is a tiny possibility to get stolen from a wallet like Exodus, since you can't know if the wallet is operating maliciously, but I doubt if that will discourage someone from not making his life easier.

My personal opinion is to have two seed phrases. One for open-source tested wallets and one for the closed-source. That's for those who want to keep their seeds separated and not on a notebook. If you keep them on a notebook or anywhere else organized, you should simply write the software name next to the seed phrase to differentiate them.

[MonicaSeeds]

Try following this guide? https://support.exodus.com/article/159-import-your-bitcoin-wallet-into-electrum

Thanks everyone for your valuable comments.  I followed the guide on the link AGAIN and it worked well this time.  I tried that steps before but for some reason I failed selecting a wrong the derivation path.  Now it worked. 

About all comments and questions

When I said the wallet was imported as view only I meant watch-only.  That was strange because I am sure I used the private key (not a public address).   But I am glad I was able to import the wallet using the seed since that is what the seeds are for.  Now I really feel I am the owner of the key since it worked on both Exodus and Electrum.

And yes I have no doubt Electrum is safer since it is 100% open source.  I heard Exodus still keeps some open source part.  What I do not trust at all are some apps/extensions you can install on top of Exodus, made for stacking, investing and even gambling.

Thank you!

[ranochigo]

As far as I read, the case with Cake wallet had to do with their random generator function, not with their way you'll import a seed. Besides the fact that it's closed-source, are there really any reasons not to import a seed phrase on another wallet?

Not all of the wallets function similarly. Different derivation paths, gap limit, possibility of various exploits being present in each of the wallets, etc. Using the same seed across different wallets can cause loads of confusion.

A downside of generating a seed phrase on a closed-source wallet is the RNG, but you can settle it by ensuring that the seed is generated by an open-source one with tested functionalities such as Electrum. Sure, there is a tiny possibility to get stolen from a wallet like Exodus, since you can't know if the wallet is operating maliciously, but I doubt if that will discourage someone from not making his life easier.

My personal opinion is to have two seed phrases. One for open-source tested wallets and one for the closed-source. That's for those who want to keep their seeds separated and not on a notebook. If you keep them on a notebook or anywhere else organized, you should simply write the software name next to the seed phrase to differentiate them.

Also possibility for certain codes in the program to leak your private key, intentionally or not. An example would be the Android Wallet exploit back in 2013 which had reused r values in their signature. You are increasing the risk of this happening if you were to use the same seeds across different wallets. I would not expose my seeds to different wallets unless necessary and would segregate them as far as possible. Besides, I personally don't have any scenario where I need multiple wallets, much less having to use a close sourced wallet.

And yes I have no doubt Electrum is safer since it is 100% open source.  I heard Exodus still keeps some open source part.  What I do not trust at all are some apps/extensions you can install on top of Exodus, made for stacking, investing and even gambling.

Consider sweeping your funds to a new Electrum seed when the funds are low or when you're sending a new transaction (send the change to your new Electrum wallet). Electrum's seed system is much easier and unambiguous as compared to the BIP39 that other wallet uses.

[pooya87]

As far as I read, the case with Cake wallet had to do with their random generator function, not with their way you'll import a seed. Besides the fact that it's closed-source, are there really any reasons not to import a seed phrase on another wallet?

It is actually open source and you misunderstood my comment. I'm talking about the part that I bolded which is using a seed generated by one wallet in multiple others and am pointing out that when a wallet is not popular enough (even if it is open source like Cake wallet) can have vulnerabilities that could lead to your fund losses.
In the Cake wallet example the vulnerability was in their RNG but it could be in anything in cases like this, for example in using weak RNG or reusing k when signing transactions that leads to the revelation of your private key.