What's a private key/seed phrase?

Lost your seed phrase but still have your private key — are your assets safe?

Private key leaked but seed phrase is intact — are you still secure?

Checklist

How your seed phrase and private keys are related
Open the OKX app and load the Web3 mode, before selecting Menu
On the Web3 wallet homepage, select Menu
Select the Menu
Select Backups option under the Wallet security section on the Settings page
Select Backups in the Wallet security section
Select the wallet-address and the account on the wallet page you wish to back up
Select the account
Once the account page is open, select Private key then follow the steps to check your private key
Select private key as your backup option in the wallet
Open the OKX app and load the Web3 mode, before selecting Menu
Select Backups option under the Wallet security section on the Settings page

Notes

To keep your OKX Wallet safe, there are two essentials you need to understand: seed phrase and private key.

When you create a wallet in OKX Wallet, one seed phrase is generated. From it, OKX Wallet derives multiple addresses — one per chain. Each address gets its own private key.

Think of it this way: the seed phrase is the master key that controls the whole wallet, and each private key is a sub-key for one specific address.

You can use a seed phrase to restore all accounts, addresses, and assets at once. A private key only controls the address on its corresponding chain.