Sovereign Keys 1.0 — User Guide

Sovereign Keys creates and inspects Bitcoin SV key material on your device. It is a self-contained HTML application with no account, recovery service, application network calls, or browser-storage feature. Public Preview.

The person who knows the private key controls the coins. Losing the only usable backup can make the coins permanently inaccessible. Exposing the key can let someone else spend them.

Verify before relying on this manual or tool. A copy received through another person, website, storage service, or message may have been modified. Altered code or instructions may differ from the release developed and tested by BSVSearch.com and may produce unexpected or unwanted results. Before entering a private key or using funds, compare the exact file's SHA-256 with the current filename, version, byte count, and TXID published at bsvsearch.com/sovereigntytools.web3. See Verify the file before trusting it for Windows and macOS instructions.

Safest-first setup

Complete the external file-verification procedure above before opening the application.
Use a device, browser, printer, removable drive, and physical space you trust. For real-value keys, disconnect the device before opening the verified local HTML file.
Charge the randomness bar by moving the pointer or typing in the randomness box until it is full. The tool mixes this activity with the browser's cryptographically secure random generator. Key actions remain locked until the bar is full and the risk acknowledgement is ticked.
Generate or inspect the key material you need.
Make at least two accurate backups and keep them in separate secure physical locations.
Before funding the address, prove recovery on a trusted device. Re-enter the backup and confirm the same address, compression choice, optional passphrase, and derivation path.
If you choose to use live funds, begin with a tiny amount you can afford to lose and prove that you can recover and spend it.

An offline status banner reports the browser's network status only. It cannot prove that the device, extensions, operating system, clipboard, printer, camera, or room is safe.

Features and their main risks

Single and paper wallets

Create a private key, WIF, address, and QR representations. A paper wallet is only as safe as its printing and storage process. Printers, print queues, cameras, and discarded drafts can retain copies.

Bulk wallets

Create several independent keys. Bulk generation multiplies the number of secrets that must be backed up accurately and stored safely.

Brain wallet

A phrase is turned directly into a key. A weak, reused, quoted, or guessable phrase can be searched offline and drained. This is an expert feature; a randomly generated recovery phrase is usually safer.

Mnemonic and HD wallet

Create or inspect a BIP39 mnemonic and derive BIP32 keys. Recovery requires the exact words, the exact optional BIP39 passphrase, and a compatible derivation path. The default path shown by Sovereign Keys uses BSV coin type 236. Never assume another wallet uses the same path—verify before funding.

The optional passphrase is sometimes called a “25th word.” It is not recoverable from the mnemonic. A different passphrase silently produces different keys.

Vanity wallet

Search for an address beginning with chosen characters. Longer searches take more time. The split-key workflow is designed so a helper does not receive the final private key, but the completed key and the device combining it remain sensitive.

Split wallet

Use Shamir Secret Sharing to divide a key into shares, with a chosen threshold needed for recovery. Fewer than the threshold should not reconstruct the key, but every share still requires confidential, accurate storage. Test recovery with non-funded material before relying on it.

Wallet details and dice input

Inspect WIF, 64-character hexadecimal keys, mini keys, supported BIP38 keys, or a 99-digit base-6 dice record. For dice entry, roll one die 99 times, record 1–5 as written and record 6 as 0.

BIP38

BIP38 adds passphrase-based protection to a supported private key. Its protection depends on the strength, uniqueness, secrecy, and accurate recovery of the passphrase. A weak passphrase can be guessed or brute-forced offline; a forgotten passphrase can make the key unusable. Test compatibility before relying on a BIP38 backup.

Backup verification checklist

Address copied correctly and checked independently.
Correct compressed or uncompressed form recorded.
Mnemonic words in order, with the optional passphrase and derivation path recorded separately if used.
BIP38 or split-wallet recovery tested before funding.
No private material in screenshots, cloud folders, email, support messages, or AI prompts.
Local file hash checked again if the tool is copied to another device.

Frequently asked questions

Does the application send my key anywhere?
The current Sovereign Keys 1.0 application contains no application network call or browser-storage feature. A compromised device, browser, extension, or modified file could still expose data, which is why verifying and isolating the exact file matters.

Can BSVSearch recover a lost key or passphrase?
No. The tool creates no account and holds no recovery copy.

Why did another wallet show a different address?
Check compressed versus uncompressed WIF handling, the BIP39 passphrase, and the derivation path. Do not fund either address until the discrepancy is understood.

Can I run an inscribed copy directly from a gateway?
Yes, but that is an online third-party delivery path. For real-value key work, download the exact bytes, verify the SHA-256, disconnect, and run the local file.

Status, licence, and credits

This is a source-visible Public Preview originally developed by BSVSearch.com. Embedded third-party material includes the BIP-0039 English word list and a QR encoder derived from Project Nayuki; each retains its respective licence and attribution terms. QR Code is a registered trademark of DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED.

Current versions, hashes, ordinal transaction IDs, and security advisories: https://bsvsearch.com/sovereigntytools.web3.

See the shared Technical and Safety Appendix for file-identity, direct-key, testing, and inscription boundaries.

Independent peer review is evidence, not a formal security-audit certification.