How to back up your wallet
GUIDE
How to back up your wallet
The 12-word paper key is the whole backup. Write it down on paper, store it somewhere safe, never share it. Here's the full discipline — the thing that matters most in self-custody.
Lite Wallet's backup is your 12-word paper key — a sequence of 12 English words generated the first time you create a wallet. Writing it down on paper and storing it securely is the complete backup. If your device is lost, stolen, destroyed, or simply old, the paper key restores your wallet on any new device. If the paper key itself is lost, there is no recovery — the LTC is permanently inaccessible. The paper key is the backup; nothing else needs backing up. This is self-custody's power and its responsibility.
How to back up
Get your 12-word paper key
In Lite Wallet, go to Settings → Security → View paper key. Authenticate with biometric or password. The 12 words appear on screen. This screen is deliberately hard to reach — once you've backed up, you rarely need to see it again.
Write it down on paper
Use acid-free paper and permanent ink. Write each word clearly, numbered 1-12, matching the order Lite Wallet shows. Include the wallet name and the date. Physical paper only — do not photograph, screenshot, email, or type into any digital device. That defeats the purpose.
Verify your copy
Lite Wallet can ask you to confirm the words — it quizzes you on a few random words from the list to verify you wrote them correctly. Do this verification before trusting your backup. A miscopied word means the backup is useless.
Store the paper securely
Put the paper in a secure location — fireproof safe, locked drawer, safe deposit box. Somewhere you control, somewhere safe from fire and water, somewhere you won't forget. Consider a second identical copy in a different location.
Close out Lite Wallet and forget about it
Once backed up, you don't need to look at the paper key again until/unless you need to restore. Don't carry it around. Don't talk about where it's stored. Treat it like physical cash or jewelry: out of sight, securely stored.
Storage best practices
Fire and water
Paper is vulnerable to fire and flood. A fireproof safe rated for at least 30 minutes at 1700°F adds major protection. Better: store inside a waterproof container (small Pelican case or vacuum-sealed bag) inside the fireproof safe.
Multiple copies, different locations
Make two copies. Store one at home (easy access for personal recovery), one in a separate location (bank safe deposit box, trusted family member's safe, secondary property). If one location is destroyed, the other survives.
Opaque storage
Don't leave the paper visible. Store it inside a sealed envelope or container — someone walking past shouldn't be able to read it. A neighbor or service worker glancing at exposed crypto backup is a real-world risk.
What never to do with the paper key
Never photograph it — photos sync to cloud storage and can be breached. Never type it into a browser — phishing sites specifically harvest paper keys. Never email it, text it, or put it in a password manager that syncs to a cloud (local-only password managers are acceptable for some users, but paper is safer). Never share it with 'support' — no legitimate wallet support asks for your paper key, ever. Anyone asking is a scammer. Never store it as a text file on a device — local malware scans for 12-word BIP-39 patterns.
Metal backup upgrade
For significant holdings, consider upgrading from paper to metal. Specialized products — stainless steel plates with letter-stamp sets (Cryptosteel, Blockplate, Billfodl) — let you engrave your paper key into stainless steel that survives fire, water, and decades of wear. The cost is $40-$200 depending on product; the protection is significant. Metal backup is overkill for small balances; essential for balances where loss would be materially painful. The process: hammer-stamp or slot-in-letter-tile each of the 12 words into the steel plate, seal in a tamper-evident case, store in your secure location. Now the backup survives house fires.