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Import from mnemonic phrase (BIP39)

A mnemonic phrase (12, 15, 18, 21 or 24 words) serves as a human-readable backup for your wallet.

ChainGate adheres to the BIP39 standard, enabling you to import mnemonics from nearly any wallet provider, such as MetaMask, Ledger, or Trezor. Additionally, you can use the phrase generated by the initializeWallet.create({...}) function.

Phrases are supported in: Czech, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Traditional Chinese.

Keep your phrase safe!

Treat your mnemonic phrase like a password. If someone obtains it, they can access all assets associated with your wallet.

Initialize from a valid phrase​

Use a phrase to create a wallet instance:

const wallet = await initializeWallet.fromPhrase({
  apiKey: 'your-api-key-from-dashboard',
  phrase: 'valid phrase here'
})

Accessing wallet​

Once initialized, you can use all standard wallet methods:

import { initializeWallet } from 'chaingate'

const wallet = intializeWallet.fromPhrase({...})
const bitcoin = wallet.currency('bitcoin')
console.log(await bitcoin.getAddress())

Check phrase validity​

Before initializing your wallet, validate the mnemonic phrase using checkPhrase(). This ensures compatibility and prevents errors during wallet creation:

import { initializeWallet } from 'chaingate'

const phrase = 'abandon abandon about ...'

// Check if the phrase is valid
const isValid = await initializeWallet.checkPhrase(phrase)
if (!isValid) {
  throw new Error('Invalid recovery phrase')
}

// Proceed with initialization if valid
const wallet = await initializeWallet.fromPhrase({
  apiKey: 'your-api-key-from-dashboard',
  phrase
})
note

checkPhrase() returns true only if the phrase follows BIP39 standards and has a valid word count (12/15/18/24 words).

Access the phrase​

If you need to retrieve the phrase from an already initialized wallet, call wallet.getPhrase(). However, exercise extreme caution when accessing the phrase. Storing or logging it can create security risks:

import { initializeWallet, castWallet } from 'chaingate'

const wallet = await initializeWallet.fromPhrase({ 
  apiKey: 'your-api-key',
  phrase: 'abandon abandon about ...'
})

castWallet.requirePhraseWallet() // Required if deserializing a wallet

const phrase = await wallet.getPhrase() // Securely access the phrase
console.log(await phrase.getPhrase())