What Is SLIP-44?
Also known as: SLIP-0044, SLIP44, Slip44, Coin Type
In short
SLIP-44 is a standard registry maintained by SatoshiLabs that assigns a unique 'coin type' number to each cryptocurrency in the key derivation paths used by hierarchical deterministic (HD) wallets.
SLIP stands for SatoshiLabs Improvement Proposals; SatoshiLabs is the maker of Trezor hardware wallets. Bitcoin's BIP-32 and BIP-44 standards define how many keys are derived in an orderly hierarchy from a single recovery phrase. This hierarchy uses a path of the form m/44'/coin_type'/account'/change/address_index, and which network the coin_type field corresponds to is specified in the SLIP-44 list.
For example, the coin type is 0 for Bitcoin, 1 for the Bitcoin testnet, 2 for Litecoin and 60 for Ethereum. Thus, even when the same recovery phrase is used, Bitcoin and Ethereum addresses are derived from entirely different branches. A new blockchain project can register a number in this list so that wallets can recognize its network.
The standard is important so that different wallet software can find the same addresses from the same recovery phrase. If a user imports a recovery phrase into another wallet and cannot see their balance, the reason is often that the wallets use a different derivation path. Because some networks and wallets use paths that deviate from the standard for historical reasons, full compatibility is not always guaranteed.
Last updated: · This content is for information purposes only and is not investment advice.