Can You Create a Bitcoin Wallet With Dice? Understanding Entropy, Seed Phrases & DIY Security

Research reviewed: October 11, 2026

Introduction: Can a Handful of Dice Protect Your Bitcoin?

Imagine creating a Bitcoin wallet using nothing more than a six-sided die, a small computer, and some mathematics.

It sounds almost too simple. Bitcoin is secured by advanced cryptography, yet one of the most important ingredients in wallet security is something surprisingly familiar: randomness.

Every Bitcoin wallet depends on secret information that attackers must not be able to predict. If that information is generated poorly, even a sophisticated hardware wallet may be unable to protect the funds associated with it.

In our previous NodeAxe article, When Cold Wallets Fail: Ledger, Coldcard, Supply-Chain Attacks & Bitcoin Entropy, we explored why keeping private keys offline is only one part of protecting Bitcoin.

Now we’re going deeper.

Can you generate your own randomness? Why do some wallets use 12 recovery words while others use 24? And how can an open-source project like SeedSigner help us understand what’s happening behind the screen?

Let’s start with a die.

1. What Is Bitcoin Entropy?

Entropy is a measure of uncertainty or unpredictability.

In cryptography, entropy describes how difficult it is for someone to guess a secret before learning anything about it.

Imagine choosing a secret number between 1 and 10. An attacker has only ten possibilities to try.

Now imagine choosing a uniformly random 128-bit number.

That produces:

2¹²⁸ possible values.

Written out, that’s approximately:

340 undecillion possibilities.

A properly generated 128-bit secret is beyond practical exhaustive guessing with known computing methods.

Bitcoin wallets rely on this kind of unpredictability to protect the secrets from which private keys are derived.

However, there’s an important distinction:

A 128-bit value is not automatically secure just because it contains 128 bits.

If a computer repeatedly generates the same values, uses a predictable random-number generator, or leaks its internal state, an attacker may face far fewer possibilities.

That is why secure randomness matters.

2. Can Physical Dice Generate Secure Randomness?

Yes. Fair physical dice can provide a source of randomness.

A standard six-sided die has six possible outcomes:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.

If each face is equally likely and successive rolls are independent, the entropy contributed by one roll is:

log₂(6) ≈ 2.585 bits

Every additional independent roll increases the number of possible sequences.

For example:

One roll: 6 possible outcomes.
Two rolls: 36 possible sequences.
Five rolls: 7,776 possible sequences.
Ten rolls: 60,466,176 possible sequences.
Fifty rolls: approximately 8.08 × 10³⁸ possible sequences.

Fifty fair rolls contain approximately 129.25 bits of theoretical entropy.

This is enough source randomness for a carefully designed process to derive a 128-bit wallet secret.

But the conversion matters. A poor algorithm can introduce bias, discard entropy, or produce predictable results.

And the sequence must remain secret. If someone records all your dice results and knows the conversion method, they may be able to recreate your wallet.

3. Why Do Bitcoin Wallets Have 12 or 24 Recovery Words?

Many Bitcoin wallets use a standard called BIP-39, which converts random binary data into a human-readable recovery phrase.

A BIP-39 phrase isn’t simply a collection of random English words.

The process starts with a random number, adds a checksum, and maps the resulting bits to a standardized list of 2,048 words.

For two common configurations:

Recovery phrase	Original entropy	Checksum	Encoded total
12 words	128 bits	4 bits	132 bits
24 words	256 bits	8 bits	264 bits

Each word represents an 11-bit index into the word list.

For a 12-word phrase:

128 bits of entropy + 4 checksum bits = 132 bits

132 ÷ 11 = 12 words.

For a 24-word phrase:

256 bits of entropy + 8 checksum bits = 264 bits

264 ÷ 11 = 24 words.

The checksum helps detect certain recording mistakes. It is not an additional source of randomness.

BIP-39 then uses the mnemonic phrase, together with an optional passphrase, to derive a binary seed. Wallet software uses subsequent key-derivation standards to create private keys and addresses.

This is why a recovery phrase should never be confused with a wallet password or PIN.

The recovery phrase is powerful enough to recreate the wallet’s underlying secrets.

Important: Twelve securely generated BIP-39 words already provide substantial protection against brute-force guessing. Twenty-four words provide a larger theoretical search space, but don’t automatically protect against theft, phishing, compromised devices, or poor backups.

4. How Many Dice Rolls Do You Need?

Two commonly documented dice-based workflows use:

50 rolls for a 12-word recovery phrase.

99 rolls for a 24-word recovery phrase.

These are the roll counts supported in SeedSigner’s documented dice-generation examples.

There’s a subtle mathematical detail worth understanding.

Fifty fair dice rolls contain about 129.25 bits of theoretical entropy.

Ninety-nine fair dice rolls contain about 255.91 bits—very close to, but slightly less than, 256 bits.

Therefore, the 99-roll workflow does not literally supply a full 256 bits of ideal entropy. It provides nearly that amount, which is still an extraordinarily large search space.

The final security depends on how the wallet software converts the dice sequence into the required binary value.

For beginners, the safest approach is to use a documented, independently reviewed wallet implementation rather than inventing a conversion method.

5. What Is SeedSigner?

SeedSigner is an open-source Bitcoin signing project built around inexpensive, commonly available computer components.

A typical SeedSigner setup uses a Raspberry Pi Zero-family computer, a camera, a display, and input controls.

Its design emphasizes offline operation and QR-code communication with compatible wallet software.

Unlike a conventional hardware wallet designed to retain secrets in persistent storage, SeedSigner commonly operates as a stateless signer: wallet secrets can be loaded for a session and are not intended to remain permanently stored on the device.

This introduces several educational opportunities.

Students can examine the hardware, study the software, learn how QR codes communicate wallet information, and investigate how a recovery phrase relates to Bitcoin transaction signing.

SeedSigner also supports generating recovery phrases from physical dice results.

For a classroom, this creates a direct connection between probability, computer science, cryptography, and open-source engineering.

Open-source does not automatically mean secure. Users still need to verify software downloads, understand the device’s limitations, and protect the environment in which real wallet secrets are handled.

Want to put these concepts into practice? Read our Beginner’s Guide to Building a SeedSigner to learn how an open-source, air-gapped Bitcoin signing device works.

Official project: https://github.com/SeedSigner/seedsigner

6. How Does Coldcard Use Dice?

Coldcard is another example of a Bitcoin signing device that supports physical randomness.

Its documented seed-generation methods include combining hardware-generated randomness with user-provided input, including dice rolls.

It also provides a separate advanced dice-only workflow.

These methods should not be confused.

When independent sources of entropy are combined correctly, a strong source may help protect the final secret even if another source is weaker than expected.

In a dice-only workflow, the result depends on the dice sequence and the conversion algorithm. The input must be sufficient, unpredictable, and private.

That makes dice-based generation an interesting form of independent verification—but also places greater responsibility on the user.

Before creating a wallet with real funds, always consult the manufacturer’s current documentation for the exact device model and firmware version.

Official documentation: https://coldcard.com/docs/master-seed/

7. What Could Go Wrong?

Dice are simple, but secure wallet generation involves more than rolling them.

Predictable or biased rolls

A damaged or unfair die may not produce uniformly distributed outcomes.

Human behavior can also reduce randomness if someone selectively rerolls results or invents a sequence that merely looks random.

Incorrect conversion software

An implementation may mishandle input, introduce bias, or use an incorrect transformation.

This is one reason independent test vectors and reproducible software are valuable.

Exposed dice sequences

A complete dice sequence used in a deterministic dice-only wallet-generation process may be as sensitive as the resulting recovery phrase.

Don’t photograph it, upload it, enter it into an online calculator, or share it in a classroom.

Compromised computers

Even excellent entropy can be undermined if the generated recovery phrase appears on a device controlled by an attacker.

A normal internet-connected computer should not be used to process recovery phrases intended to protect real funds.

Lost backups

A perfectly random wallet secret is useless if the owner cannot recover it.

Secure backups, correct recovery procedures, and carefully tested storage arrangements remain essential.

Confusing a passphrase with a PIN

A device PIN restricts access to that device.

An optional BIP-39 passphrase changes the derived wallet.

Neither repairs an already compromised recovery phrase, and losing a passphrase can make funds permanently inaccessible.

8. NodeAxe Classroom Lab: Understanding Randomness With Dice

Difficulty: Beginner

Recommended audience: High school STEM students, educators, Bitcoin beginners, and makers.

Materials: One six-sided die, paper, pencil, and a calculator.

Goal: Understand how repeated random events create exponentially larger sets of possible outcomes.

Exercise A: Roll Five Times

Roll the die five times and write down the sequence.

For example:

4 – 1 – 6 – 2 – 5

This is just an illustration, not a secret wallet seed.

Ask students to calculate the total number of possible five-roll sequences:

6 × 6 × 6 × 6 × 6 = 7,776

Discuss why a single sequence is difficult to predict before the rolls but easy to reproduce after someone has recorded it.

Exercise B: Compare Ten and Fifty Rolls

Calculate:

6¹⁰ = 60,466,176

Then compare:

6⁵⁰ ≈ 8.08 × 10³⁸

Discuss how quickly the number of possibilities increases.

Exercise C: Investigate Fairness

Roll the die 60 times.

Record how frequently each face appears.

If the die is fair, each face has an expected count of ten, but the actual counts will usually differ.

Discuss why a small sample cannot prove a die is fair and why randomness does not mean every result must occur equally often in every experiment.

Exercise D: Explore Seed Generation Safely

Use published SeedSigner test vectors to examine how known dice inputs correspond to known recovery phrases.

These are publicly documented examples, not private secrets.

Students can compare the results of independent implementations without generating or handling a real funded wallet.

Classroom rule: Never use a real recovery phrase or private key during demonstrations. Never deposit funds into a publicly shared test wallet.

9. What Does This Teach Us About Bitcoin Security?

Bitcoin security is built on layers.

Cryptographic mathematics makes guessing properly generated secrets computationally infeasible.

Wallet software turns those secrets into usable keys and addresses.

Hardware devices help isolate sensitive operations.

Backups make recovery possible.

And users must understand how to protect all of these components.

A failure in any layer can create risk.

The important lesson isn’t that everyone should abandon commercial hardware wallets and generate their own seeds with dice.

It’s that understanding the underlying mathematics allows people to make better security decisions, ask more informed questions, and independently evaluate the tools they trust.

10. The NodeAxe Learning Path

This article is part of the growing NodeAxe Knowledge Library.

Start with the fundamentals: What Is a Bitcoin UTXO? Understanding How Bitcoin Really Moves.

Learn how Bitcoin tracks spendable outputs and how transactions create new ones.

Explore wallet security: When Cold Wallets Fail: Ledger, Coldcard, Supply-Chain Attacks & Bitcoin Entropy.

Understand why offline keys alone don’t eliminate every security risk.

Continue into hands-on engineering: Our planned Build a SeedSigner guide will examine hardware components, software verification, offline operation, and safe classroom demonstrations.

These lessons connect Bitcoin to mathematics, cybersecurity, electronics, programming, and real-world engineering.

Final Thoughts

Can you create a Bitcoin wallet with dice?

Yes—but doing it securely requires more than rolling a die.

You need sufficient unpredictable randomness, a trustworthy conversion method, a secure environment, and a reliable recovery strategy.

The mathematics is approachable enough to teach in a classroom. The security engineering behind a real wallet deserves careful attention.

At NodeAxe, our goal is to make both accessible: understanding how Bitcoin works, and learning to verify the systems that protect it.

NodeAxe Education — Learn. Build. Mine. Verify.

Educational content only. This article is not a recommendation to generate or manage real wallet secrets using experimental procedures.