When you import a recovery phrase or connect a Ledger, Phantom uses derivation paths to discover your accounts across supported networks. If your accounts aren't appearing after import, or if addresses don't match what you see in another wallet, the derivation path is usually the reason. This article covers how derivation works for recovery-phrase wallets and Ledger hardware wallets.

Recovery-phrase wallets #

When you import a recovery phrase in Phantom, the app derives a set of addresses across supported networks. These addresses are grouped by index so that accounts across networks correspond to each other.

For example, Solana at index 0 → Ethereum, Polygon, and Base at index 0 → Bitcoin at index 0.

Ethereum, Polygon, and Base use the same address format and EVM-compatible derivation logic.

Supported derivation path types #

Phantom supports three types of derivation path groupings:

bip44Change grouping #

Most common. Used when discovering accounts with activity or by default in newer wallets.

Derives: Solana → Ethereum, Polygon, Base → Bitcoin (SegWit, Taproot)

Derivation structure:

• Solana: m/44'/501'/${index}'/0'
• EVM (ETH, POL, BASE): m/44'/60'/0'/0/${index}
• Bitcoin SegWit: m/84'/0'/0'/0/${index}
• Bitcoin Taproot: m/86'/0'/0'/0/${index}

Example mapping:

bip44 grouping^[1] #

Used when explicitly chosen or when previous activity exists on alternate paths.

Derives: Solana → Ethereum, Polygon, Base

Derivation structure:

• Solana: m/44'/501'/${index}'
• EVM (ETH, POL, BASE): m/44'/60'/1'/0/${index}

Example mapping:

Deprecated derivation paths^[1] #

Legacy paths used in older Phantom or third-party wallets.

Derivation structure:

• Solana: m/501'/${index}'/0/0
• EVM (ETH, MATIC, BASE): m/44'/60'/2'/0/${index}

Example mapping:

Ledger wallets #

When you connect a Ledger hardware wallet to Phantom, the same indexing and grouping logic applies. Phantom scans for Solana first, then attempts to derive matching Ethereum, Polygon, and Base addresses at the same index.

Root-level Ledger path #

First discovered address pairing:

Ledger bip44Change #

Subsequent discovered addresses:

Ledger Live^[1] #

Phantom also supports common Ledger Live derivation logic. It discovers a Solana path and a single EVM (Ethereum, Base, Polygon) address per index.

^[1] Only enabled if previous activity is found. You will only see the addresses in these paths while restoring your wallet if you have previously used them and have activity or funds on them.