Cryptographic Authority
Key Derivation Function (KDF)
A function deriving child keys from a master seed — the mechanism generating unlimited wallets from a single root whose security depends on sovereign entropy.
Definition
A cryptographic function that derives one or more secret keys from an initial key material — typically a master seed. In the context of cryptocurrency wallets, hierarchical deterministic (HD) key derivation (defined by BIP-32 and BIP-44) generates an unlimited tree of child keys from a single master seed, each path representing a different account, chain, or asset. The security of the entire tree depends on the entropy of the root seed — which is why sovereign entropy generation is non-negotiable.