xprv
Also: extended private key, zprv, yprv
wallets · intermediate
An extended private key: a private key plus its BIP-32 chain code. Holding it lets you derive and spend every key in the subtree.
An xprv is the spending counterpart to an [xpub](/glossary/xpub): the same chain-code-and-key bundle defined by [BIP-32](/glossary/bip32), but with the 33-byte private key (one leading zero + 32-byte secret) instead of the public key.
Treat an xprv exactly like a seed. Anyone who can read it can derive every private key beneath it in the tree and spend every UTXO controlled by that subtree. Wallets that export xprvs do so reluctantly and usually only for backup or migration; the seed phrase is the preferred human-friendly form.
Like xpubs, xprvs come in different version-byte flavors — xprv, yprv, zprv — that hint at the address type the importing wallet should render. The underlying key material is identical across prefixes. The prefix is metadata, not material.