Bitcoin address vs bitcoin public key

xenon131

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Quote from: Charles-Tim on February 18, 2021, 07:31:11 AM

Quote from: 10_sjdovn_10 on February 18, 2021, 06:02:25 AM

Hello i want to know what exactly differs from bitcoin address (starts with 1 ) and the other named public key, i thought both were same, but i noticed bitcoin address is a little shorter.

They are not the same thing, not only because bitcoin addresses are shorter, they also start with different characters.

Legacy address starts with 1. Example below.
1Kpii5bg4GEb4sMCEQvT9T3UYUcYibfq9L

Public keys generally starts with 02 or 03. Example below
02bfdb40f05ba4b6b781d8ed0aad09070087f9667d8fde5ba3ad3275defe630a7c
030b91d17242b1e542b218e5d32296ea6f663fc181ab3cebc0c2849869e4eba97c

Just in summary
Bitcoin address is generated from public key
You need digital signature and public key to spend bitcoin while using address which is the best way for privacy
You can send bitcoin to a public key (not recommended)
If bitcoin sent to public key, you only need digital signature to spend it
Bitcoin address can be tracked on blockchain
Public key can also be used to track bitcoin transactions
Using address is better because the public key is not exposed.

There is a nice^{graphical tool} that shows illuminatingly all the details of bitcoin address generation including the transformation of the private key into public key using ECC. Sure one has to use it exclusively for education purpose avoiding application of generated addresses to real life cases.

odolvlobo

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Quote from: odolvlobo on July 10, 2019, 12:28:11 PM

Address: Bitcoins are sent to an address. An address is derived from its public key. It is not a public key or a wallet.
Private Key: Used to control the bitcoins at an address. A private key is not a password or a seed.
Public Key: A public key is used in a transaction and is rarely used directly by a person. A public key is derived from its private key. It is not an address.
Wallet: A wallet contains and manages private keys and their associated addresses. A wallet is not an address. A wallet typically uses a seed to generate all of its private keys.
Seed/Recovery Phrase: Used by a wallet to generate private keys and their associated addresses. A seed is not a passphrase or a private key. A seed is also known as a recovery phrase because all of a wallet's private keys and associated addresses are derived from its seed.
Passphrase/password: A passphrase is used to encrypt a wallet, private key, or seed. A passphrase is not a private key or a seed. However, sometimes a seed will contain an extra word that is actually a passphrase.

Here are sets of terms that are frequently confused with each other:

Public key <==> Address
Address <==> Wallet
Private key <==> Seed <==> Passphrase

Terms that should be avoided because they are ambiguous or probably being used incorrectly:

Wallet address: A wallet typically does not have a single address associated with it.
Public address: Use of this term typically indicates a confusion between the terms "address" and "public key". All addresses are public.
Public Key: Typically this term is mistakenly used in place of "address".

o_e_l_e_o

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Quote from: Charles-Tim on February 18, 2021, 07:31:11 AM

You need digital signature and public key to spend bitcoin while using address which is the best way for privacy

Revealing a public key is theoretically bad for your security, as it would allow an attacker to theoretically attempt to reverse it to find your private key (which is currently impossible and will be at least for decades yet), but I don't think revealing your public key is any worse for your privacy than revealing your address.

Quote from: Charles-Tim on February 18, 2021, 07:31:11 AM

It is because they are both derived from the same private key. Addresses are generated from public keys through Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm.

Public keys are generated from private keys using elliptic curve multiplication. Addresses are generated from public keys through simple hashing and appending checksums. Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm is what is used to produce signatures when signing transactions.

mu_enrico

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Bitcoin public key -> process -> Bitcoin address format.
There are two formats: Base58 (start with 1 or 3) and Bech32 (start with bc1).

With one pubkey, you can generate all formats: legacy (start with 1), compatibility (start with 3), and default (start with bc1). AFAIK, modern wallets generate all three of them and let you pick the one you need.

Charles-Tim

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Quote from: 10_sjdovn_10 on February 18, 2021, 06:02:25 AM

Hello i want to know what exactly differs from bitcoin address (starts with 1 ) and the other named public key, i thought both were same, but i noticed bitcoin address is a little shorter.

They are not the same thing, not only because bitcoin addresses are shorter, they also start with different characters.

Legacy address starts with 1. Example below.
1Kpii5bg4GEb4sMCEQvT9T3UYUcYibfq9L

Public keys generally starts with 02 or 03. Example below
02bfdb40f05ba4b6b781d8ed0aad09070087f9667d8fde5ba3ad3275defe630a7c
030b91d17242b1e542b218e5d32296ea6f663fc181ab3cebc0c2849869e4eba97c

Just in summary
Bitcoin address is generated from public key
You need digital signature and public key to spend bitcoin while using address which is the best way for privacy
You can send bitcoin to a public key (not recommended)
If bitcoin sent to public key, you only need digital signature to spend it
Bitcoin address can be tracked on blockchain
Public key can also be used to track bitcoin transactions
Using address is better because the public key is not exposed.

Quote from: 10_sjdovn_10 on February 18, 2021, 06:02:25 AM

If they aren't same so why private key QR scanning generate its corresponding public key ( the one starts with 1 ) ?

It is because they are both derived from the same private key. Addresses are generated from public keys through ~~Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm~~ simple hashing and appending checksums.

ranochigo

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Bitcoin Address is a hash of the ECDSA public key. It introduces error detection as well as a shorter key size for normal use. Those are known as P2PKH or P2WPKH (Pay to public key hash/Pay to witness public key hash).

At the earlier stages of Bitcoin, the ECDSA public key was actually used for transactions and not the address that you see today. Public keys are still revealed upon spending anything from that address.

10_sjdovn_10

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Hello i want to know what exactly differs from bitcoin address (starts with 1 ) and the other named public key, i thought both were same, but i noticed bitcoin address is a little shorter.

If they aren't same so why private key QR scanning generate its corresponding public key ( the one starts with 1 ) ?

Topic: Bitcoin address vs bitcoin public key (Read 169 times)