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Topic: How many addresses do you think the average bitcoin user has? - page 6. (Read 7051 times)

sr. member
Activity: 462
Merit: 250
I actively use about two or three addresses at any given time, one of which was the first address I ever used. These addresses comprise my "hot" wallet. In total, I have probably used about 10 addresses including change addresses. About half of all the addresses I used were generated via Electrum's deterministic seed feature. The rest are/were addresses generated using Vanitygen which comprise(d) my "cold" wallet.

It is a good habit to never use a receiving address more than once.

Depends, if all you do is keep bitcoins in them no.  As soon as you use them (i.e. spend the coins etc..) you should not use that key again, the process of spending actually removes one of the two layers of the security (RIPEMD).

These statements seem to contradict each other. So security-wise, there is nothing wrong with depositing multiple times into a cold paper wallet address right? Just as long as the bitcoins in that cold wallet are never spent?

But wouldn't such a cold address also fit the definition of a receiving address as well? Huh
legendary
Activity: 896
Merit: 1000
I have fewer than ten bitcoin addresses. Anyone think that leaves me exposed to unnecessary risk?

Depends, if all you do is keep bitcoins in them no.  As soon as you use them (i.e. spend the coins etc..) you should not use that key again, the process of spending actually removes one of the two layers of the security (RIPEMD).  

On top of that you have the whole anonymity problem and re-using addresses makes it a lot easier to track YOU down and use a crowbar attack on your funds.  (The crowbar attack is where someone hits you with a crowbar until you give up your keys)

Neil
donator
Activity: 1617
Merit: 1012
Define "average bitcoin user"?

I would guess the longer the user has been around and the more active they are then the more addresses they'd have.

It is a good habit to never use a receiving address more than once. For example, I mine and I change my withdrawal address at the pool after each withdrawal, which is a few times a week.

legendary
Activity: 2884
Merit: 1115
Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform
I believe Satoshi stated that we should use a new address for each transaction for added security.

Yes that is to ensure anonymity a one use address can't really be followed while a set of transactions to one address can

That said an average user has perhaps 10-15 active if you include single use addresses that number might be anywhere from 40 to a few hundred depending on how active they are in transferring and moving their bitcoins.
hero member
Activity: 924
Merit: 1000
I believe Satoshi stated that we should use a new address for each transaction for added security.
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 250
Loose lips sink sigs!
I have fewer than ten bitcoin addresses. Anyone think that leaves me exposed to unnecessary risk?
legendary
Activity: 1694
Merit: 1024
I use about 5 addresses at a time. In total I've probably uaes about 25 addresses or so.
legendary
Activity: 896
Merit: 1000
as the title states, whats the average number of wallet addresses per bitcoin user? With the ability to trace transactions and link people together based on publically posted keys, I know many people (including myself) have generated unique addresses for nearly all transactions just to be safe. My guess is somewhere around 40-50 addresses at this point in time.. what are your guy's thoughts?

God only knows!  Thousands

I have a few cold storage keys, one for MinePeon donations, but the rest of them..... The idea is not to hold onto keys like that.  It actually decreases the security of you money and.... why?  It is not like it costs to make them.

It is kind of like keeping your old toilet paper Tongue .

Neil
legendary
Activity: 2422
Merit: 1451
Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform
Through all the wallets I've used, I've surely created more than 200 addresses. Many of them I didn't even use. But I'd never like people to associate at how much I get paid and from by simply looking at a public address through the blockchain. And there would not be a problem if eveyone would do the same. Practically, there can be 2^160 adresses. Wonder how big this number is? Let's say there are 6b humans in this earth. If we divide the max possible number of addresses to this number, each human could have 243583610000000000000000000000000000000. Also recreating the same address would be nearly impossible.
hero member
Activity: 686
Merit: 500
everyday i use a new one
legendary
Activity: 1428
Merit: 1001
Okey Dokey Lokey
I only USE about three, and dump&use a new one each new transaction, So I have about 70 addresses
hero member
Activity: 528
Merit: 527
I actually only use 5 for now. Two large ones for receive only, 3 for small stuff.

legendary
Activity: 1173
Merit: 1000
Anyone involved in btc, would and should have many addresses. There's so many to go around, why not make use of them.
Its the whole purpose.
20 addresses Smiley
legendary
Activity: 1036
Merit: 1000
Well,i have now over 80 addresses most of them are change addresses which mixed my BTC in electrum wallet.
sr. member
Activity: 280
Merit: 250
Man... this is a tough one! lol  only counting those that's ever had a balance... prolly about 200
legendary
Activity: 1512
Merit: 1012
17 adress ... increase every 7 days.  Wink
legendary
Activity: 1974
Merit: 1029
I have 24 UTXOs right now. Past address usage must be around ~200 I guess.
legendary
Activity: 1400
Merit: 1013
I know many people (including myself) have generated unique addresses for nearly all transactions just to be safe.
It's a travesty that creating unique addresses for each incoming transaction is considered special, instead of just assumed to be the right way to do things.

A handful of wallet developers have done an incalculable amount of harm to Bitcoin by pushing the address reuse paradigm, the ones at blockchain.info being at the very top of the list.
legendary
Activity: 3472
Merit: 4794
Since Bitcoin Core (previously Bitcoin-Qt) pre-generates 100 addresses for each wallet, and since I've had a few Bitcoin-Qt (and Bitcoin Core) wallets since I started using bitcoin, I'm certain that I've generated several hundred addresses.

Of course, many of those addresses have never held a single satoshi (and probably never will).

If we are counting "generated" addresses (instead of addresses that have actually held value at some time), then we also need to consider the millions of addresses that are generated every day while people try to create vanity addresses.

Assuming that you are just talking about addresses that have actually held some value at some point in the past, the number is much smaller.  Every transaction I send uses a brand new address for the change, and I use a brand new address every time I receive bitcoins from anyone. I'd have a hard time guessing just how many I've used, but I feel like it's got to be more than 300 (just considering the escrows I've handled, if nothing else).
legendary
Activity: 4270
Merit: 4534
i use only 6 private keys (my own wallet) but if you want to include public keys i used to receive funds (throw away addresses before sweeping to cold store) or deposit addresses on exchanges i have access to, well.. alot

i estimate more then 300 addresses have passed through my copy&paste usage or qr code maker to then pass out to people to pay me
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