I have been speculating in Bitcoin for so long, do you know how Bitcoin wallet addresses are generated?
When I first came into contact with Bitcoin, I was very curious about the process of generating its wallet address. After some study, I learned that a Bitcoin wallet address is a string of numbers and letters, similar to a bank account number, used to receive Bitcoin transactions. Each Bitcoin wallet address is unique and corresponds to a private key (private key). The private key is a string of randomly generated large numbers, which has a close mathematical relationship with the wallet address.
The process of generating a Bitcoin wallet address is based on the elliptic curve cryptography algorithm. This algorithm can generate a pair of keys, including a public key (public key) and a private key. The public key is used to encrypt and verify transactions, while the private key is used to decrypt and sign transactions.
First, choose a reliable Bitcoin wallet application or online service. When creating a wallet, the application will randomly generate a private key. The private key is a 256-bit random number with a very large range, which can ensure that each private key is unique. Through the elliptic curve algorithm, the wallet application will convert the private key into the corresponding public key. The public key is obtained by a series of complex calculations of the private key, and it is also a 256-bit string.
The public key will be processed by the hash function to obtain a 160-bit hash value. This hash value is the core part of the Bitcoin wallet address. In order to ensure the uniqueness of the wallet address and prevent tampering, a version number will be added to the front of the hash value, and the checksum will be calculated. In this way, the final wallet address is a long string starting with 1 or 3, which is unique and irreversible.
In this process, the private key is crucial. No one should disclose the private key, otherwise they will lose control of the Bitcoin. Only by holding the correct private key can transfers and transactions be made on the Bitcoin network.
