Wallet Keys
There are a couple different types of key when it comes to wallets. We already discussed one of them when talking about wallet addresses.
Public Key
The public key is related to your Bitcoin wallet address. Basically, your address is a hashed version of your public key. Public keys are 256 bits long while your address is 160 bits.
A public key is used to ensure that you are the owner of an address that can receive funds.
To review, the public key gives you the ability to view your wallet and receive funds.
Private Key
Your private key is a different animal all together. This key is essentially the password to be able to spend your bitcoin. If you lose it you will no longer be able to access your bitcoin wallet in a fashion that allows you to use your funds.
Therefore this key is very important and called private for a reason. You should not share this key with anyone else otherwise they will be able to access your bitcoin funds.
It is smart to hold a backup of this key somewhere. I printed mine out and stored them somewhere safe. If for some reason your private key gets compromised you can send your bitcoin to another wallet and it will be secure again as your new wallet will have its own private key.
The private key is mathematically related to all the addresses created for a wallet. However, you don’t have to worry about someone reverse engineering it to figure out your private key. It would take a machine several lifetimes to remotely have a chance of deciphering it.
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