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can i have a single private key for multiple public address wth different passphrase is it possible
can i have a single private key for multiple public address with different passphrase is it possible
or there is limit to how many public address i can create with single private key
or there is limit to how many public address i can create with single private key
Comments
Private keys are 256bit random numbers. Private keys are never made public. They remain secret.
Public keys are derived from private keys and are mathematically related to them. You can't derive a private key from a public key. Each private key has just one public key. They are called a key pair. The public key is revealed to the world and the world uses it to verify transaction signatures generated by your secret private key without you having to expose said private key to the world. Bitcoin public keys are also 256bits.
Hash functions - Hash functions take arbitrary sized data and output numbers of a fixed size. They are one way functions. You can't take the output of a hash function and determine the input. Hash functions are used to create "fingerprints" of data. If even a single bit in the data changes the output of the hash function will change.
Bitcoin addresses are public keys run through hash functions. The hash functions used result in 160bit addresses.
Because 256bits is greater than 160bits all addresses can be unlocked by more than one public/private key pair. That's where the 296 comes from. But this refers to key pairs behind bitcoin addresses not private keys behind public keys. An address is not the same as a public key. It is the public key run through hash functions.
There is such a thing as a deterministic wallet and that uses a single random number to generate a whole tree of addresses. We don't call that random number a private key though. We call it a seed. Each address there has its own private key and they are indistinguishable from randomly generated keys to anyone who doesn't have the seed.