Bitcoin wallet generates Bitcoin address

The Bitcoin wallet creates a Bitcoin address by generating a key pair, calculating the hash value, adding a prefix, calculating a checksum, appending a check digit, and then using Base58 encoding. This address is unique, irreversible and can only be accessed via a private key and is used to send and receive Bitcoins.

How a Bitcoin wallet generates a Bitcoin address

A Bitcoin wallet is essentially a place to store and manage Bitcoin addresses digital space. A Bitcoin address is a unique identifier used to send and receive Bitcoins, similar to a bank account number.

Steps to generate a Bitcoin address:

1. Create a wallet: First, you need to create a Bitcoin wallet. This can be done by using a desktop wallet, mobile wallet, or hardware wallet.
2. Select address type: Bitcoin wallet supports multiple address types, including P2PKH (Pay-to-Public-Key-Hash) and P2SH (Pay-to-Script-Hash). Select the desired address type, P2PKH is usually recommended.
3. Generate key pair: The wallet will generate a pair of keys, a private key and a public key. The private key is used to sign transactions, while the public key is used to create a Bitcoin address.
4. Calculate the hash value: Calculate the hash value using the public key, called the RIPEMD160 hash.
5. Add prefix: Add the network prefix before the RIPEMD160 hash value (e.g. "1" for Bitcoin mainnet).
6. Compute checksum: Compute a double SHA-256 hash of the result of the previous step.
7. Extract check digit: Extract the last 4 bytes from the double SHA-256 hash as the check digit.
8. Append check digit: Append the check digit to the result of the previous step.
9. Encoding: Encode the result using the Base58 encoding scheme to generate a Bitcoin address.

The generated Bitcoin address is unique, irreversible, and can only be accessed through the private key. It can be safely shared with others for receiving Bitcoins.

The above is the detailed content of Bitcoin wallet generates Bitcoin address. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!