@ -74,16 +74,16 @@ Below is a randomly generated private key shown in hexadecimal format (256 binar
The size of bitcoin's private key space, 2^256^ is an unfathomably large number. It is approximately 10^77^ in decimal. The visible universe is estimated to contain 10^80^ atoms.
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To generate a new key with the Bitcoin Core Client (see <<ch03_bitcoin_client>>), use the +getnewaddress+ command. For security reasons it displays the public key only, not the private key. To ask bitcoind to expose the private key, use the +dumpprivkey+ command. The +dumpprivkey+ shows the private key in a base-58 checksum encoded format called the Wallet Import Format (WIF), which we will examine in more detail in <<priv_formats>>. Here's an example of generating and displaying a private key using these two commands:
To generate a new key with the Bitcoin Core Client (see <<ch03_bitcoin_client>>), use the +getnewaddress+ command. For security reasons it displays the public key only, not the private key. To ask bitcoin-cli to expose the private key, use the +dumpprivkey+ command. The +dumpprivkey+ shows the private key in a base-58 checksum encoded format called the Wallet Import Format (WIF), which we will examine in more detail in <<priv_formats>>. Here's an example of generating and displaying a private key using these two commands:
The +dumpprivkey+ command opens the wallet and extracts the private key that was generated by the +getnewaddress+ command. It is not otherwise possible for bitcoind to know the private key from the public key, unless they are both stored in the wallet.
The +dumpprivkey+ command opens the wallet and extracts the private key that was generated by the +getnewaddress+ command. It is not otherwise possible for bitcoin-cli to know the private key from the public key, unless they are both stored in the wallet.
You can also use the command-line +sx tools+ (see <<sx_tools>>) to generate and display private keys:
Minh T. Nguyen
10 years ago