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Understanding Derivation Paths and BIP in Bitcoin
While studying Bitcoin, I came across a problem that I wanted to ask: How can I determine which derivation path a particular address 1xxxxxxxxxxxxx was created with?
To answer this question, let’s dive into the world of Bitcoin’s private key management system, specifically derivation paths.
What are derivation paths?
In Bitcoin, each user has multiple wallets that use different derivation paths to manage their private keys. A derivation path is a string of characters that represents how a private key should be derived from a source. A seed is a random number used to create the first derivation of a private key.
What does an address 1xxxxxxxxxxxxx represent?
An address 1xxxxxxxxxxxxx, such as 1xxxxxxxxxxxxx, represents a wallet on the Bitcoin network that uses a specific derivation path. The “1” indicates that it is a private key, and xxxxxxxxx represents the derivation path.
How to determine the derivation path of an address 1xxxxxxxxxxxxx?
To determine which derivation path a particular address 1xxxxxxxxxxxxx was created with, you need to understand the Bitcoin protocol. Here’s how:
- Find the hash: First, find the hash of the source used to create the private key. You can use tools like
bc(Bitcoin Command Line Tool) or thegethashcommand line tool to generate and verify hashes.
- Extract the derivation path: Use Bitcoin’s
deriveaddresscommand line tool with the-poption followed by the seed hash obtained in step 1. This will display the derivation path of the private key that corresponds to the address 1xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Here’s an example:
gethash | bitcoin derivative --privatekey -p 2
Assuming seed_hash is the hash of the source used to generate the private key. The output will be a string representing the derivation path, such as m/0'/0'/1'/0.
- Verify the derivation path
: Verify that the resulting derivation path matches the one you expected.
Inference and BIPs
Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs) provide further guidance on private key management, including derivation paths. BIP-0016 defines a specific derivation path m/0'/0'/1' for generating a public key from a private key.
By understanding how to calculate the derivation path of address 1xxxxxxxxxxxxx using Bitcoin tools and protocols, you can verify that your wallet or transaction is indeed using the correct derivation path.
I hope this explanation helps! If you have any further questions or need further clarification, please let us know.