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Public & Private Key

PKC's main goal is to enable safe, private communication utilizing digital signatures in a public channel where hostile eavesdroppers may be present. In the case of cryptocurrencies, the purpose is to verify that a spent transaction was signed by the rightful owner of the funds and was not forged, all while taking place on a peer-to-peer public blockchain network.

What are Public & Private Keys?

What you truly own when it comes to cryptocurrency is a "private key." Your "private key" grants its owner the ability to spend the bitcoins linked with it. It should, as the name implies, stay private because it gives you access to your cryptocurrency.

A public key exists in addition to a private key, and the public key and the private key are linked cryptographically. If you have the private key, you can recover the public key. However, finding the private key with only the public key is impossible.

How do Public & Private Keys work?

The key is a series of random symbols that can be seen by anybody (public key) or are only known by the owner (private key) (private key). The public key is used to encrypt information, but only the private key can be used to decrypt it. It is possible to find out a public key if you know a private key but finding out a private key with a public key is nearly hard.

Cryptocurrency wallets are great examples of how to use public and private keys. A public key is a user's address in the context of wallets, and it allows other network players to send tokens to this wallet.

However, if a user wishes to give crypto to another, they'll need to confirm the transaction with their private keys. You'll need a password, just like when you log into your email. Other email network participants can send messages to the email address because it is a fixed point. To have full access to the email account, the password is required.

What is the difference between a Public & Private Key?

The private key is kept private and only the wallet's owner has access to it. When a private key is lost, it is difficult to recover it, and the encrypted file becomes unusable. These keys are typically difficult to memorize since they contain complex numberings. Nonetheless, the owner of a private key is solely responsible for its security. As a result, an offline storage device is the best way to keep your private keys safe. The public key, on the other hand, is accessible to all users and should be found through a search. The public key is unlikely to be lost.


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