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Private Key vs. Seed Phrase: Understanding the Differencesseedkeys.xyz/private-key-vs-seed-phrase/
261 sats \ 2 comments \ @Hypno 25 Jan bitcoin_beginners

I just published a new guide on the differences between Bitcoin private keys and seed phrases.

Self-custody is crucial, and confusion between these two is common. The article breaks down their specific roles, how they relate, and why the seed phrase acts as your single point of failure.

Writing this helped me dig deeper into the concepts, and I'm working on adding more educational content to the site to help people secure their wealth, so I'd appreciate any feedback!

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131 sats \ 1 reply \ @optimism 25 Jan

There are some nuances with BIP-32 key derivation (especially of the xpub non-hardened derivation kind) that could invalidate something you wrote:

A private key controls a single public address. It authorizes the spending of funds from that specific location only. Losing one private key means losing access to the funds at that one address.

Note that if you shared your xpub with someone and the same person learns a single leaf private key, they can derive all the non-hardened keys in the set, while hardened keys prevent address derivation without knowledge of the private key.

So you should always be aware that by using xpubs, you weaken your security through the key derivation algorithm itself. Doesn't have to be a huge problem as long as you're really careful with your xpub, though.

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111 sats \ 0 replies \ @Hypno OP 26 Jan

Thanks for taking the time to read and comment, I appreciate it.

I had to do a bit of studying to fully grasp the nuance you pointed out.

I edited the sentence to make sure it's technically correct:

Losing one private key means losing access to the funds at that one address, assuming hardened derivation is used.

I tried to keep it brief without getting too deep into the technicals, as this article targets general users.

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