Post
Topic
Board Bitcoin Discussion
Merits 1 from 1 user
Re: Why doesn't a Brain Wallet have a Password?
by
odolvlobo
on 23/04/2020, 17:13:45 UTC
⭐ Merited by OgNasty (1)
I'm just wondering why I can't add a "password" to my brain wallet?  If I create a normal paper wallet it lets me tick a BIP38 box to add a password.  Is there any particular reason a Brain Wallet doesn't have this tic box on it?  Or was it just left off because whoever wrote the software didn't want to bother adding it?

I guess I'm trying to understand the fundamental differences between a regular paper wallet with a BIP38 Password.  And a Brain Wallet?

I get that with a regular paper wallet you have to keep a copy somewhere (Since you're not memorizing the private key) and you can't forget the password if you use BIP38.
And I get that with a Brain Wallet you're not keeping a copy of anything anywhere.  You're remembering a SEED that you use to create the Private Key with.

So is it just because everybody figured since a brain wallet wasn't being written down anywhere that there was no need for a password?

Just wondering.  I'm trying to fully understand the world of paper wallets etc.

Thank you so much for your time and effort in replying.  It is appreciated.

With a paper wallet, you write down the private key, encrypting it first with a password prevents someone who sees it from knowing the actual private key (unless you write down the password too).

With a brain wallet, the key is memorized. There is no need to encrypt it, because nobody has access to it. Anyway, encrypting it would make it impossible to memorize.