Post
Topic
Board Bitcoin Discussion
Merits 1 from 1 user
Re: Vanity Bitcoin Address Generator: Personalized Bitcoin Addresses for Branding
by
o_e_l_e_o
on 05/07/2023, 11:13:41 UTC
⭐ Merited by ETFbitcoin (1)
Isn't it easier to hack into such addresses containing unique brand names in a public address?
Not if it was generated properly, as ETFbitcoin has pointed out above.

A private key is just a random number between 1 and (almost) 2256. I pick a random number in that range, and it gives me a random looking address. You have a 1 in 2256 chance (i.e. completely impossible) to guess my private key.

Now, let's say I want a vanity address. I take the same private key I just generated above, and I add one to it. I check the address it generates. It doesn't give me my desired vanity address. So I add one again, and check the new address. Still not a match. So I do it again. And again. And again. Adding one each time and checking the new address. Vanity generator software will do this millions of times a second. Eventually we find an address which matches.*

What does an attacker know when they see a vanity address? They know that I started a random private key, and I added an unknown number of 1s until I reached a new private key. So an unknown plus another unknown to reach a third unknown. This obviously tells them nothing useful about my private key, and so provides no additional attack surface over any other private key.

*This is a simplified explanation which does not touch on symmetry and endomorphism, but the premise is the same.