That's 2,96^79 combinations, a number 79 digits long!
The number you are looking for there is 2.96*10
79, rather than 2.96
79.
That number is not quite right, however. It is the same number as 2048
24 or 2
264. However, not all 24 word combinations are valid seed phrases due to the checksum. With the checksum being 8 bits long, it means only one out of every 256 seed phrases on average is valid. This means the total number of valid 24 word seed phrases is 2
256, which is 1.16*10
77.
Ah yes, rookie mistake, of course it's 2.96 x 10^79. Thanks for the correction!
Your explanation for why it's actually 2^256 is quite clear - however to brute force we would still need to go for the full 2^264 route since we cannot know if a phrase would result in a valid checksum, correct? Or are there any ways to determine in advance which combinations to avoid checking at all?