Bitcoin Forum

Hello all.  I currently own a Nano X.  I use the bluetooth feature to receive crypto on ledger live.  I understand all this device does is hold the private key that allows access to the blockchain to move coins around.

That being said, I've noticed that the Nano X generates a new address when receiving bitcoin but with other crypto, the address stays the same for each other crypto.

Anyone who is familiar with receiving crypto on the Nano X/Ledger live, knows that when you go through the steps to receive crypto, it asks you to approve that both addresses match on your device, and on ledger live. 

Thats great and all BUT,

My questions:

1) Since the receiving address, let's say for Ethereum, is always the same, what would happen if you send Ethereum from coinbase to that same address the next time, with the Nano X "powered off"? 

What I am getting at, is how can we be certain that ledger live is not simply displaying your crypto balance and acting as an exchange like coinbase does, and using their own private keys to manage your crypto, and not actually going through the steps to have your private key access the blockchain?

Has anyone ever actually tried receiving crypto with the device off?  In doing so, if the transaction displays in your ledger live balance still, that would tell me that it's doing just that, only displaying your balance and not needing your private key, which is scary, kind of like how coinbase does.

I appreciate if anyone can clear this up for me.  Thank you for the help.

You don't need the device to be powered on to receive funds, and you don't need the private key to receive funds on an already created public key, only to sign a transaction (to spend coins).

Have you not heard of paper wallets ? They're literally that, a private and public key on paper, that has never seen internet, yet you can send coins to it.

1) Ok, so are you saying that my public key was created by the nano x device and is attached in a way to my private key?

2) And how can I be certain that the public key wasnt generated by ledger live as opposed to the nano x?  If it was generated by ledger live, then doesn't that mean that it is sort of acting like an exchange like coinbase and ledger live has it's own private key, making it seem like I have full control, until somehow my funds disappear?  What I'm saying is how do we know the ledger live app didnt just flash it's own public key on your nano x screen and you sit there thinking that it was created by your nano x.  I dont think this is too far fetched to worry about.  I want to be sure my funds are safe.

I'm asking in regards to worse case scenario.

Your public key was derived from the private key.

If you don't like trusting Ledger's software to be displaying the right addresses, then use your Ledger device with the Bitcoin Core software. https://bitcoin.org/en/bitcoin-core/

Well I dont use only bitcoin.  The point is, I am asking if what I have explained is possible.

Your private key, created by the device, is used to derive your public keys, and your public keys are hashed to derive your public addresses.

When you use Ledger Live to add a new account, and ask it to create a new address, the new address "seeminglyQ provided by Ledger Live, is also displayed on the Ledger Nano’s screen, and you need to confirm it on the device itself. Really, it’s the Ledger device that provides it, not Ledger Live (i.e. the Ledger Device’s screen is not showing you what Ledger Life has seemingly created, but rather the other way around).

You could ultimately check Ledger Live’s code: https://github.com/LedgerHQ/ledger-live-desktop, or use the device with Electrum is you don't like Ledger Live (or need a finer control).

Is electrum another app like ledger live but a separate company?  And are you saying I can check my balances with that?  That would be great.  

So what do I do?  Download the electrum app.  Then what?  Does it work with bluetooth with the nano x?

Electrum is a wallet management software, and one of the most reputable ones. You can create and manage your own wallets on their own, or linked to a hardware device such as Ledger, rather much like Ledger Live does (but with additional options). You can check you balance, send or receive, but for a real beginner, Ledger Live is probably easier to manage to begin with. You can play around with both if you want (I do at times, but use Ledger Live primarily). Bear in mind that you don’t have to have the Ledger device connected if you just want to see your balance or receive crypto on existing addresses you’ve already configured on Ledger Live.

In addition, if you plan to try-out Electrum, make sure you download it from the original site, and verify the signature. That’s a bit more cumbersome though than using Ledger Live to begin with. You’ll have to see what suits you best, and if it covers your device/operating system.

I'd stick to Ledger Live for now, get used to it, and explore Electrum at some point (no rush), although the bluetooth I believe only works with Ledger Live.

I have ledger nano s and yes I receive Ethereum on my default address everytime directly instead of new ones generated by live. You have public address which is not variable address and hence you can send directly. It holds the for BTC as well, in your ledger device.

You might be interested in this thread[1] and other general/introduction threads about Bitcoin and how it works. If you're interested you can also spend a bit of time reading Mastering Bitcoin to understand a bit deeper on private keys and etc.

[1] https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1631151.0