Bitcoin Forum

I have always been a fan of altcoins for a very long time now and now I feel like learning more about Bitcoin and Ordinals is one that triggered this, so I want to ask a question about Bitcoin wallet and their Bips.

I am curious why my Bitcoin wallet has four types of Bitcoin, Bip44, Bip49, Bip86 and Bip84, I don't see people asking questions about them, what are they in existence for? There is oy one Bitcoin I believe but why different Bips and what's the differences and functionalities?

BIPs simply means Bitcoin improvement proposals, just like the name there are proposed improvements for bitcoin by the community. This makes it transparent to allow the community to reach a consensus on a certain change.

The BIPs you mentioned are derivation paths for wallets to generate addresses

Bip44 is use for the derivation of non segwit addresses or legacy addresses using a pay to public key hash (P2PKH) and they usually starts with 1

Bip49 is the derivation of compatibility segwit addresses using a pay to script hash (P2SH) and this are addresses that starts with 3

Bip 84 are for the derivation of bech32 addresses or native segwit adress they starts with bc1


So most wallets have this three to able to toggle between which addresses to use
Read here (https://learnmeabitcoin.com/technical/derivation-paths) to have more insight on them

What are Bitcoin improvement proposals (BIPs), and how do they work? (https://cointelegraph.com/explained/what-are-bitcoin-improvement-proposals-bips-and-how-do-they-work)

BIPs is Bitcoin Improvement Proposals which are developed to improve Bitcoin protocol, functionality from address, transaction sizes, security, privacy and anonymity.

Many BIPs are created by many owners. Github, Bitcoin BIPs (https://github.com/bitcoin/bips)

the way they layout the derivation path is a common methodology shared by many networks. so that people can use a single seed phrase over multiple networks to get the desired public addresses that respond to those networks. so that you dont need to have multiple seeds per network

its for the address formats and the methods of starting from a private key/seed to a end result set of addresses

the 'cointype' (SLIPS)
where by for instance the litecoin network it takes in the same seed and processes it with litecoins 'cointype' versionbit to produce litecoin public addresses. where as on the bitcoin network using bitcoins cointype it would produce bitcoin addresses
heres a list of them https://github.com/satoshilabs/slips/blob/master/slip-0044.md#registered-coin-types

the 'purpose' (BIPS)
starting from 44 which is where numbers 44+ are deterministic type derivations
49 84 86 is for things like determining which format/function of deterministic addresses are to be formulated EG
p2sh-nested-segwit(49) -bitcoin address prefix '3'
native-segwit(84)  - bitcoin address prefix 'bc1q'
taproot(86) -bitcoin address prefix 'bc1p'

BIP44: This BIP, titled "Multi-Account Hierarchy for Deterministic Wallets", defines a hierarchical structure for deterministic wallets.  Using BIP44, a wallet can generate multiple Bitcoin accounts from a single backup phrase (seed).  Each account can have an infinite number of Bitcoin addresses associated with it.

 BIP49: Known as "Derivation scheme for P2WPKH-nested-in-P2SH based accounts", this BIP was introduced to support P2WPKH-nested-in-P2SH based addresses (SegWit addresses).  SegWit addresses offer benefits such as lower transaction fees and increased scalability.  BIP49 allows wallets to generate these types of addresses.

 BIP84: Titled "Derivation scheme for P2WPKH based accounts", this BIP is similar to BIP49, but instead of using P2WPKH-nested-in-P2SH addresses, it directly uses P2WPKH (bech32) addresses, known as native SegWit addresses.  Again, the main goal is to take advantage of SegWit addresses.

EDIT

 BIP86: as suggested by Franky check here  https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0086.mediawiki

Zaguru12 has provided answers on 4 types of Bitcoin addresses.
I would like to continue that to get this type of Bitcoin address, the owner needs a wallet.
With more than one type of Bitcoin address available, each user can choose which includes setting fees. To make it easier to understand that each type of address is mutually compatible.

When you already understand address, then choose a good and safe wallet as a place to store Bitcoins. Bitcoin wallet available software, hardware. For software I recommend Electrum and Bitcoin Core.

For additional information, you can read the links listed.
1. https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Invoice_address
2. https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet

https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0086.mediawiki
its taproot

This escaped me.  I'll look into it, thanks.

I would add to above list BIP85 which derives "Deterministic Entropy From BIP32 Keychains" (https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0085.mediawiki).

Known to me  wallet is COLDCARD® MK4  (https://bip85.com/) (which is in line with BIP85 ) is capable to generate up to 10 000 child SEEDs backup-ed by single master SEED which in turn resulted from "Deterministic Entropy' .

Looks like that next flavor of Passport  (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5441422.msg62399704#msg62399704)by Foundationdevices will be also married up  to BIP85.

BIP is an acronym for Bitcoin Improvement Proposal, serving as a blueprint for Bitcoin's evolution. Just as we apply software updates, BIPs introduce novel features or enhancements.

Diverse BIPs like BIP44, BIP49, BIP84, and BIP86 offer specific functionalities. BIP44 establishes a multi-account hierarchy for deterministic wallets. BIP49 brings forth a new hierarchy utilizing the P2SH format—a superior method for Bitcoin transactions.

BIP84 is about native segwit addresses for enhanced efficiency, whereas BIP86 presents a script format for outputs. Every BIP improves Bitcoin's performance and efficiency - similar to components of a perfectly functioning gear