bitcoin I.D

[richio82]

How does bitcoin know my wallet from another?I just downloaded bitcoin core.i put no info

[NorrisK]

The bitcoin wallet will put a file on your system "wallet.dat" which holds the information about your wallet (your private key).

Bitcoin core uses this file to calculate your public key and show you your balance. If you were to remove this file from it's folder, the core wallet would generate a new file and show you a new address.

It is important to keep the file safe. Put a password on it in the core wallet to encrypt the file and prevent someone who steals it from gaining access to your coins.

[ed_teech]

The only piece of information that identifies you is your private/public key pair. Your public key is actually your account number and identifier to the public and your private key is the key to withdraw money from that.

[LordCoder]

If your previous wallet used the same path and file name (wallet.dat), Bitcoin Core will just open that file by default and extract the privkey from there.