Is your password at blockchain.info the same thing as your private key?

[cilphex]

I'm basically trying to learn how this works.

I know that to sort of "access" your bitcoin address (i.e. send money from it) you have to have a private key for it.  And you somehow use this private key when sending money.

Online wallets make this easier by hiding this functionality under buttons.

At blockchain.info, you use a password to sign in.  Is this password the same thing as the private key that is used to send money from your address?  Or is the private key itself encrypted, and then your password is used to decrypt it?

If your password and private key are two separate things, how can I view the actual private key for my bitcoin address?

[1714878536]

1714878536

[1714878536]

1714878536

[1714878536]

1714878536

[1714878536]

1714878536

[Akka]

No, the password is just that. The password to access your account.

You sign each transaction with the private key from the address you send from. You can have as many addresses as you want in your account.

Learn more about public / private keys here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-key_cryptography

[cilphex]

Ok, thanks, but what I'm really wondering is, where is the private key stored?  It is part of the information that is decrypted when I sign in with my password, right?

[CurbsideProphet]

Ok, thanks, but what I'm really wondering is, where is the private key stored?  It is part of the information that is decrypted when I sign in with my password, right?

If you want to see the private key, click on import/export then click paper wallet. The long string under your bitcoin address is your unencrypted private key.

[DannyHamilton]

Is this password the same thing as the private key that is used to send money from your address?

No.  It is the password that is used to decrypt the encrypted private key that blockchain.info is storing for you in their database.

Or is the private key itself encrypted, and then your password is used to decrypt it?

Yes.

[DannyHamilton]

Ok, thanks, but what I'm really wondering is, where is the private key stored?

It is stored in encrypted form in blockchain.info's database.  They send the encrypted private key to your browser as needed, and it is then decrypted in your browser using the password you entered.

It is part of the information that is decrypted when I sign in with my password, right?

It is decrypted using the password that you use to sign in, yes.