Different private key formats?

[ideas500k.com]

What are some of the different Bitcoin address private key formats and how do they differ from one another?

What kind of format of PK this website is using and is it any good?

https://www.bitaddress.org/

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[pooya87]

in short a private key is simply a number and no matter how you encode it, in the end it is still that one number. it could be base-16, base-64, base-58, or even bech-32.

for each private key there is one public key that can be encoded in two ways: compressed and uncompressed.
in bitcoin we can create many different script types in a transaction output script with that public key. some of these have an address associated with them. to make it easy for wallets to quickly figure out which public key to use and which address to import a different byte (or bytes) is added to that number (the private key number) before encoding it with base-58 so that the result looks different but is still representing the same number. if it is starting with "5" it is for uncompressed public keys and if it starts with "K" or "L" it is for compressed public keys.

bitaddress.org supports 4 private key formats:
base-16 or hexadecimal which is the encoding of the number (without any addition) in base-16
base-64 same as base-16 but with a different character set
base-58 which is special encoding used in bitcoin with a checksum
minikeys which is a special short format of private keys used in some collectibles (physical bitcoins)

you should use compressed base-58 as it is supported by all wallets so it can be imported in all of them.

[Insanerman]

I do not know if any of my answer satisfies your question.

AFAIK, in every bitcoin address format there is an equivalent format of bitcoin private key. I only have a prior knowledge with regards to this but I think I am able to share it with you, so please bear with me.

These are the 3 types of bitcoin address format in the mainnet.

1. Segwit compatible (P2SH) - P2SH stands for (Pay 2 Script Hash) that starts with 3.
2. Legacy Address (P2PKH) - (Pay 2 Public Key Hash) begins with 1.
3. Segwit Native(Bech32) - that starts with bc1.

These 3 addresses differ from different private keys.

I don't have any any idea about the derivation from the type of private key to create a bitcoin address.

bitaddress.org supports 4 private key formats:
base-16 or hexadecimal which is the encoding of the number (without any addition) in base-16
base-64 same as base-16 but with a different character set
base-58 which is special encoding used in bitcoin with a checksum
minikeys which is a special short format of private keys used in some collectibles (physical bitcoins)

you should use compressed base-58 as it is supported by all wallets so it can be imported in all of them.

Is this the same with Private Key WIF (WIF), Private Key Hexadecimal Format (HEX), Private Key (B64), Mini?

[50 Cent]

Is this the same with Private Key WIF (WIF), Private Key Hexadecimal Format (HEX), Private Key (B64), Mini?

No, isn't. different format
HEX Number: 1-9, A-F
WIF begin with 5
WIF Compressed begin with k or L
Mini privkey example ; S6c56bnXQiBjk9mqSYE7ykVQ7NzrRy
But one address bitcoin you have WIF, WIFC, HEX, B64, B6, MINI, BIP38 key.

[Cimmy_revenger]

in short a private key is simply a number and no matter how you encode it, in the end it is still that one number. it could be base-16, base-64, base-58, or even bech-32.

for each private key there is one public key that can be encoded in two ways: compressed and uncompressed.
in bitcoin we can create many different script types in a transaction output script with that public key. some of these have an address associated with them. to make it easy for wallets to quickly figure out which public key to use and which address to import a different byte (or bytes) is added to that number (the private key number) before encoding it with base-58 so that the result looks different but is still representing the same number. if it is starting with "5" it is for uncompressed public keys and if it starts with "K" or "L" it is for compressed public keys.

bitaddress.org supports 4 private key formats:
base-16 or hexadecimal which is the encoding of the number (without any addition) in base-16
base-64 same as base-16 but with a different character set
base-58 which is special encoding used in bitcoin with a checksum
minikeys which is a special short format of private keys used in some collectibles (physical bitcoins)

you should use compressed base-58 as it is supported by all wallets so it can be imported in all of them.

is it possible for migrations that previously used wallets on the website and private keys to be used in different Bitcoin wallet applications ?
I had tried but always failed, maybe I was in the wrong stage or I couldn't.
can you explain about this ?

[bL4nkcode]

is it possible for migrations that previously used wallets on the website and private keys to be used in different Bitcoin wallet applications ?
I had tried but always failed, maybe I was in the wrong stage or I couldn't.
can you explain about this ?

Yes, as long as you're not concerned with your privacy for using the same wallet address for every transaction. You can import the private keys to another wallet, just to make sure that the private keys are correct when you import it.

Can you tell us if what wallet software do you want to import your private keys, and what's the starting characters of your private key (5, K, L, xpriv, etc)? Note don't paste here your private keys, it should be private..

[cutesgirl]

is it possible for migrations that previously used wallets on the website and private keys to be used in different Bitcoin wallet applications ?
I had tried but always failed, maybe I was in the wrong stage or I couldn't.
can you explain about this ?

Yes, as long as you're not concerned with your privacy for using the same wallet address for every transaction. You can import the private keys to another wallet, just to make sure that the private keys are correct when you import it.

Can you tell us if what wallet software do you want to import your private keys, and what's the starting characters of your private key (5, K, L, xpriv, etc)? Note don't paste here your private keys, it should be private..

Understand only with private key from myetherwallet where support saving many altcoin kind have platform erc20, for other private key like bitcoin address I am still not understanding because so far I use exchange wallet for saving my bitcoin assets, I don't know with other way how to save my bitcoin assets except in exchange wallet.

[o_e_l_e_o]

These 3 addresses differ from different private keys.

That's not quite accurate. There is no specific type of private key linked to each of P2PKH, P2SH and bech32, and the same private key can be used to generate an address of each of those three types.

Is this the same with Private Key WIF (WIF), Private Key Hexadecimal Format (HEX), Private Key (B64), Mini?

These are all just different ways of displaying the same private key. A private key is simply a 256 bit number. The "default" way of displaying it is in hexadecimal format, which is 64 characters long. Probably the most common way you will see it displayed is in Wallet Import Format (WIF). The steps to convert from HEX to WIF can be viewed here: https://gobittest.appspot.com/PrivateKey. Essentially it involves adding a byte to the front, hashing it twice to calculate the checksum, adding the checksum to the end, and the converting it from Base16 to Base58Check. Base58Check is a special character set used in bitcoin which excludes characters which are easily confused for one another, such as 0 (zero), O (uppercase o), I (uppercase i), and l (lowercase L).

You can display the private key using any encoding system you like, such as Base10, Base64, binary, and so forth. Minikeys are slightly different, in that they have to be created first and then the full private key calculated from them by hashing them, which is a one-way process. There is no way to generate a minikey for a private key you already have.

[bL4nkcode]

for other private key like bitcoin address I am still not understanding because so far I use exchange wallet for saving my bitcoin assets, I don't know with other way how to save my bitcoin assets except in exchange wallet.

That would be your biggest mistake for using an exchange, just pray that the site will not be one of the victims of hacking, or exit scams.
Too easy to create and use a wallet such as electrum, blockstream green, mycelium, coinomi and many secured wallets than using an exchange.
Remember, not your keys not your coins.

[adaseb]

for other private key like bitcoin address I am still not understanding because so far I use exchange wallet for saving my bitcoin assets, I don't know with other way how to save my bitcoin assets except in exchange wallet.

That would be your biggest mistake for using an exchange, just pray that the site will not be one of the victims of hacking, or exit scams.
Too easy to create and use a wallet such as electrum, blockstream green, mycelium, coinomi and many secured wallets than using an exchange.
Remember, not your keys not your coins.

In my opinion those wallets are ONLY secure if you are using them for cold storage. If you are using them on a Windows computer with a password then you are better off just keeping on a reputable exchange such as Coinbase using 2FA.

There are way too many malwares out there and almost everyday someone is getting their coins stolen even though they have secured their bitcoins with a password. So in my opinion use electrum on cold storage to sign your transactions or get a hardware wallet. If you can't do these then just keep them on an reputable exchange. Its more secure than your Windows computer.

[mk4]

In my opinion those wallets are ONLY secure if you are using them for cold storage. If you are using them on a Windows computer with a password then you are better off just keeping on a reputable exchange such as Coinbase using 2FA.

There are way too many malwares out there and almost everyday someone is getting their coins stolen even though they have secured their bitcoins with a password. So in my opinion use electrum on cold storage to sign your transactions or get a hardware wallet. If you can't do these then just keep them on an reputable exchange. Its more secure than your Windows computer.

While I definitely highly disagree with leaving funds on reputable exchanges even if they're reputable(because privacy, and because you know, MtGox and Bitfinex), I don't like using wallets on Windows devices either. If you don't use a Linux operating system for your personal computer, I'd highly suggest using wallets on phones instead, as I find them a lot safer(assuming you keep the security updates up to date, and stay unrooted).

But yea, of course, hardware wallets or airgapped devices for cold storage is still the way to go.

[pooya87]

~
is it possible for migrations that previously used wallets on the website and private keys to be used in different Bitcoin wallet applications ?
I had tried but always failed, maybe I was in the wrong stage or I couldn't.
can you explain about this ?

it is not possible for me to explain without having more information. for instance what wallet you used to create that private key and what did you try which failed? was it actually a private key? was the tool you were using to import the key trusted?
there could be a lot of different reasons why you fail in some stages.

In my opinion those wallets are ONLY secure if you are using them for cold storage. If you are using them on a Windows computer with a password then you are better off just keeping on a reputable exchange such as Coinbase using 2FA.

if your computer is infected and you leak anything from your desktop wallet then you will similarly lead your other sensitive data such as your login information and a lot more which could still be used to hack your account even with 2FA because you can not trust any third party.
not to mention that you are giving up control over your keys to a third party and even if you reduce the risk of losing coins to malware,... you are adding another risk that is that third party scamming you or blocking your account, etc.

[o_e_l_e_o]

if your computer is infected and you leak anything from your desktop wallet then you will similarly lead your other sensitive data such as your login information and a lot more which could still be used to hack your account even with 2FA because you can not trust any third party.

This. If your computer is infected with a keylogger, screen capturer, or other malware which is accessing your data, then it can access your exchange account and email account username and password just as easily, if not more so, than your wallet, given that you probably access the former much more frequently and your wallet file is (hopefully) encrypted when you aren't using it. Many people also log in to their email accounts and exchange/web wallet accounts via public WiFi or even on a public computer, but far less are opening their wallet on a public computer.

Using a web wallet exposes you to all the risks of using a desktop wallet, whilst also adding in a ton of other risks, placing complete trust in a third party, and sacrificing your privacy.