12 Bitcoin Addresses

Where to put that money

Once you have your private keys, these are used to ‘unlock’ funds held in addresses. But where to addresses come from? Without getting too technical, this a sneak peak below the hood of Bitcoin. Private keys allow you do show ownership of an address. Every private key has with it a public key. Private keys is like the keys to the castle, if you have it you can open any door, but public keys is like a map of all the locations your keys can open.  With each public key, you are able to generate an address. If you gave me your public key, I would be able to see every single address you have access to.

Private Keys -> Public Keys -> Addresses

Every address comes from a list of addresses that the Public key has, and every public key is derived from the private key. With the private key you can unlock, and spend any funds on any address. With the public key you can see a list of all the addresses. The address is just another number. Think of it like a home. If you put an envelope of money into the letter box, you can’t then open the door and retrieve that money unless you have the ‘Key’ to open it.