Published on: 2013-06-06T12:00:42+00:00
The checksum used in cryptocurrency addresses, such as Bitcoin, is not effective in preventing single character errors or transpositions. This means that valid addresses can differ by just one character or have a transposition of characters and still be considered valid. For example, the addresses 1ByteCoinAddressesMatch1kpCWNXmHKW and 1ByteCoinAddressesMatch1kpCxNXmHKW only differ by one character. Similarly, the addresses 1ByteCoinAddressesMatchcNN781jjwLY and 1ByteCoinAddressesMatchcNN718jjwLY only differ by one transposition.A discussion on the Bitcoin-dev forum revealed that it would be impractical to generate two Bitcoin addresses that differ in exactly one character modulo different checksums. In other words, it would be highly unlikely to find two addresses that are only one character different but have different checksums. This adds an extra layer of security to the address system.Furthermore, if one were to change one character of an address that has a verifiable signature, it would render the address undependable. This is due to the lack of a known private key for the modified address. Therefore, any changes made to an address with a verifiable signature would make it unreliable for use.This information was discussed during a conversation on the #bitcoin-dev channel, highlighting the importance of the checksum and the limitations of making changes to cryptocurrency addresses.
Updated on: 2023-08-01T05:07:11.427833+00:00