CryptoDrew on Nostr: Most bitcoin wallets are Hierarchical Deterministic wallet that use a big integer ...
Most bitcoin wallets are Hierarchical Deterministic wallet that use a big integer seed to generate a root private key. Then the "Hierarchical" portion comes in by using the root private key to generate a child private key based on a specified index, and so on from that child key.
If the same seed and same index are used, then it will generate the same child private key. This is the "Deterministic" portion.
The derivation path defines the indexes to use for getting the child private key of your account.
A legacy bitcoin HD wallet should have the derivation path of m/44’/0’/0’/0/0. The m/ is the root, then 44' is the next child index and so on. Never mind the difference between the tic and no tic (') for now.
Newer bitcoin HD wallets might be using SegWit or Taproot addresses, which those will respectively have the derivation paths of m/84’/0’/0’/0/0 and m/86’/0’/0’/0/0. Note that they have a different index for the first child.
You can figure out which derivation path the wallet app is using by looking at an address created fresh from that wallet app. A legacy BTC address starts with a "1". SegWit starts with "bc1q". Taproot starts with "bc1p". Compare with your primary address.
Hope this helps!
If the same seed and same index are used, then it will generate the same child private key. This is the "Deterministic" portion.
The derivation path defines the indexes to use for getting the child private key of your account.
A legacy bitcoin HD wallet should have the derivation path of m/44’/0’/0’/0/0. The m/ is the root, then 44' is the next child index and so on. Never mind the difference between the tic and no tic (') for now.
Newer bitcoin HD wallets might be using SegWit or Taproot addresses, which those will respectively have the derivation paths of m/84’/0’/0’/0/0 and m/86’/0’/0’/0/0. Note that they have a different index for the first child.
You can figure out which derivation path the wallet app is using by looking at an address created fresh from that wallet app. A legacy BTC address starts with a "1". SegWit starts with "bc1q". Taproot starts with "bc1p". Compare with your primary address.
Hope this helps!