Lesson 2: Understand the public and private keys of cryptocurrency.

What is a cryptocurrency public key?

There are two keys in a cryptocurrency wallet.

These are the "public key" and the "private key.

The public key is required to receive cryptocurrency through the wallet.

When you actually receive the cryptocurrency, you give the sender the wallet address of the public key that you generated using this public key.

Think of the public key wallet address as your bank account number.

On the contrary, when you send cryptocurrency to someone, you will be given this public key wallet address in advance, and you will specify that address as the destination for sending the money.

What is the private key of a cryptocurrency?

A private key is something that is required when sending cryptocurrency, and you can imagine it as a password.

It is similar to a password that is required when you send money to someone through a bank.

As with public keys, when you actually send cryptocurrency, you generate a wallet address for your private key and enter that address as if it were a password.

However, it is important to note that private keys cannot be reissued.

If you forget your bank password, you can contact your bank and ask them to reissue it, but since there is no administrator for cryptocurrency, you are entirely responsible for it.

As with passwords, it is also important to note that if your private key becomes known to others, they will be able to transfer cryptocurrency without your permission.

What happens to the cryptocurrency if the private key is lost?

If you lose your wallet's private key, you will not be able to reissue it.

So, in that case, what happens to the cryptocurrency that was managed in that wallet?

The conclusion is that the cryptocurrency will be permanently unusable.

The image is that you know it is there, but you have lost the means to use it.

Even if it exists, if you cannot use it, it is meaningless.

In short, the private key of the wallet is that important.

Also, as shown in the illustration above, the wallet address of the private key and the wallet address of the public key are sometimes very similar, so there is a danger of accidentally giving out the wallet address of the private key to others.