<p>Not necessarily.</p>

<p>A cryptocoin can use whatever asymmetric algorithm they choose, and I'm sure some have tried different things, but ECDSA has a big advantage: public keys are generated from private keys.</p>

<p>With asymmetric algorithms like RSA, public and private keys are both generated together.  With ECDSA, you choose a random number (within certain limits), and that is your private key.  Now all you have to do is calculate the corresponding public key from your private key.  This makes new address generation quick, and computationally inexpensive.  It also allows for schemes such as <a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/BIP_0032" rel="nofollow noreferrer">BIP32</a> HD Wallets.</p>

<p>Also be aware that ECDSA can use the same algorithm using different elliptic curves.  Bitcoin uses <a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Secp256k1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">secp256k1</a>, but other curves exist as well.</p>

<p>In the end, it depends on the currency.  There is so much diversity nowadays, I doubt very much that they all use the same algorithm and curve.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-13T14:36:48.217Z
2017-07-13T14:56:05.180Z
2017-07-13T14:56:05.180Z
Jestin
<p>If you would like to see each step, you can look at some online tools, like <a href="https://gobittest.appspot.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://gobittest.appspot.com/</a> .</p>

<p><a href="https://gobittest.appspot.com/VanityAll" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Here</a> you can test all values with different prefix and different net byte. Calculation is the same for all bitcoin based blockchain wallets.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-13T19:44:36.337Z
2017-07-13T19:44:36.337Z
CEVAP
<p>I have been trying to read about how Public key cryptography works and I have just understand what public key cryptography is and how it differs from symmetric key cryptography.</p>

<p>I have also just read that the bitcoin uses <strong>"Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA)"</strong> to generate Public/Private key pairs, and then </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>the public key is hashed several times until it looks like the
  familiar Bitcoin address.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I then read here, <a href="https://ethereum.stackexchange.com/questions/3542/how-are-ethereum-addresses-generated">https://ethereum.stackexchange.com/questions/3542/how-are-ethereum-addresses-generated</a> that Ethereum also uses ECDSA to generate key pair and then the Keccak-256 hash of the public key is taken.</p>

<p>My question is, do all the cryptocurrencies in existence uses the same algorithm to generate key pairs ?, if that is true, can a single Public/Private key pair be used to store multiple currencies given that the public key is hashed according to each cryptocurrency standard ?</p>

<encryption><cryptography>
Do all Cryptocurrencies uses same Public key Cryptography algorithm?
Bitcoin123
# Do all Cryptocurrencies uses same Public key Cryptography algorithm?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-07-13)

I have been trying to read about how Public key cryptography works and I have just understand what public key cryptography is and how it differs from symmetric key cryptography.

I have also just read that the bitcoin uses **"Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA)"** to generate Public/Private key pairs, and then

> the public key is hashed several times until it looks like the
> familiar Bitcoin address.

I then read here, <https://ethereum.stackexchange.com/questions/3542/how-are-ethereum-addresses-generated> that Ethereum also uses ECDSA to generate key pair and then the Keccak-256 hash of the public key is taken.

My question is, do all the cryptocurrencies in existence uses the same algorithm to generate key pairs ?, if that is true, can a single Public/Private key pair be used to store multiple currencies given that the public key is hashed according to each cryptocurrency standard ?

**Tags:** encryption, cryptography


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-07-13. Score: 3

Not necessarily.

A cryptocoin can use whatever asymmetric algorithm they choose, and I'm sure some have tried different things, but ECDSA has a big advantage: public keys are generated from private keys.

With asymmetric algorithms like RSA, public and private keys are both generated together. With ECDSA, you choose a random number (within certain limits), and that is your private key. Now all you have to do is calculate the corresponding public key from your private key. This makes new address generation quick, and computationally inexpensive. It also allows for schemes such as [BIP32](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/BIP_0032) HD Wallets.

Also be aware that ECDSA can use the same algorithm using different elliptic curves. Bitcoin uses [secp256k1](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Secp256k1), but other curves exist as well.

In the end, it depends on the currency. There is so much diversity nowadays, I doubt very much that they all use the same algorithm and curve.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2017-07-13. Score: 0

If you would like to see each step, you can look at some online tools, like <https://gobittest.appspot.com/> .

[Here](https://gobittest.appspot.com/VanityAll) you can test all values with different prefix and different net byte. Calculation is the same for all bitcoin based blockchain wallets.


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