<p>No, you shouldn't worry about it.</p>

<p><code>3Blue1Brown</code> has made a great video explaining how large 256 bit is, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9JGmA5_unY" rel="nofollow noreferrer">check it out</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-14T07:20:22.070Z
2019-11-14T07:20:22.070Z
yyforyongyu
<p>Is this even something one should be worried about?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-13T19:45:25.777Z
This is more fun to calculate for yourself than to ask for the answer.  Why not try it and ask if you get stuck?
Nate Eldredge
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-13T23:06:44.410Z
I guess I should take the time it takes to calculate a single key pair and multiply it with the total number of private keys, not the total number of possible addresses (to account for expected(?) collisions). So, totalTime = singleKeyPairTime * 2^256. Right?
Nikos Lykouresis
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-13T23:15:01.493Z
Sure.  Of course, they could be computed in parallel, so if you want the *real* time required to calculate all keys, you should divide by the number of machines being used.
Nate Eldredge
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-14T02:06:05.670Z
The closest I have come to answering how long a single ECDSA key generation takes is "some milliseconds". I ran the numbers and even if you run thousands of computers in parallel + assume one computer can calculate tens of thousands of keyGenerations/s, the infinitesimally small percentage of public keys you will find in your lifetime, is simply not worth it.
Nikos Lykouresis
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-10T09:36:06.537Z
Does this answer your question? [How long would it take a large computer to crack a private key?](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/2847/13866)
RedGrittyBrick
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-10T16:07:10.467Z
related: [Is Each Bitcoin Address Unique?](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/8804/5406)
Murch
<security><private-key><public-key>
How long would it take for all the Bitcoin Key pairs to be calculated?
Nikos Lykouresis
# How long would it take for all the Bitcoin Key pairs to be calculated?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-11-13)

Is this even something one should be worried about?

**Tags:** security, private-key, public-key

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This is more fun to calculate for yourself than to ask for the answer.  Why not try it and ask if you get stuck?  
> **username_0**: I guess I should take the time it takes to calculate a single key pair and multiply it with the total number of private keys, not the total number of possible addresses (to account for expected(?) collisions). So, totalTime = singleKeyPairTime * 2^256. Right?  
> **username_1**: Sure.  Of course, they could be computed in parallel, so if you want the *real* time required to calculate all keys, you should divide by the number of machines being used.  
> **username_0**: The closest I have come to answering how long a single ECDSA key generation takes is "some milliseconds". I ran the numbers and even if you run thousands of computers in parallel + assume one computer can calculate tens of thousands of keyGenerations/s, the infinitesimally small percentage of public keys you will find in your lifetime, is simply not worth it.  
> **username_2**: Does this answer your question? [How long would it take a large computer to crack a private key?](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/2847/13866)  
> **username_3**: related: [Is Each Bitcoin Address Unique?](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/8804/5406)  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2019-11-14. Score: 0

No, you shouldn't worry about it.

`3Blue1Brown` has made a great video explaining how large 256 bit is, [check it out](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9JGmA5_unY)


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