<p>This doesn't directly answer your question, but in ECDSA, if the private key is close to one of the 768 rendezvous points on the secp256k1 curve, it is considered a weak private key and can be compromised. See this <a href="https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=421842.0" rel="nofollow">BitcoinTalk thread</a>. In practice, this isn't a huge threat as long as you use a good source of randomness since the space around those rendezvous points is a miniscule fraction of the total keyspace. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-10T18:56:55.203Z
That thread is a joke, sorry.
Pieter Wuille
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-10T07:08:08.987Z
2014-08-15T14:37:27.580Z
2014-08-15T14:37:27.580Z
Tony
<p>I read in <a href="https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/3656" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this Github pull</a> that Bitcoin relies on weaker cryptographic guarantees than SHA256.</p>

<p>What are the weaker cryptographic guarantees being referred to?</p>

<p>Could it be that RipeMD is 160 bits? ... or is it something else? Perhaps in the ECC curve itself?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-24T19:18:04.083Z
I don't see the word "weak" in that thread at all. What's the quote you're interested in?
Rich Apodaca
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-23T12:32:01.110Z
Did you link the wrong pull request?
G. Maxwell
<bitcoin-core><address><cryptography><secp256k1><protocol>
What are the weakest cryptographic guarantees in Bitcoin?
makerofthings7
# What are the weakest cryptographic guarantees in Bitcoin?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-03-09)

I read in [this Github pull](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/3656) that Bitcoin relies on weaker cryptographic guarantees than SHA256.

What are the weaker cryptographic guarantees being referred to?

Could it be that RipeMD is 160 bits? ... or is it something else? Perhaps in the ECC curve itself?

**Tags:** bitcoin-core, address, cryptography, secp256k1, protocol

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I don't see the word "weak" in that thread at all. What's the quote you're interested in?  
> **username_2**: Did you link the wrong pull request?  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2014-03-10. Score: -1

This doesn't directly answer your question, but in ECDSA, if the private key is close to one of the 768 rendezvous points on the secp256k1 curve, it is considered a weak private key and can be compromised. See this [BitcoinTalk thread](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=421842.0). In practice, this isn't a huge threat as long as you use a good source of randomness since the space around those rendezvous points is a miniscule fraction of the total keyspace.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: That thread is a joke, sorry.  

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