<p>There is no limitation that requires multisig addresses to be created using special multisig keys. A key from an old wallet can be used in conjunction with new keys from a different wallet to create a multisig address and its redeem script.</p>
<p>You could even create a multisig address using a few different brain wallets if you wanted to (definitely not recommended, but I'm trying to illustrate a point).</p>
<p>To create a multisig address, you only need to provide the public key for each key pair being used and the number of keys required to sign in order to spend. From there a redeem script is generated which is a trivial script that must resolve to true in order for funds to be spent.</p>
<p>There are some pitfalls to be aware of though...</p>
<p>Let's say you have three key pairs:<br />
Key Pair A - Private Key A - Public Key A<br />
Key Pair B - Private Key B - Public Key B<br />
Key Pair C - Private Key C - Public Key C</p>
<p>A multisig address can be created by providing Public Key A, B &amp; C; however if you create a multisig address by providing Public Key A, C &amp; B it will generate a different redeem script and different multisig address. This can potentially cause trouble when trying to spend if you didn't save the redeem script and you need to re-create it to spend. So the order of the keys matters in order to re-create the same redeem script in the future (or you can just save the redeem script).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-15T04:00:43.647Z
2021-07-15T04:08:24.690Z
2021-07-15T04:08:24.690Z
m1xolyd1an
<p>Let's say I have an existing BTC wallet, which is not multisig. Can that wallet be the cosigner of a multisig wallet?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-14T23:10:28.883Z
That depends on the software.
Pieter Wuille
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-14T23:11:29.537Z
Would you happen to know about Electrum?
Nicholas Porter
<wallet><multi-signature>
Can a non multisig wallet be a cosigner of a multisig wallet?
Nicholas Porter
# Can a non multisig wallet be a cosigner of a multisig wallet?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-07-14)

Let's say I have an existing BTC wallet, which is not multisig. Can that wallet be the cosigner of a multisig wallet?

**Tags:** wallet, multi-signature

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: That depends on the software.  
> **username_0**: Would you happen to know about Electrum?  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-07-15. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

There is no limitation that requires multisig addresses to be created using special multisig keys. A key from an old wallet can be used in conjunction with new keys from a different wallet to create a multisig address and its redeem script.

You could even create a multisig address using a few different brain wallets if you wanted to (definitely not recommended, but I'm trying to illustrate a point).

To create a multisig address, you only need to provide the public key for each key pair being used and the number of keys required to sign in order to spend. From there a redeem script is generated which is a trivial script that must resolve to true in order for funds to be spent.

There are some pitfalls to be aware of though...

Let's say you have three key pairs:  
Key Pair A - Private Key A - Public Key A  
Key Pair B - Private Key B - Public Key B  
Key Pair C - Private Key C - Public Key C

A multisig address can be created by providing Public Key A, B & C; however if you create a multisig address by providing Public Key A, C & B it will generate a different redeem script and different multisig address. This can potentially cause trouble when trying to spend if you didn't save the redeem script and you need to re-create it to spend. So the order of the keys matters in order to re-create the same redeem script in the future (or you can just save the redeem script).


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