<p>No, there generally is no benefit to use hardened derivation following unhardened derivation. I'm also not aware of anyone using such a construction. However there are test vectors that do this since it is a supported operation, even if not useful</p>
<p>The purpose of unhardened derivation is to be able to derive further keys from it without needing the private key. However hardened derivation requires a private key in order to derive, and that defeats the purpose of using unhardened derivation in an earlier step.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-14T19:28:17.957Z
Could there possibly be a complex usecase that makes sense where you have multiple levels of trust between different parties?
Michael Tidwell
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-27T19:56:05.220Z
2023-10-27T19:56:05.220Z
Ava Chow
<p>In the context of BIP32, is there any benefit from deriving a hardened key from an unhardened parent? E.g., <code>m/0'/0/0'</code>? Are there any examples of where such a key is being used?</p>

<bip32-hd-wallets><hardened-derivation>
Is there any benefit from creating hardened child keys from unhardened parents?
aryzing
# Is there any benefit from creating hardened child keys from unhardened parents?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-05-19)

In the context of BIP32, is there any benefit from deriving a hardened key from an unhardened parent? E.g., `m/0'/0/0'`? Are there any examples of where such a key is being used?

**Tags:** bip32-hd-wallets, hardened-derivation


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2023-10-27. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

No, there generally is no benefit to use hardened derivation following unhardened derivation. I'm also not aware of anyone using such a construction. However there are test vectors that do this since it is a supported operation, even if not useful

The purpose of unhardened derivation is to be able to derive further keys from it without needing the private key. However hardened derivation requires a private key in order to derive, and that defeats the purpose of using unhardened derivation in an earlier step.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Could there possibly be a complex usecase that makes sense where you have multiple levels of trust between different parties?  

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