Son: 56bbd862e7e4bfe4da5a10d0e80e1da13dd3a2ed15eee8b9a0a322b8a4ca3e3d

Dad: Son, what is this again?

Son: Dad, this is just a random, 256-bit hexadecimal number. A bitcoin private key.

A private key is used to spend bitcoin and as the source of its public key. The public key is required to receive bitcoin.

Dad: Are public keys the same thing as addresses?

Son: No. Bitcoin addresses are derived from a public key using a one-way function. Or in other words:

A bitcoin address is a hashed version of a public key. It’s shorter than the original public key.

#Bitcoin