What is a private key?
The secret number that authorises spending from a crypto address. Whoever knows it controls the funds.
A private key mathematically produces a public address. Signing a transaction with the key proves you are entitled to move the funds, without revealing the key. There is no issuer to appeal to: the key is the ownership.
Why it matters: this is the part of crypto most likely to cost you everything. Keys cannot be reset. If someone else obtains yours they can empty the address immediately and irreversibly, and if you lose yours the funds are gone permanently. Never enter a private key or seed phrase into a website, and treat anyone who asks for it as an attacker.
Related terms
- NodeA computer running blockchain software that stores the ledger, validates transactions and relays them…
- Self-custodyHolding your own crypto directly, controlling the private keys yourself, rather than leaving it…
- LiquidityHow easily an asset can be bought or sold in size without moving its…
- SlashingThe penalty in a proof-of-stake network where a validator that misbehaves or goes offline…
- Cold storageKeeping private keys on a device that has never been connected to the internet,…
- ConsensusThe process by which a decentralised network agrees on which transactions happened and in…
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