Keys and Addresses

Bitcoin wallets hide a lot of cryptography behind a simple send and receive interface. Under the hood, they are managing secrets, deriving keys, and generating addresses that other people can pay.

The main safety rule is straightforward: addresses can be shared, private keys cannot, and seed phrases protect the whole wallet. If the seed is exposed, the rest of the stack can usually be reconstructed.

Modern Bitcoin wallets may generate SegWit or Taproot addresses, which improve efficiency and expand what transactions can express. Those newer formats change how data is packaged on-chain, but they still depend on the same underlying key ownership model.

Once this stack is clear, wallet UX becomes easier to decode. You can see which details are convenience features, which are backup procedures, and which secrets actually determine who controls the coins.