User:Casascius/Base58Check-encoded objects proposal
Regular private key
Indicates an uncompressed private key. Widely accepted as "wallet import format", "sipa format".
- Version byte: 0x80
- Payload bytes: 32
- How the user sees it: Always 51 characters beginning with '5' (specifically: 5H, 5J, or 5K)
- Range in base58 encoding:
- Lowest possible value: 5HpHagT65TZzG1PH3CSu63k8DbpvD8s5ip4nEB3kEsreAbuatmU
- Highest possible value: 5Km2kuu7vtFDPpxywn4u3NLu8iSdrqhxWT8tUKjeEXs2f9yxoWz
Proposed encoding for compressed private key
Observation
A Base58Check string starts with '5' when it has a version byte of 0x80 and a payload of 43 bytes. (range: 5h thru 5j - lowercase mimic!)