Can Internal Keys Be Extracted from Bitcoin Settings?

The world of Bitcoin tweaking is a complex and often misunderstood topic. One of the most intriguing aspects of this field is the extraction of internal keys from public keys modified using various cryptographic techniques.

In this article, we will delve into the concept of internal keys in Bitcoin, explore how they are modified, and examine the feasibility of mining them with specific tweaks like bip341.

Internal Keys in Bitcoin

The underlying Bitcoin protocol does not directly store private keys. Instead, each user has a pair of public and private keys: a “user key” and an “internal key.” The internal key is not publicly exposed and serves as a private component of the user’s key. It is used for cryptographic operations such as signing transactions.

When a user generates a new transaction or spends their existing coins, they are essentially using their private (internal) key with their public (user) key. This ensures secure communication between wallets and prevents anyone else from accessing the internal keys.

Public Key Configurations

Configurations are modifications to a public key that enable Bitcoin cryptographic operations. These configurations enable various functions, such as spending coins, creating new addresses, or even reversing transactions. One such adjustment technique is bip341 (Basepoint).

Bip341 adjusts an existing public key by replacing its internal key with a new one. This can be useful in certain scenarios where the original internal key is compromised or needs to be changed.

Extracting Keys from Bip341 Internal Configurations

The question remains: can the internal key be extracted from an adjusted bip341 public key? To answer this question, let’s examine how Bitcoin stores and uses these modified keys.

When a user changes their bip341 public key using bitcoin-cli or other tools, they update the internal key. However, extracting this new internal key is not easy. Bitcoin does not provide a direct way to recover the original internal key from the modified output.

The Challenges

Extracting the inner key presents several challenges:

• Modification Complexity: Bip341 modifications involve complex cryptographic operations that can make it difficult to reverse engineer the inner key.

• No Clear Representation: Bitcoin’s modified outputs do not provide an easy way to extract the original inner key from the modified output.

Conclusion

While it may seem impossible to directly extract the inner key from a modified bip341 public key, there may be alternative approaches or edge cases that we are not aware of.

However, if you are interested in exploring this topic further, keep in mind that Bitcoin’s design and cryptography are constantly evolving. New techniques and tools may emerge that can help extract inner keys from modified public keys.

If you are looking to exploit or reverse engineer modified bitcoin-cli commands for malicious purposes, proceed with caution. In most cases, it is not worth the risk, as attempting to extract inner keys can lead to significant security issues.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, while we have explored how Bitcoin and the bip341 tweaks work, extracting internal keys from modified public keys remains a challenging task. As our understanding of Bitcoin’s underlying cryptographic mechanisms evolves, new techniques and tools may emerge to help us overcome these challenges.