P2PKH (Pay to Public Key Hash) Bitcoin Addresses

What are P2PKH Addresses?

P2PKH, which stands for "Pay to Public Key Hash," is one of the most standard and widely used types of Bitcoin addresses. These addresses start with the number "1" and are a fundamental part of the Bitcoin network.

How P2PKH Works

P2PKH addresses are created by taking a public key and performing cryptographic operations on it. The process involves:

• Applying a SHA-256 hash to the public key.
• Running the result through a RIPEMD-160 hash.
• Adding network bytes.
• Generating a checksum.
• Encoding the result in Base58 to create the final address.

Why P2PKH?

P2PKH addresses are essential for ensuring that only the owner of the corresponding private key can spend the Bitcoins. They provide a layer of security and are fundamental to how Bitcoin transactions work.

Generating a P2PKH Address in Go

Here's an example of how you might generate a P2PKH address in Go:

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "crypto/sha256"
    "golang.org/x/crypto/ripemd160"
    "encoding/hex"
)

func main() {
    // Replace this with your public key
    publicKey := "yourPublicKeyInHexFormat"

    // Step 1: SHA256 hashing of the public key
    shaHasher := sha256.New()
    shaHasher.Write([]byte(publicKey))
    shaHashed := shaHasher.Sum(nil)

    // Step 2: RIPEMD-160 hashing on the result of SHA-256
    ripemdHasher := ripemd160.New()
    ripemdHasher.Write(shaHashed)
    ripemdHashed := ripemdHasher.Sum(nil)

    // Further steps would involve adding network bytes, generating checksum, and Base58 encoding
    // These steps are omitted for brevity

    // Output the RIPEMD-160 hash as an example
    fmt.Println("RIPEMD-160 Hash: ", hex.EncodeToString(ripemdHashed))
}

Note: This code provides a basic example and does not include all the steps necessary for creating a fully valid Bitcoin address, such as adding network bytes, generating a checksum, and Base58Check encoding.