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Comment by jb55 | Hacker News Reader

I have a single, permanent Bitcoin address (1jb55g498MEa274Z1YWUXQFxZE5NzvhV7). I don't pretend Bitcoin is anonymous and I always set my change address to go back to the inputs.

I understand the risks of how the address inputs and outputs as probabilistically tied to my identity. If I cared about those things I probably use stealth addresses and dark wallet or something.

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So, that "single permanent address" can work fine if you're just looking for donations, or doing transactions with people you trust.

If you're doing any kind of transactions in volume, it's much easier to just give each customer a unique address to send to, so you can verify that you've been paid when the right amount has been transferred to that address. That way you don't have any confusion of who has actually paid you if two people owe you similar amounts at the same time, and you see a transaction come in of that amount.

So yes, it's possible to pick one address as your "single permanent address", but it's not something that's expected or common.

There are also cryptographic risks associated with reusing an address, not just identity risks. The address is a hash of your public key. You don't have to reveal the public key matching the address until you spend from the address. When the public key is secret, your address is safe even from hypothetical attacks on Bitcoin's crypto implementation. Once you spend from the address, the public key is public knowledge and that extra protection is lost.

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Address_reuse

I think if someone can hack my wallet from a public key we have bigger problems

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