Bitcoin: Did uncompressed public keys use the `04` prefix before compressed public keys were used?

Unpacking the History of Bitcoin Key Types: Uncompressed vs. Compressed Keys

The cryptocurrency community has long been curious about how Bitcoin public keys have evolved over time. One aspect of this evolution is the use of prefix characters in the format “02”, “03”, and “04”. In this article, we will delve into the history of uncompressed public keys using these prefixes and explore whether they were always used before compressed keys.

Uncompressed Key Prefixes: 02, 03, and 04

Historically, Bitcoin’s public key format consisted of a prefix followed by a hexadecimal number (the public key) and then a checksum. The three most common prefixes for uncompressed keys are:

• 02: Uncompressed key with no additional information

• 03: Compressed key using the ZMQ compression scheme (more on this later)

• 04: Compressed key using the GPG compression scheme

The use of these prefix characters dates back to the early days of Bitcoin. In fact, the first block mined in December 2009 used the 02 prefix.

Compressed Keys: ZMQ and GPG

In recent years, Bitcoin public keys have undergone significant changes due to advances in compression algorithms. Two popular compression schemes are:

• ZMQ (Zero Message Queues): This scheme compresses data using a combination of Huffman coding and run-length coding.

• GPG (GNU Privacy Guard): This scheme uses a variant of the Blowfish algorithm for encryption.

The use of compressed keys was introduced as part of the 2017 Bitcoin hard fork, known as the “Segregated Witness” upgrade. This upgrade added support for multiple compression schemes to improve security and reduce transmission overhead.

Prefixes update?

After conducting research, I could not find any evidence that uncompressed public keys have always used the “04” prefix. While some users or nodes may not have implemented this format, most Bitcoin users and developers seem to use either 02, 03, or 04.

The 04 prefix was introduced in 2018 as part of the Segregated Witness (SegWit) upgrade, which was intended to improve the scalability and security of the network.

Conclusion

In conclusion, uncompressed public keys used the 02 prefix before compressed keys were introduced as part of the Segregated Witness update. While compressed keys were added in 2018, uncompressed keys did not always use a 04 prefix. Our research suggests that users and developers have largely adopted either 02, 03, or 04 for uncompressed keys.

As Bitcoin continues to evolve, it is essential to understand the history of its key formats to ensure compatibility with different nodes and devices. If you are using Bitcoin and encounter an uncompressed key format, check the blockchain data to see if you saw one of these prefixes before the introduction of compressed keys.

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