What is Stealth Address?
A technique where the sender generates a unique, one-time address for each transaction, preventing observers from linking transactions to the receiver.
Stealth addresses ensure that even if someone knows your public address, they can't see your incoming transactions on the blockchain.
How It Works
- The receiver publishes a "stealth meta-address"
- For each transaction, the sender generates a unique one-time address derived from the meta-address
- The receiver scans the blockchain using their private key to detect payments
- Each transaction goes to a different address — no visible link between them
Where It's Used
- Monero: Mandatory stealth addresses for all transactions
- DERO: Built into the homomorphic encryption protocol
- Ethereum: Proposed EIP-5564 for optional stealth addresses
Privacy Benefit
On a transparent blockchain like Bitcoin, if someone knows your address, they can see every transaction you've ever received. Stealth addresses make this impossible.
Related Terms
Ring Signatures
A cryptographic technique that allows someone to sign a message on behalf of a group, making it impossible to determine which group member actually signed.
Zero-Knowledge Proof
A cryptographic method by which one party can prove to another party that they know a value, without conveying any information apart from the fact that they know the value. This allows authentication and verification without exposing sensitive data.
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