Didn't I just get done reading that funds can't be sent to a fake address? That's why I stated that it was real. I wasn't trying to spread FUD. What am I missing?
~Bruno K~
There are
two ways to create a
valid Bitcoin address, that is, an address that will be accepted by the client and allow you to send BTC to it.
The first way creates a
valid address and since the private and public keys are known, the BTC can be recovered and spent:
1) Create a random private key
2) Calculate the corresponding public key from the random private key
3) Calculate the valid corresponding Bitcoin address from the public key
The second way creates a
valid address
but since the private and public keys
not known (and for all practical purposes will never be known in the lifetime of this universe), the BTC can
not be recovered and spent:
1) Create a random bunch of crap, for example: 1BitcoinEaterAddressDontSend
2) Calculate the correct checksum for the address and put the two together: 1BitcoinEaterAddressDontSendf59kuE
Wala! You have a valid Bitcoin address but any coins sent to it can never be spent and are forever lost because the address was not created from a valid key pair.
Now, in fact, there are many private/public keypairs that will produce the address 1BitcoinEaterAddressDontSendf59kuE
But your chances of guessing any one of them is so remote that for all practical purposes it is impossible.
