Hardened Derivation
Wallets● Common
A child key derivation method in HD wallets that uses the parent private key, creating an isolation barrier. If a child private key is compromised, the attacker cannot derive sibling keys or the parent key. Denoted by apostrophe or 'h' suffix in derivation paths (e.g., m/44'/0'/0').
Technical Notes
Uses index ≥ 2³¹ (0x80000000). Child key = HMAC-SHA512(parent_chain_code, 0x00 || parent_private_key || index). Cannot derive hardened children from xpub alone. Required for account-level keys in BIP-44/49/84/86 to prevent cross-account compromise.
Metadata
Visibility: Public
Created:1/3/2026by System