Hello 👋
A master public address/key (we'll consider these two terms as synonyms) is a public key register. It is a parent address which you can use to find all your public addresses created on a blockchain: the daughter addresses and all the read-only data (e.g. associated transactions) of these daughter addresses .
Because an example is worth 1,000 words:
1/ You create a Bitcoin address on your Ledger. You therefore have a public key and a private key linked to your wallet.
👉 The parent address is created (it is also called the master public key, master public address or extended public key).
2/ You decide to create another Bitcoin public address on your Ledger in order to have "two accounts". It is thanks to the parent address that Ledger Live generated the second public address, and that it will generate the next public addresses.
Generally speaking, the new address is created when you receive funds in your account.
💡 The parent address is only accessible to you. It is the only link between the two public addresses you have created.
Having the parent address allows you to find all the daughter addresses , but not vice versa. For example, giving a parent address to a third party enables them to read transactions made on all daughter addresses .
This is very useful for using a tool like Waltio, which needs to read all your transactions on all your addresses, without having to add your addresses one by one. Even if the purpose is the same, the time saved can be substantial for you.
🎉 That's why we've just added this feature to Waltio.
Here's the list of key types we currently support per wallet:
Blockchain | Wallet | Primary key type | Features |
Bitcoin | Ledger, Exodus, Trezor | XPub | Starts with "xpub" |
Bitcoin Cash | Ledger, Exodus, Trezor | XPub | Starts with "xpub" |
Cardano | Ledger, Exodus, Trezor | Stake Key | Starts with "stake1 |
💡 Here's an example to understand the table: xpub are main keys of the Bitcoin blockchain whose characteristic is to start with "xpub". We support these keys if they come from a Ledger, Exodus or Trezor wallet.
👉 We do not yet support MTub and ZPub for Litecoin.
We have written tutorials to help you add your master key to Waltio depending on the wallet:
💡 If you use a wallet other than these three, you can still try adding your XPub, and let us know if it works 😊
If you have any suggestions for wallets or blockchains, please let us know by adding your feature requests here: https://feedback.waltio.co. If any of the features you want are already there, please vote and let us know 😊
If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to contact us via the Chatbot just down the right-hand side of your screen! 💬
The Waltio team