Generate a new private key

Published 4/6/2024. Last updated 10/20/2024.

#onchain

Sometimes you just want to quickly generate a new wallet address without jumping through a bunch of hoops.

Provided you have OpenSSL installed on your system, you can create a new private key in one simple command: openssl rand -hex 32

This will generate 32 random bytes in hexadecimal format, which can be used as a private key. The output will be a 64-character hexadecimal string, like this:

e1d4f2c8a1b9c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d1e2f3a4b5c6d7e8f9a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0

You can then use this private key to derive a public key and generate a wallet address. Just remember to keep your private key secure, anyone who has access to it can control your wallet and the associated funds.

[!IMPORTANT] The private key used in this example is valid, but should not be used by anyone, as it has been shared publicly in this post.