alt Hacker NewsThe hash is merely a convenience, the _actual_ public key used in transactions is present in the ledger and available to anybody who wants it.
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notpushkin • today at 3:07 PM
How does that work?
Suppose I make a paper wallet on an offline PC, write down the address and discard both keys. If I now send some BTC to this address, how does the client figure out the public key?
Only if there has been an outgoing transaction from that account. If the address has only received deposits then only the hash is available.