TL;DR
You use the Xpubs, Ypubs and Zpubs when you want to use a watch-only wallet.
An easy way to differentiate between Xpubs, Ypubs and Zpubs is that Xpubs addresses always start with “1”, the Ypub addresses always start with “3”, whilst Zpub addresses always start with “bc1”.
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deleted by author
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As I said, when you want to use a watch-only wallet from a wallet that you have. If you have a wallet which the addresses stars with 1 you have Xpubs, if it starts with 3 you have a Ypub, and so on...
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Are there any concerns like address reuse with this? Or am I confusing things here?
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Think of it like this: what you have with these Npubs (N being X, Y or Z), is your bitcoin wallet, with the only difference that it cannot be used to sign transactions, that is, transfer bitcoins. So why would you use something like that? Imagine that you are a person who tends to receive a lot in bitcoin, either because you sell a product or because you provide some kind of service. You could use a regular wallet on your phone, but if it gets stolen and the person manages to open the app, they still get access to your bitcoins. However, if you have a watch-only wallet (in which you use these Npubs) even if the person has access to your wallet, he will not be able to move any balance. He'll be able to look at your balance, know how much you have, what your addresses are, including all your UTXOs, but he won't be able to sign any transactions.
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I know just npub for nostr
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hehe. I also knew only "The Pub" on our local corner, but then I read the article :)
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you may find output descriptors super interesting as well: https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0380.mediawiki#motivation. I find them much easier to understand that xpub/ypub/zpub.
My pleb description of xpub, ypub, zpub: They are all the same key, just with different headers to help wallets understand what to do with them.
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Always wondered about this thanks
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