Ed25519
Ed25519 is a public-key cryptography system that uses elliptic curve cryptography to provide efficient digital signatures. It was specifically designed for use in the Internet Protocol for Transport Layer Security (TLS) and is widely used in many other applications, including Cardano.
Cardano uses Ed25519 for its digital signature to provide secure and efficient transactions on its network, which is important for a cryptocurrency designed to handle a large volume of transactions.
Overview
Ed25519 is a public-key cryptographic system that is based on the elliptic curve 25519. It was designed by Daniel J. Bernstein, Niels Duif, Tanja Lange, Peter Schwabe, and Bo-Yin Yang.
In Ed25519, a private key is a 32-byte (256-bit) scalar, and a public key is a point on the curve represented as a 32-byte (256-bit) coordinate pair. The private key is used to generate a corresponding public key, which can be shared with others. The private key is kept secret and is used to sign messages, while the public key is used to verify the authenticity of the signature.
Ed25519 is an improvement over the older EdDSA (Edwards-curve Digital Signature Algorithm) signature scheme, which was also based on elliptic curve cryptography. Ed25519 is considered to be more secure and efficient than EdDSA, and it has a number of other desirable properties as well.
Features
Speed
One of the key benefits of Ed25519 is that it is fast and efficient. It can be implemented in software or hardware, and it requires relatively little computational power to generate and verify signatures. This makes it well-suited for use in applications that need to handle a large number of transactions, such as a cryptocurrency network.
Secutiry
In addition to its efficiency, Ed25519 is also considered to be very secure. It uses a carefully designed elliptic curve that is resistant to attacks, and the design of the signature scheme itself is also highly resistant to attack. This makes it an excellent choice for applications that require strong security, such as cryptocurrency.
Compatibility
Ed25519 is compatible with a number of popular cryptographic libraries and protocols, including NaCl, OpenSSH, and TLS. Ed25519 is designed to be backward compatible with the widely used EdDSA signature scheme, allowing for easy migration to the new standard.