A Bitcoin extended public key, often called an xpub, lets software follow many addresses from an account without holding the private keys needed to spend funds. This is useful for a watch-only wallet or an accounting tool. Sharing it also lets the recipient monitor the activity it covers, including future activity.
To find and copy the value in the BitBoxApp, follow the account-details guide.
Why use an extended public key instead of one address?
A receiving address gives someone a destination for a payment. An account-level extended public key provides the information for deriving many public keys. With the correct address-format settings, another application can construct the account's receiving and change addresses, then look up their balances and transactions on the blockchain.
For example, a watch-only wallet can follow new receiving addresses and the change returned from transactions without asking you to import each address separately. An accounting service can use the same information to follow activity over time. The extended public key alone cannot sign a transaction, spend funds or restore your wallet; it does not replace a recovery backup.
Which account does it cover?
The public key exported from BitBoxApp Bitcoin account details belongs to the selected account and address format. It does not represent the entire wallet. Native SegWit and Taproot use different derivation branches even when the app groups them under one Bitcoin account.
If you import the first account's Native SegWit key, for example, the other application will not also see its Taproot activity or the second Bitcoin account. Check both the account and format when choosing information to import. The account-details explanation shows how the keypath and script type identify that configuration.
What sharing the key means for your privacy
Someone with the key and the necessary address-format information can associate the derived addresses with each other and monitor their balances and transactions. This can expose patterns in how you use the account. It also covers future addresses derived from the same branch, rather than only the addresses already used when you shared the key.
A copied key cannot be recalled
Share the key only with software or services you trust with that account's financial history and future activity. Deleting it from a service does not disable a copy someone has retained. Its QR code and screenshots containing it disclose the same information.
If someone only needs to pay you, provide a receiving address from the intended account's Receive screen and verify it on your BitBox. They do not need an extended public key. A public account import never requires recovery words, private keys or a wallet backup.
Why the value may start with xpub, ypub or zpub
The word “xpub” is used both as a general term and as the literal prefix of one encoding. An encoding is the text representation of an extended public key. These prefixes are commonly used for single-key Bitcoin wallets on mainnet:
| Prefix | Meaning |
|---|---|
xpub |
The original BIP32 encoding. The prefix alone does not specify an address format; it is also used inside BitBoxApp descriptors for other script types. |
ypub |
An encoding convention for Wrapped SegWit: P2WPKH nested in P2SH. |
zpub |
An encoding convention for Native SegWit: P2WPKH. |
For example, a Native SegWit key can appear with zpub in its separate field and with xpub inside a descriptor that specifies the script type. Re-encoding the same key changes its representation, not the public key and chain code used to derive child keys. It does not select a different account, move funds or convert them to another address format.
These encoding conventions do not establish which exports an application offers; the current BitBoxApp hides Wrapped SegWit details. If another tool rejects a value, check its documented import format. Do not edit the prefix by hand: valid encoding also requires the correct version bytes and checksum. Submitting the key to an online converter shares its account information with that website.
Should you use the key or the descriptor?
Use the complete public descriptor when the receiving application supports its format. It includes instructions for constructing addresses that a bare key may leave you to supply separately. Use the separate extended public key when the application specifically requests it and supports the account's address format.
For Taproot, the BitBoxApp offers a descriptor without a separate extended-public-key field. Acceptance of an xpub alone does not establish Taproot import support. The descriptor explanation shows what the additional information means.