Why is it harder to generate addresses starting with 1s?

2

Here's a table I got from bitcoin wiki.

They say:

A special case, leading numbers 1 (one) is especially difficult.

But why?

MCCCS

Posted 2016-08-28T14:55:33.467

Reputation: 5 827

See this question's answer here

user2716556 2016-10-25T19:25:10.807

Answers

0

An address has 1 + 20 + 4 bytes, which has a total of 200 bits. Each of the Base58 characters contain log_2 58 bits of information, which is approximately 5.858. If one created an address that has the public key hash 0000...00, the result would be a 5-6 character address, due to the checksum. To prevent this, Satoshi decided to add "1"s for each 0x00 byte in front of the address. Those "1"s each contain 8 bits of information instead of 5.85... As they carry more information, it's harder to find an address starting with those 1s.

MCCCS

Posted 2016-08-28T14:55:33.467

Reputation: 5 827