Generate a new key pair

Generate ECDSA secp256k1 or Ed25519 key pairs with the Hiero SDKs to sign Hedera transactions, derive public keys, and set EVM-compatible account addresses.

ECDSA is recommended for new accounts and applications. It enables setting an EVM Address from Public Key on the account, native compatibility with EVM tooling, and msg.sender resolution in Solidity. See Keys and Signatures for the full comparison.

ECDSA (secp256k1_)

Create a new ECDSA (secp256k1) key pair used to sign transactions and queries on a Hedera network. The private key is kept confidential and is used to sign transactions that modify the state of an account, topic, token, smart contract, or file entity on the network. The public key can be shared with other users on the network.

Method	Type	Description
PrivateKey.generateECDSA()	PrivateKey	Generates an ECSDA private key
PrivateKey.generateECDSA().getPublicKey()	PublicKey	Derive a public key from this ECDSA private key
PrivateKey.generateECDSA().publicKey()	PublicKey	Derive a public key from this ECDSA private key
PrivateKey.generateECDSA().publicKey().toAccountId(<shard>, <realm>)	long, long	Constructs an account ID from a public key

Java

PrivateKey privateKey = PrivateKey.generateECDSA();
PublicKey publicKey = privateKey.getPublicKey();

System.out.println("private key = " + privateKey);
System.out.println("public key = " + publicKey);
System.out.println("evm address = " + publicKey.toEvmAddress());

Sample Output:

private key = 3030020100300706052b8104000a042204205edee337f333dbf6ae3e0b1e1298cbe1fe37faf47b9faed326a3917b0e828891

public key = 302d300706052b8104000a03220002e1f3b3bad1e0d97ed129725efaa4fc0289735a9f355438d2619676f1ff3f30dd

ED25519

Create a new ED25519 key pair used to sign transactions and queries on the Hedera network. The private key is kept confidential and is used to sign transactions that modify the state of an account, topic, token, smart contract, or file entity on the network. The public key can be shared with other users on the network.

PrivateKey.generate() is deprecated and silently generates an ED25519 key. Use PrivateKey.generateECDSA() for new accounts (recommended) or PrivateKey.generateED25519() if ED25519 is required.

Method	Type	Description
PrivateKey.generateED25519()	PrivateKey	Generates an Ed25519 private key
PrivateKey.generateED25519().getPublicKey()	PublicKey	Derive a public key from this Ed25519 private key
PrivateKey.generateED25519().publicKey()	PublicKey	Derive a public key from this Ed25519 private key
PrivateKey.generateED25519().publicKey().toAccountId(<shard>,<realm>)	long, long	Contruct an alias account ID from a alias public key address

Java

PrivateKey privateKey = PrivateKey.generateED25519();
PublicKey publicKey = privateKey.getPublicKey();

System.out.println("private key = " + privateKey);
System.out.println("public key = " + publicKey);

Sample Output:

private key = 302e020100300506032b657004220420b9c3ebac81a72aafa5490cc78111643d016d311e60869436fbb91c73307ed35a

public key = 302a300506032b65700321001a5a62bb9f35990d3fea1a5bb7ef6f1df0a297697adef1e04510c9d4ecc5db3f