Elliptic-curve

An elliptic curve is a plane real algebraic curve with an equation in the form y2 = x3 + ax +b. An elliptic curve should be a non-singular curve, meaning no cusps, self-intersections, or isolated points. An elliptic curve on a finite field is used in the cryptography system. ECC is used in Bitcoin to generate private-public key pair, so we will be covering this in depth in a later section of the chapter:

Figure 2.5: An elliptic curve (similar to that used in Bitcoin)
The public-private key concept in asymmetric cryptography is used in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to identify the owner of the asset. Private keys are used to represent the ownership of coins in cryptocurrency.