What Is a Descriptor Wallet?
A descriptor wallet is a modern Bitcoin wallet implementation that uses output script descriptors to precisely define how to derive addresses and create spending conditions. It provides a more flexible and explicit alternative to traditional BIP32/BIP44 wallets.
What Are Descriptors?
Descriptors are compact strings that encode all information needed to derive addresses and construct spending transactions. They explicitly specify address types (P2PKH, P2WPKH, P2TR), key derivation paths, and multi-sig configurations.
Advantages
Explicit & Unambiguous
Descriptors remove guesswork by explicitly stating how to generate addresses. This eliminates compatibility issues and ensures wallets can always reconstruct the correct address types.
Advanced Features
Descriptor wallets natively support modern address formats like Taproot (P2TR) and work seamlessly with Miniscript for complex spending policies.
Bitcoin Core adopted descriptor wallets as the default in version 23.0, reflecting their growing importance. They're particularly valuable for multi-sig setups, hardware wallet coordination, and PSBT workflows requiring precise script definitions.
Quick Facts
- •More flexible than BIP44
- •Supports complex spending conditions
- •Used in Bitcoin Core since v0.21