CryptoCalc 0.3.23

1. Purpose
CryptoCalc is a Cryptocurrency wallet generator provided as a standalone non custodial desktop application.
These wallets can be Non Deterministic (Simple Wallet) or Hierarchical Deterministic (BIP32).
Even though there is already similar tools online, the purpose is to provide these features
locally on your computer (non custodial) in order to reduce the risk of your Private Key / WIF
or seed phrase informations being stolen.
NB: Since its first release CryptoCalc has been downloaded 7414 times (even if there is also bots involved
in downloads, it seems that there is at least 100 frequent users).

Supported Blockchains: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Ripple, DogeCoin, Cardano, TRON,
Avalanche, Bitcoin Cash, LiteCoin, Dash and Firo

Supported Languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Czech, Portuguese, Deutsch,
Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Esperanto, Russian and Hindi.

NB: CryptoCalc uses ElectronJS as well as many modern and popular
Desktop applications

1. Setup
2. 2.1. Fast and Furious (advised for end users)
   • 2.1.1. Download CryptoCalc installer
     from SourceForge (NB: the installer was generated with electron packager
     and Inno Setup.
     Notice that the installer is not signed so Windows Defender Smartscreen
     will require that you validate yourself the application source.
     If you don't trust the installer (because it is not signed as this is a 350$ cost per year), you can either:
     • 2.1.1.a. Rebuild yourself the Installer by downloading Inno Setup and following the Howto
       provided in the _inno_setup subfolder (Howto build cryptowallet_setup.txt)
     • 2.1.1.b. Else you can proceed to Wizard's Lair setup instead (see 2.2)
   • 2.1.2. Default setup folder is C:\Users\$CURRENT_USER\AppData\Local\Programs\Cryptocalc
   • 2.1.3. Default subfolder where Wallet informations are saved:
     • $DEFAULT_SETUP_FOLDER\resources\app\_output

3. 2.2. Wizard's Lair (advised for custom local setup and/or software developers)

   • 2.2.1. Prerequisites
     • Install NodeJS
     • Install Git
   • 2.2.2. Open a command line interpreter
     • Use Windows Menu Start then input cmd
     • Change current disk to where you plan to install (eg. if its D then type D:)
     • Change current directory to where you to install (eg. md tools then cd tools)
   • 2.2.3. Import CryptoCalc from github
     • Open the GitHub CryptoCalc repository
     • Use the [<> Code v] green button
     • Copy the displayed .git URL
     • In the command line interpreter, type git clone followed by the .git URL\
       e.g. git clone https://github.com/ALADAS-org/cryptocalc.git
     • Type cd cryptocalc
     • Type npm install

4. Release notes

   • 3.1. Features in 0.3.23
     • "Rollback" of Cryptocalc rename to cryptowallet. In fact this was motivated by a better visibility
       on SourceForge but cryptowallet was rejected by SourceForge backend because it is a category.
     • Now using the latest release of ElectronJS (37.2.1)
   • 3.2. Features in 0.3.21
     • Rename of Cryptocalc (now deprecated) to cryptowallet.
   • 3.3. Features in 0.3.19
     • Added support of Hindi for the Seed phrase.
   • 3.4. Features in 0.3.18
     • Changed HD Wallet mode so that it the Derivation Path is Hardened by default
       and mandatory (for Security reason, see 5.2.3.
     • HD Wallet: Augmentation of account and address_index digits from 4 to 9
     • Fixed bug: useless twice loading of index.html
   • 3.5. Features in 0.3.17
     • Added support of Russian language.
   • 3.6. Features in 0.3.16
     • Changed license to 'BSD-3-Clause' and added support of Esperanto language.
   • 3.7. Features in 0.3.15
     • Added feature 'Internet Connection status' (see 4.1.9) for securing Offline wallet creation
   • 3.8. Features in 0.3.14
     • Bug fixes on Ripple (XRP) HD Wallet:
       • Bug 1. [Apply] button displayed when password input manually
       • Bug 2. WIF and Private Key displayed for Ripple (XRP) HD Wallet
       • Bug 3. WIF and Private Key in 'wallet_info.txt'
   • 3.9. Features in 0.3.11
     • Added support of Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese for the Seed phrase
   • 3.10. Features in 0.3.8
     • Added support of Korean for the Seed phrase
   • 3.11. Features in 0.3.7
     • Added support of Japanese for the Seed phrase (taking into account the Ideographic Space
       as a separator between words instead of the Normal Space).
     • Code enhancement: in renderer_gui.js and electron_main.js. The Singleton design pattern
       now uses Symbol() for the value of the static field #key.
   • 3.12. Features in 0.3.4
     • Added password feature for HD Wallet (see 4.1.5)
     • Seed tab renamed to Entropy
     • Bug fix: crash when saving SWORD Wallet
     • Update of Cryptocalc installer on SourceForge

5. CryptoCalc User Guide
   You can launch CryptoCalc either by first installing it with the CryptoCalc Standalone installer (see 2.1)
   or by downloading the npm package (see 2.2) then double clicking on _run.bat.

   • 4.1. Features
     • 4.1.1. Cryptocalc Standalone installer
       • 4.1.1.a: Downloadlc CryptoCalc installer
       • 4.1.1.b. Default subfolder where Wallet informations are saved:
         $DEFAULT_SETUP_FOLDER\resources\app\_output: Notice that this folder won't be automatically deleted if you uninstall CryptoCalc
     • 4.1.2. Generate Entropy from Entropy Source
       Use [Generate] button to draw a random image (cf. 4.1.3)
       which then will be used as the Entropy (with the Salt) to generate a new seed phrase (between 12 and
       24 words) which is derived to get the Private Key from which the Wallet Address is obtained
       (NB: Private Key and Wallet Address are in the Wallet Tab).
       There is also a conversion to the Shortened seed phrase: as only the 4 first characters of each mnemonic
       are useful (cf. BIP39 specification) then in the Shortened seed phrase each mnemonic is represented
       only by its 4 first characters (with the first character in Uppercase as a mean to separate mnemonics).
       NB: As some mnemonics are only 3 characters long, the abbreviation will of course only be whole mnemonic.
       Here is an example below:
       seed phrase
             rent expand super sea summer pull catalog mobile proud solve oven goose
       Shortened Seedphrase
             RentExpaSupeSeaSummPullCataMobiProuSolvOvenGoos
       NB: Please notice that the Shortened seed phrase is not meant to be used
       to import a wallet in a Wallet Manager, it's only a trick to compress the seed phrase and make it easier
       to store on a device with limited memory like a NTAG213 NFC (see 4.2.3).
     • 4.1.3. Entropy Source : Image or Fortunes
       Entropy Source may be switched between Image (Default source)
       and Fortunes (drawn from a compilation of 12803 Fortune Cookies).
       Please notice that a text is not considered as random enough for an Entropy Source
       thus Image is now the default Entropy Source
       (Notice that an image is much better in terms of randomness than a text).
       • 4.1.3.a: You can Drag'n'Drop images (png, jpg or svg) from you local folders.
       • 4.1.3.b: Image samples are provided in www/js/img folder.
       • 4.1.3.c: When using [Generate], Cryptocurrency logos are drawn
         from the www/js/img/CryptoCurrency folder and the first image
         is always our logo (Zilver_64px.svg).
     • 4.1.4. Choose Wallet_Mode: Simple Wallet, HD Wallet or SWORD Wallet (choice is in the Wallet tab)
       • 4.1.4.a. Simple Wallet
         This is the default Wallet Mode. In this mode, each wallet is separated.
         and there is no need to understand the principles of the HD Wallet Wallet Tree
         and the purpose of the Derivation Path used by HD Wallets. So a it's a good fit to
         Give it a Try and start creating your Cryptocurrency Wallets with minimum knowledge.
         On the other hand it's less secure than HD Wallets and it becomes clumsy if you need to manage
         multiple wallets (for example to secure your assets by splitting them among many wallets).
       • 4.1.4.b. HD Wallet
         This Wallet Mode allows to create / manage a whole hierarchy of Wallets (HD is the acronym for
         Hierarchical Deterministic) in the same BIP32 tree.

         Please notice that the Derivation Path is now Hardened by default and mandatory (since 0.3.18).
         This is for Security purpose (see 5.2.3)
         The BIP32 HD wallet tree_ is fully determined by the Entropy (or seed phrase which is equivalent)
         and an optional Password.
         The Entropy may be represented by a more human friendly representation: the Mnemonics Sequence which
         may also be called a seed phrase, Mnemonics or even SRP (Secret Recovery Passphrase).
         How to Generate a new wallet with a given Entropy:
         Paste a new Entropy (or seed phrase) in the Entropy wallet tab.
         Notice that this will hide the Entropy Source and Salt fields
         (meaningless in this situation).
         You can then change either the Account or Address Index fields
         (the maximum number of digits is 9 so you can input a decimal value
         between 0 and 999999999 for each field) in the Wallet tab page.
         This will show a [Refresh] button to recompute the wallet once you have finished.
         Pushing the [Refresh] button (or hitting either [Return] or [Enter] keys
         while the cursor is in either Account or Address Index field) will recompute the
         wallet address (and Private key or WIF) accordingly.

       • 4.1.4.c. SWORD Wallet
         SWORD is an acronym which means Simple Wallet Over Randomized Deterministic,
         it's an hybrid between Simple Wallet and HD Wallet because it hides the Derivation Path logic
         (which contains Account and Address Index), thus you don't need to care or understand the principles
         of Hierarchical Deterministic wallets, but it allows to generate all the cryptocurrencies provided by HD Wallet.
       • 4.1.4.d. Please notice that for Cardano HD wallets, the Account and Address Index parameters are not taken
         into account by the Wallet Managers which I have tested (namely Guarda and Yoroi) because they ask for
         the Mnemonics (Seed phrase in CryptoCalc). This is why in CryptoCalc, these parameters are hard-coded
         to Zero (for Cardano HD wallets only).
       • 4.1.4.e. You can check generated HD Wallets with Ian Coleman BIP39 homepage
         It's URL is provided as an item in the Help menu (Help/Resources/Ian Coleman BIP39)
     • 4.1.5. Password feature (HD Wallet only)
       With a password (also called Passphrase) a completely different HD hierarchy is generated.
       You can either input or generate (with the [Generate] button represented by a Refresh icon, like in the main toolbar).
       Important Notice: Once a password is provided, you must use the [Apply] button to recompute the HD hierarchy,
       this is the reason why Save is disabled (in the main toolbar and in the 'File' menu) until you click on the [Apply] button.
     • 4.1.6. Salted Entropy
       Entropy is generated from Entropy Source (either Image or Fortune Cookie ATM) and adding
       a Salt (UUID) to ensure that the Entropy will be different at each Generation even if the Entropy Source
       is the same. Thus the Entropy will be unique at each press of [Generate] button.
     • 4.1.7. Choose Entropy Size
       The Entropy Size is between 128 to 256 bits (32 to 64 hexadecimal digits). This is equivalent to a Seedphrase size
       between 12 and 24 words. Changing Entropy Size impacts the Seedphrase size and conversely.
     • 4.1.8. Wallet Address
       Wallet Address is displayed in the Wallet tab page. There's also an [Explorer...] button which allows to check
       the generated address in the appropriate Blockchain Explorer.
     • 4.1.9. Internet Connection Status
       This is to secure Offline wallet creation (non custodial). An icon at the right of the Main Toolbar shows
       if the Internet is connected (Wifi ON red icon) or not connected (Wifi OFF green icon)
     • 4.1.10. Save Wallet Informations
       With File/Save (or the Save icon in the main toolbar), you can save the Wallet Informations in a timestamped
       subfolder (eg. 2024_10_07_21h-4m-4s-3_BTC_EN) under _output folder.
       This subfolder contains wallet_info.txt and a wallet.json with the informations displayed in Entropy and Wallet tab pages.
       • 4.1.10.a. When you save the current generated wallet a Popup dialog confirms the saving and allows to show where it is saved.
       • 4.1.10.b. The Wallet Informations subfolder contains QR Codes (png images) for Address, Private Key, Seedphrase,
         Entropy and WIF (if applicable).
         Notice that there is a xtras subfolder where these QR codes are provided
         in the svg format. There is also a Rectangular Micro QR code (rMQR) of the
         Entropy (Rectangular Micro QR Code, R15x59 or R15x77 version depending on
         Entropy size) and an experimental Ultracode color QR code of the Entropy.
       • 4.1.10.c: How to retrieve a Wallet Address from the Rectangular Micro QR Code
         • 4.1.10.c.I: Notice that most Android QR Code reader apps will
           not be compatible with Rectangular Micro QR Code but it works with
           QRQR
           an Android QR Code reader published by Arara on the Google Play Store.
         • 4.1.10.c.II: Then convert the Entropy to the matching seed phrase
           by doing a copy/paste in the Entropy field of CryptoCalc.
           Caution: Take care to set CryptoCalc with the same Entropy Size and
           Derivation path (if applicable, don't forget to use the [Refresh] button)
           than those used when the wallet was created (these informations
           are provided either in the wallet_info.txt or in wallet_info.wits).
     • 4.1.11. Open Wallet Informations of a previously saved wallet
       • 4.1.11.a. Wallet informations are saved both as a .txt but also as a .wits file (JSON format).
       • 4.1.11.b. A .wits file can be opened either with File.Open... menu item or 'Open...' icon
         in the toolbar. It can be also be opened in Cryptocalc.exe by double clicking on the .wits
         (File extension to Application feature): this will launchlc Cryptocalc.exe (cf. 2.1 for installing
         Cryptocalc.exe with the CryptoCalc Standalone installer) /
       • 4.1.11.c. Once opened, a wallet can't be saved on itself (it is to prevent accidental overwrite of the original wallet),
         but you can use File.Save As... which will save the wallet with a different timestamp than the original one.
       • 4.1.11.d. Notice that for a HD Wallet you can change the Account and/or the Address Index (dont forget to push
         the [Refresh] button). Now you can save the new wallet with File.Save As... and if you didn't change the Entropy
         then this new wallet will belong to the same Bip32 HD Wallet Tree (see 5.2) than the original one.
     • 4.1.12. Import a wallet in Guarda
       An item in the menu (Help / Resources / Guarda) eases importing a wallet in a
       Wallet Manager application by opening Guarda.
     • 4.1.13. Select Seedphrase Language
       You can select the Wordlist Language (eg. English, French, Deutsh, etc...).
       Please notice that only English is accepted for most Wallet Manager applications.
       Changing Wordlist Language is indeed a mean to add a scramble step in order
       to make it harder to steal your Secret Recovery Passphrase because
       it should be translated to English to be used with a Wallet Manager.
       NB: the translation between languages is native in CryptoCalc
       because the reference is the Word Indexes (see 4.1.10) not the words.
     • 4.1.14. Display of Word Indexes
       The Word Indexes are between 0 and 2047, it is the index of each of the
       Seed phrase words in the BIP39 dictionary (see also 6.1.1).
       You can choose to display these indexes in Decimal or Binary
       (in Binary you can check that the computed Checksum bits are added at the end
       of the converted Entropy to determine the index of the last word).
     • 4.1.15. Display of the BIP32 Derivation Path
       The BIP32 Derivation Path is displayed in the Wallet tab page.
       You can edit the Account or Address Index fields to generate new wallets
       which belong to the same BIP32 hierarchy that is determined by the
       seed phrase (also called the Secret Recovery Passphrase).
     • 4.1.16. Change/Reset of Options (Tools/Options)
       Currently it allows to set default values for Default Blockchain, Wallet Mode and Entropy Size.
       These values are defined in www/config/options.json file.
       It is also possible to reset Options to Default Options
       (defined in www/config/defaults/options.json)
     • 4.1.17. Support of Localization
       In CryptoCalc, the Localization (l10n) feature is the translation of
       GUI Labels to adapt to the locale (eg. en).
       A locale name can be composed of a base language, country (territory) of use,
       and optionnally a codeset (eg. de_CH.UTF-8).
       The locale is provided as part of your machine's environment.
       CryptoCalc only uses the 2 letter language part (eg. en).
       Localization is enabled by a JSon file in the www/js/L10n folder
       (eg. gui-msg-en.json) .
       Currently only en and fr are provided.
   • 4.2. Use cases
     • 4.2.1. Generate a new Wallet and import it in a Wallet manager
       With a Wallet Manager like Guarda you can import
       a wallet generated by CryptoCalc:
       • 4.2.1.a. Choose Wallet Mode: Simple Wallet, HD Wallet or SWORD
       • 4.2.1.b. Choose a coin: BTC,ETH,XRP,ADA,DOGE,LTC,SOL,AVX,TRON,BCH,DASH,Firo
       • 4.2.1.c. Enter Private Key (NB: or WIF for BTC wallets)
     • 4.2.3. Store Shortened Seedphrase in a NFC SmartRing
       The entry level SmartRings (price range: 7..15$) contains a NTAG213 NFC with
       144 bytes useable capacity. This is enough to store the Shortened Seedphrase,
       with a 24 words Shortened Seedphrase
       the maximum required capacity is 96 bytes/characters (24*4, cf. 4.1.1)
       or even less (as some mnemonics have only three characters).
     • 4.2.4. Store Master password
       This is similar to the previous case, but the Shortened Seedphrase
       can be used as a Master password for a Password Manager or for tools like
       PGP Tool which provides encryption/decryption of your documents.

6. Appendix

   • 5.1. BIP39: a Dictionary of 2048 words
     BIP39 (BIP is the acronym of Bitcoin Improvement Proposal) is a specification regarding:
     • 5.1.1. A Dictionary of 2048 words
       The Dictionary contains 2048 English words each with a their unique 4 starting characters
       (or 3 if the word is 3 characters long). This dictionary exists also in other languages
       (e.g. French, Deutsh, Spanish, Italian_, Portuguese, etc...) but Wallet Managers
       (e.g. Guarda, Metamask, Atomic Wallet, etc...) and Hardware Wallets
       (eg. Ledger, Trezor, Tangem, etc...) will most probably accept only English words.
     • 5.1.2. Conversion of seed phrase from and to Entropy
       The seed phrase is obtained by drawing words (also called or menemonics) from the dictionary.
       Drawing a word is indeed choosing an index between 0 and 2047. This index can be represented
       by 11 bits in Binary (because 2^11 = 2048).
       • Conversion from Entropy to seed phrase
         The Entropy is represented in Binary and divided in 11 bits segements but the entropy
         is a multiple of 8 bits (128, 160, 192, 224, 256) there are "missing bits" for choosing
         the last word. These "missing bits" are provided by computing the Entropy Checksum.
         e.g. For an Entropy Size of 128 bits (converted to a 12 words seed phrase),
         132 bits are needed (11 * 12), so the Entropy Checksum provides the missing 4 bits.
       • Conversion from seed phrase to Entropy
         For each word its index is retrieved from the Dictionary, its value is represented
         as a 11 bits segment and a number of bits corresponding to tne Entropy Checksum
         are removed at the end of the concatenation of 11 bits segments.
         e.g. For a seed phrase of 12 words (converted to a 128 bits Entropy),
         132 bits are obtained from the Word Indexes (11 * 12), and because the Entropy Checksum
         is 4 bits long then the 4 bits at the end are removed.
     • Reference
       BIP39 — Mnemonic Generation with detailed explanation

   • 5.2. BIP32: Hierarchic Deterministic wallets
     BIP32 specifies how to generate wallets with are all derived from the same Entropy
     or seed phrase (also called the Secret Recovery Passphrase).
     A seed phrase of only 12 words is enough is most Wallet Managers but it is much more secure to use a 24 words
     seed phrase if possible (e.g. Ledger hardware wallet manager).
     Example: meaning of each part for m/44'/60'/0'/0/0' (a Hardened Derivation Path):

     • Start at the master key (m)
     • Follow the BIP44 specification (44')
     • Derive the key for Ethereum (for which Coin type is 60) (60')
     • Access the first account (0')
     • Choose the external chain, used for public addresses (0)
     • And finally, generate the first address in this sequence (0')

   • 5.2. References

     • 5.2.1. Understanding Derivation Paths in Cryptocurrency: Easy-To-Follow Guide
     • 5.2.2. Hierarchical key generation
     • 5.2.3. BIP32 Key Derivation with HD Wallets