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RIPEMD

RIPEMD is a 160-bit hash function designed by Hans Dobbertin et al., an output of the European RIPE project; Bitcoin addresses use RIPEMD-160.

Purpose

Provides a structural design different from SHA-1, as an alternative 160-bit hash.

Mechanism

A Merkle-Damgård construction over two parallel tracks, 5 rounds per track, merged at the end. RIPEMD-160 outputs 160 bits. Its structure differs from SHA-1, with no known practical collisions.

Use cases

  • Bitcoin address hashing (RIPEMD-160(SHA-256(pk)))
  • PGP key fingerprints (historical)
  • European standard alternative
  • Cryptographic research

Examples

  • Input 
    hello
    Output 
    9c1185a5c5e9fc54612808977ee8f548b2258d31

    RIPEMD-160 output

Common errors

Confusing RIPEMD-160 with RIPEMD-128 (the latter is no longer recommended)
Use RIPEMD-160 or higher

Related terms

SHA-1
SHA-1 is a 160-bit cryptographic hash function designed by the NSA; Google published the SHAttered collision in 2017, and it has been deprecated across standards.
GLOSSARY
SHA-256
SHA-256 is the 256-bit-output member of the SHA-2 family, widely used in TLS, blockchains, and cryptographic applications, with no known practical attacks.
GLOSSARY
MD5
MD5 is a 128-bit cryptographic hash function designed by Ronald Rivest; proven insecure by collision attacks, it is now used only for non-security purposes such as checksums.
GLOSSARY

Related tools

RIPEMD-160 Hash
Compute RIPEMD-160 hash. Free, private, and 100% client-side.
TOOL
Hash Calculator
Compute MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, or SHA-512 hashes with hex or Base64 output. Free, private, and 100% client-side.
TOOL

References