What is RIPEMD-160?

RIPEMD-160 (RACE Integrity Primitives Evaluation Message Digest) is a cryptographic hash function that produces a 160-bit (20-byte) fixed-length output. It was developed as an alternative to MD4/MD5 with enhanced collision resistance and is commonly used in blockchain, digital signatures, and checksum verification.

How Does RIPEMD-160 Work?

RIPEMD-160 follows a Merkle–Damgård construction, a method that processes the input message in 512-bit chunks. Here’s how it works internally:

1. Pre-processing:

   
   

   • The message is padded so its length becomes a multiple of 512 bits.

   • A 64-bit representation of the message length is appended.

   
   

2. Initialization:

   
   

   • It uses 5 state variables (A–E), each 32 bits.

   
   

3. Compression Function:

   
   

   • The input is processed through 80 rounds of bitwise operations and modular additions.

   • Two parallel chains (left and right) operate with different constants and permutations.

   
   

4. Finalization:

   
   

   • The result from both chains is combined to produce the 160-bit hash.

   
   

RIPEMD-160 is not reversible and is designed for speed and security in non-password applications.

Use With Other Qodex Tools:

• MD5 Hash Generator – For faster, smaller digest comparisons

• SHA-1 Hash Generator – For backward compatibility

• HMAC SHA-256 Generator – For keyed hash use cases

• Base64 Encoder – To encode the hash result for transmission

Practical Examples

Example 1: Hashing a String for Lightweight Integrity

Input:

qodex-tools

Output:

45cb600c1cf2048a0e24a106d5c37fc885c53a3c

Used to ensure data hasn’t changed during transmission (like checksum in software downloads).

Example 2: Blockchain Applications

In Bitcoin, RIPEMD-160 is used after SHA-256 to generate wallet addresses. Example flow:

Public Key → SHA-256 → RIPEMD-160 → Address

This combination improves compression and collision resistance.

Example 3: Hashing File Content (Pseudocode)

import hashlib

def hash_file(filepath):
    with open(filepath, "rb") as f:
        content = f.read()
        return hashlib.new("ripemd160", content).hexdigest()

print(hash_file("document.txt"))

Useful for version tracking or verifying integrity of stored files.

Why Use RIPEMD-160?

Pro Tips

• Combine with SHA-256 to mimic Bitcoin-style dual hashing.

• Use Base64 Encoder when transmitting RIPEMD-160 in email headers or URLs.

• RIPEMD-160 outputs a 40-character hex string—always confirm length when validating.

• Not recommended for password storage; use bcrypt or PBKDF2 for that instead.

• For HMAC-style signatures, use HMAC SHA-1 or HMAC SHA-256.