What Is the Purpose of RIPEMD-160 in Bitcoin Address Generation?

RIPEMD-160 is used in conjunction with SHA-256 to create a shorter, more compact, and unique wallet address. The process first hashes the public key with SHA-256, and then the result is hashed with RIPEMD-160.

This two-step process reduces the hash output size from 256 bits to 160 bits, making addresses shorter. It also adds a layer of security, as an attacker would need to break both hash functions to reverse the address.