Question about nondeterministic wallet

Question

I was reading https://github.com/bitcoinbook/bitcoinbook/blob/develop/ch05.asciidoc#user-stories and ran into this statement.

In the first bitcoin wallet (now called Bitcoin Core), wallets were collections of randomly generated private keys. For example, the original Bitcoin Core client pregenerates 100 random private keys when first started and generates more keys as needed, using each key only once. Such wallets are being replaced with deterministic wallets because they are cumbersome to manage, back up, and import. The disadvantage of random keys is that if you generate many of them you must keep copies of all of them, meaning that the wallet must be backed up frequently. Each key must be backed up, or the funds it controls are irrevocably lost if the wallet becomes inaccessible. This conflicts directly with the principle of avoiding address reuse, by using each bitcoin address for only one transaction. Address reuse reduces privacy by associating multiple transactions and addresses with each other.

In the first part, it says multiple keys are generated and used only once. But in the second part, it says that the address reuse is a problem.

But if each key is used only once, how are they being reused?

Answer 1

That is what Andreas is trying to convey. He is saying that the traditional way of generating random private keys for each transaction in order to prevent address reuse is a poor choice of wallet principle. That is because every time you generate a new random private key, you would have to make sure to keep a backup of it so that you can recover bitcoins tied to that private key in case your wallet software becomes inaccessible. If you are transacting multiple transactions a day, generating a new address every time, you might find it tedious to back up your private key every time. The other way you get around this would be people using the same address so as to prevent the hassle of backing up the keys.