BTC Wallet Address
Beginner
What Is a Bitcoin (BTC) Wallet Address?
A BTC wallet address is a unique string of letters and numbers used to send and receive Bitcoin transactions. Think of it as an email address for Bitcoin, where you can send or receive digital currency. Every Bitcoin user must have a wallet address to interact with the Bitcoin network.
How Does a BTC Wallet Address Work?
When someone wants to send you an email, they ask for your email address. Similarly, when someone wants to send you Bitcoin, they need your BTC wallet address.
A Bitcoin wallet address is a public key used to identify a wallet on the Bitcoin network. While the wallet address is visible to anyone, it maintains a certain degree of privacy because it’s not directly linked to the user’s name.
The most common type of BTC wallet address looks something like this:
1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa
This unique string of letters and numbers represents a specific “location” on the blockchain where BTC can be sent. Even though this address is public and can be shared with others, the private key that controls the wallet should be kept hidden and safe, ensuring only the owner can access the funds.
Fun fact: The example above is the Genesis address owned by Satoshi Nakamoto. It contains 50 BTC from the Genesis Block, the first Bitcoin block ever mined on the 3rd of January 2009.
Types of BTC Wallet Addresses
There are three main types of Bitcoin wallet addresses, each with a different format: