Address

A unique string used to receive Bitcoin. Public, but tied to no name unless you reveal one.

A Bitcoin address is a string of letters and numbers that identifies the destination of a Bitcoin payment. It is derived from a public key, which is in turn derived from your wallet's private key. You can share addresses freely — sending sats to an address does not let anyone spend them.

Modern wallets generate a new address for every transaction by default. This is a privacy best-practice: reusing the same address links all transactions to it together on the public ledger, making it easier for an observer to build a picture of your activity.

The format of an address tells you something about it. Addresses starting with `1` are legacy. Starting with `3` are SegWit-wrapped. Starting with `bc1q` are native SegWit. Starting with `bc1p` are Taproot. All work; newer formats are slightly cheaper to send to.

ExampleA native SegWit Bitcoin address looks like: bc1qar0srrr7xfkvy5l643lydnw9re59gtzzwf5mdq.

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Wallets & self-custody

How to store Bitcoin so that nobody — not even us — can take it.

Course topic

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Why financial privacy matters and how to keep yours when the world is going the other way.

Related terms

Glossary

Public key

The cryptographic counterpart to a private key. Used to derive addresses and verify signatures. Safe to share.

Glossary

Private key

The cryptographic secret that authorises spending Bitcoin. If someone gets your private key, they can spend your sats.

Glossary

UTXO

Unspent Transaction Output — the basic unit of Bitcoin balance. Your wallet is a collection of UTXOs.

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