An address is the public identifier of a wallet — a long string of letters and numbers (like `1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa`, the first Bitcoin address) that people use to send you funds. It's derived from your public key and is safe to share. Why it matters Addresses are not accounts with servers backing them — they're math-derived identifiers. Anyone can generate one in seconds, free, and keep it pseudonymous. Getting an address's characters wrong is irreversible, which is why the network shows checksums and why you always double-check before sending. Related terms public key · wallet · transaction
An address is the public identifier of a wallet — a long string of letters and numbers (like `1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa`, the first Bitcoin address) that people use to send you funds. It’s derived from your public key and is safe to share.
Why it matters
Addresses are not accounts with servers backing them — they’re math-derived identifiers. Anyone can generate one in seconds, free, and keep it pseudonymous. Getting an address’s characters wrong is irreversible, which is why the network shows checksums and why you always double-check before sending.
Related terms
public key · wallet ·
transaction