WalletsWhat is a wallet address?

What is a wallet address?

A wallet address is the public string of letters and numbers that you share so others can send you crypto, much like an account number that anyone may see. Each blockchain writes addresses its own way, so the first characters usually tell you which network an address belongs to.

By Onchain Wiki editors · checked November 9, 2026, 11:17 UTC

What a Wallet Address Is Made From

A wallet address is made from a public key, which in turn comes from a private key that only the owner holds. The address is a shorter, encoded fingerprint of that public key, so sharing it lets people pay you without giving them any power to spend.

On Ethereum, for example, the address is the last 20 bytes of the Keccak-256 hash of the public key, with 0x in front, which gives 42 characters.¹ Bitcoin, Tron and Solana each use their own recipe, covered below. One wallet usually holds many addresses, all derived from the same seed phrase.

Wallet Address Formats by Chain

Wallet address formats by chain differ in their prefix, alphabet and length, and the table puts the common ones side by side. Each row comes from the chain's own spec or docs.

Common wallet address formats, from each chain's spec or docs, read November 8, 2026
Chain	Type	Starts with	Encoding	Checksum
Bitcoin	Legacy (P2PKH)	1	Base58Check	yes
Bitcoin	Script hash (P2SH)	3	Base58Check	yes
Bitcoin	Native SegWit (bech32)	bc1q	Bech32, lowercase	yes
Bitcoin	Taproot (bech32m)	bc1p	Bech32m, lowercase	yes
Ethereum and EVM chains	Account	0x	Hex, 42 characters	EIP-55 mixed case
Tron	Account	T	Base58Check, 34 characters	yes
Solana	Account	any base58 character	Base58, 32 to 44 characters	no

Bitcoin Address Types: 1, 3, bc1q and bc1p

Bitcoin address types come in four families that start with 1, 3, bc1q and bc1p, so the first characters tell them apart. The Bitcoin Wiki notes that most Bitcoin addresses are 34 characters, though some valid ones are as short as 26.²

1... Legacy pay-to-public-key-hash addresses. The Bitcoin developer reference gives their version byte as 0x00, encoded in Base58Check.
3... Pay-to-script-hash addresses, which pay to a script such as a multisig setup instead of a single key. BIP13 chose version byte 5 so these always start with 3.
bc1q... Native SegWit addresses from BIP173. They use the bech32 alphabet, which leaves out 1, b, i and o, and are written all lowercase.
bc1p... Taproot addresses. BIP350 switched SegWit version 1 and later to the bech32m checksum, and BIP86's single key Taproot examples start with bc1p.

Ethereum Addresses and the EIP-55 Checksum

Ethereum addresses start with 0x followed by 40 hexadecimal characters, and the EIP-55 checksum hides in which letters are capitals. The same format works on every EVM chain, such as BNB Smart Chain, Arbitrum or Base, and the address alone does not say which EVM chain you are on, so the network has to be chosen separately.

Under EIP-55, a letter is capitalized when the matching digit of the address's Keccak hash is 8 or higher. Wallets that check it catch nearly every typo: EIP-55 puts the odds of a mistyped address passing by accident at 0.0247%. An all-lowercase address is still valid but carries no checksum.

Contract accounts use the same 0x format, but no private key controls them; code does.

Tron Addresses Start With T

Tron addresses start with T and are 34 characters long in the Base58Check form that wallets and explorers show. Under the hood, the TRON developer docs describe a 21-byte value with a 0x41 prefix byte, which can also be written as 42 hex characters beginning with 41.⁹

Because Tron and EVM chains use different formats, a T address cannot receive on Ethereum and a 0x address cannot receive on Tron. That mismatch is the root of most wrong network sends.

Solana Addresses Use Base58

Solana addresses use base58 text for a 32-byte value, which comes out as 32 to 44 characters with no fixed prefix. The Solana docs say an address is either an Ed25519 public key or a program derived address, which no private key controls.¹⁰

Solana addresses carry no checksum. The Solana exchange guide notes that typos cannot be caught by format alone and suggests decoding the string to confirm it is 32 bytes.¹¹ Copy and paste beats typing here.

How to Check a Wallet Address Before Sending

Checking a wallet address before sending takes a minute and is the last chance to catch a mistake, because blockchain transfers cannot be reversed. A few habits cover most of the risk:

Match the format to the network: T for Tron, 0x for EVM chains, 1, 3 or bc1 for Bitcoin.
Compare the whole address, not just the first and last few characters.
Copy from the source each time instead of from your transaction history.
Send a small test amount to an address that is new to you.

The habit of comparing only the ends is what address poisoning exploits: scammers create lookalike addresses that share the same start and finish.

Questions People Ask About What is a wallet address

These are the questions people ask next about what is a wallet address.

Is it safe to share my wallet address?

It is safe to share your wallet address for receiving funds, because an address cannot be used to spend. Anyone with it can see that address's balance and history on a block explorer, though, so some people use a fresh address for each payment.

What is a crypto wallet address example?

A crypto wallet address example is the Bitcoin genesis address, 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa, a legacy address starting with 1. Ethereum addresses start with 0x and Tron addresses start with T.

Is a wallet address the same on every chain?

A wallet address is the same on every EVM chain, so one 0x address works on Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain and Arbitrum. Bitcoin, Tron and Solana use different formats, so a wallet shows a separate address for each.

Can a wallet address be wrong but still valid?

A wallet address can be wrong but still valid when it belongs to someone else, such as a lookalike planted by address poisoning. Checksums catch typos in Bitcoin, Tron and EIP-55 Ethereum addresses, but not a correct address for the wrong person.

Sources

Every number on this page comes from these sources, checked November 9, 2026.