{"id":37714,"date":"2022-08-18T18:36:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T15:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=37714"},"modified":"2025-08-29T20:23:38","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T17:23:38","slug":"the-main-types-of-bitcoin-address","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/the-main-types-of-bitcoin-address\/","title":{"rendered":"The main types of bitcoin address"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-text-wrappers-cards single_card\">\n<h2 class=\"card_label\">Key points<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The bitcoin network supports several address formats: Legacy (P2PKH), Script (P2SH), SegWit (P2WPKH) and Taproot (P2TR).<\/li>\n<li>Each type differs in technology and user benefits\u2014in particular, the potential to pay lower transaction fees.<\/li>\n<li>As of August 2022, SegWit was the most popular standard for bitcoin addresses.<\/li>\n<li>The newest format in the protocol is Taproot, or Bech32m, introduced with the November 2021 upgrade.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-text-wrappers-cards single_card\">\n<h2 class=\"card_label\">How to tell bitcoin address formats apart?<\/h2>\n<p>The bitcoin network supports several types of address. You can distinguish them by the prefix\u2014the characters at the start of the address:<\/p>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Legacy (P2PKH): starts with the digit <strong>1<\/strong>. Example: <em>1N4Qbzg6LSXUXyXu2MDuGfzxwMA7do8AyL<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>Script (P2SH): starts with the digit <strong>3<\/strong>. Example: <em>3J98t1WpEZ73CNmQviecrnyiWrnqRhWNLy<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/what-is-segregated-witness\">SegWit<\/a> (P2WPKH): starts with \u201c<strong>bc1q<\/strong>\u201d. Example: <em>bc1qfg9t7fwn0atn4yf9spca5502vk8dyhq8a9aqd8<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>Taproot (P2TR): starts with \u201c<strong>bc1p<\/strong>\u201d. Example: <em>bc1peu5hzzyj8cnqm05le6ag7uwry0ysmtf3v4uuxv3v8hqhvsatca8ss2vuwx<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-text-wrappers-cards single_card\">\n<h2 class=\"card_label\">What is a Legacy bitcoin address?<\/h2>\n<p>A Legacy address is the first address standard on the bitcoin network, proposed by Satoshi Nakamoto. It is also called P2PKH (Pay To Public Key Hash) because spending requires the recipient\u2019s signature, computed from the private key, and a public key.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A Legacy address consists of three parts:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>a prefix;<\/li>\n<li>a public key produced by applying the SHA256 and RIPEMD algorithms to the private key;<\/li>\n<li>a checksum.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Both incoming and outgoing transfers to and from such addresses are supported by all wallets and apps that work on the bitcoin network. The chief drawback of Legacy addresses is higher fees. They also suffer from slow double-hashing of the checksum and a larger footprint in QR codes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-text-wrappers-cards single_card\">\n<h2 class=\"card_label\">How do Script (P2SH) addresses differ from Legacy?<\/h2>\n<p>Script addresses appeared in BIP-0016 in January 2012 thanks to Gavin Andresen, chief scientist of the Bitcoin Foundation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They share the same structure as Legacy addresses but start with the digit 3. Such addresses require that, when spending funds, the recipient provide a script that matches the script hash. This feature helps reduce fees, shifts fee costs to the recipient and enables multisignature addresses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-text-wrappers-cards single_card\">\n<h2 class=\"card_label\">What are the advantages of SegWit?<\/h2>\n<p>In spring 2016, developers Peter Welle and Greg Maxwell proposed a new address format called Bech32 in BIP-0173. It is also known as <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/what-is-segregated-witness\">Segregated Witness (SegWit)<\/a> or P2WPKH.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>These addresses use the SegWit protocol, which reduces the size of a block on the bitcoin network by removing the signature from it, making transaction fees even lower than with Script or Legacy. The upgrade was activated in late August 2017.<\/p>\n<p>As of 2022, SegWit is considered the industry standard and is supported by all popular bitcoin wallets. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/transactionfee.info\/charts\/transactions-spending-segwit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Transactionfee.info<\/a>, about 85% of all outgoing transactions in mid-August 2022 were made from SegWit addresses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-text-wrappers-cards single_card\">\n<h2 class=\"card_label\">Is Taproot the best type of bitcoin address?<\/h2>\n<p>An upgrade to bitcoin\u2019s protocol called Taproot (literally \u201ctaproot\u201d) had been awaited for several years. Activation was completed in November 2021.<\/p>\n<p>The upgrade included important technical changes, notably the implementation of Schnorr signatures and the MAST concept. Taproot should improve the efficiency and scalability of bitcoin\u2019s blockchain. Another consequence was a new address format, called Pay-to-Taproot (P2TR) or Bech32m.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Taproot-min-1024x819.png\" alt=\"\u041a\u0430\u043a\u0438\u0435 \u0441\u0443\u0449\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0443\u044e\u0442 \u0432\u0438\u0434\u044b \u0431\u0438\u0442\u043a\u043e\u0438\u043d-\u0430\u0434\u0440\u0435\u0441\u043e\u0432?\" class=\"wp-image-156070\" width=\"768\" height=\"614\" srcset=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Taproot-min-1024x819.png 1024w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Taproot-min-300x240.png 300w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Taproot-min-768x614.png 768w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Taproot-min.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>The main advantage of Taproot addresses for users is the lowest fees compared with other formats, as well as cheaper payments on the Lightning Network.<br \/>However, Taproot has a significant drawback\u2014only a small number of wallets support it so far. In mid-August 2022, just 0.56% of all outgoing transfers on the bitcoin network <a href=\"https:\/\/transactionfee.info\/charts\/transactions-spending-taproot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">were made<\/a> from this type of address. <\/p>\n<p>Gradual adoption of a new standard is normal for a decentralised network such as bitcoin, which is used by a vast number of apps and users. A similar pattern followed the introduction of SegWit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-text-wrappers-cards single_card\">\n<h2 class=\"card_label\">Can you send bitcoin between different address formats?<\/h2>\n<p>Today, Legacy, Script and SegWit are fully compatible with each other. You can freely make both incoming and outgoing transfers between them.<\/p>\n<p>Taproot is somewhat different. Most non-custodial wallets support sending to Bech32m addresses but do not yet let users create them. In addition, not all crypto exchanges allow withdrawals to Taproot. The current state of Taproot support in popular bitcoin wallets can be found on the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.bitcoin.it\/wiki\/Bech32_adoption\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bitcoin Wiki<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>P2TR transactions are supported by many bitcoin block explorers, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/blockchair.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Blockchair<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/blockstream.info\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Blockstream<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-text-wrappers-cards single_card\">\n<h2 class=\"card_label\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is a bitcoin address?<\/h3>\n<p>A bitcoin address is a unique identifier that lets a user send and receive cryptocurrency. Every BTC address is unique and generated by complex cryptographic mechanisms. It serves as the equivalent of a bank account on the bitcoin network.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Which bitcoin address format is best?<\/h3>\n<p>As of 2022 we recommend using SegWit\u2014it is the modern standard, allows low fees on the bitcoin network and is supported by most wallets. In future this format will likely be superseded by Taproot.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do I choose an address type?<\/h3>\n<p>In most cases, a wallet app lets you choose the address format when creating an address.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How many characters are in a bitcoin address?<\/h3>\n<p>A Legacy address for the first cryptocurrency contains 34 characters; SegWit addresses (Bech32) most often include 42 characters; Taproot (Bech32m) has 62 characters.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How many bitcoin addresses are there?<\/h3>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/studio.glassnode.com\/metrics?a=BTC&#038;category=Addresses&#038;m=addresses.NonZeroCount\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Glassnode<\/a>, in August 2022 there were more than 38m addresses with a non-zero balance on the bitcoin network. Every day, <a href=\"https:\/\/studio.glassnode.com\/metrics?a=BTC&#038;m=addresses.ActiveCount\">around 1m<\/a> bitcoin addresses send or receive transactions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-text-wrappers-cards single_card\">\n<h2 class=\"card_label\">Further reading<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/what-is-a-bitcoin-improvement-proposal-bip\">What is a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP)?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/what-is-a-merkle-tree\">What is a Merkle tree?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/how-to-buy-bitcoin-a-step-by-step-guide-for-beginners\">How to buy bitcoin: a step-by-step guide for beginners<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/what-are-custodial-and-non-custodial-crypto-wallets\">What are custodial and non-custodial crypto wallets?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/is-bitcoin-digital-gold\">Is bitcoin \u201cdigital gold\u201d?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The address formats on the bitcoin network, how they differ and how to choose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"2","_short_excerpt_text":"A quick guide to Legacy, Script, SegWit and Taproot addresses.","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2113],"tags":[2116,1320,18],"class_list":["post-37714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptorium","tag-101-bitcoin","tag-address","tag-bitcoin"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"88","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"A quick guide to Legacy, Script, SegWit and Taproot addresses.","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37714"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37716,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37714\/revisions\/37716"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}