What Is the Blockchain?

A Bitcoin address is like a digital “mailbox” where you receive bitcoin. It’s generated from a pair of cryptographic keys: a public key (which becomes the address) and a private key (which proves ownership). You can safely share your address with anyone, just like giving them your email. The private key, however, must be kept secret.

Each time you want to receive bitcoin, your wallet creates a new address to improve privacy. Using fresh addresses prevents others from easily linking your transactions or seeing your total holdings. All addresses still belong to your same wallet and can be restored with your recovery phrase.

Bitcoin addresses come in several formats, like legacy (1...), SegWit (3...), and Bech32 (bc1...). Modern wallets usually use Bech32 because it offers better efficiency and lower transaction fees. Despite the different formats, all Bitcoin addresses serve the same purpose: directing funds to your wallet securely.