Introducing Blockchain Addresses

A Blockchain Address is a unique identifier used to send and receive cryptocurrency or digital assets on a blockchain network. It functions like a bank account number, enabling transactions to be directed to the correct recipient. Blockchain addresses are typically represented as a long string of alphanumeric characters derived from the public key in a cryptographic key pair.

To receive crypto assets: you can share your address with the sender so they can send crypto to your wallet. Likewise, if you send crypto, the receiver shares their address.

To send crypto assets: you need the corresponding Private Key that controls spending the funds stored at that address.

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You can freely share a Blockchain Address. However, you must never share the Private Key. Find more in this article.

Blockchain Address FAQ

Q. Is it safe to share my address?

A. Yes, it is safe to share an address with anyone.

Q. Is it safe to share a PrivateKey?

A. NO! Sharing the Private Key of an address exposes all the assets to theft. Find more about Mnemonics and Private Key Safety & Security.

Q. What happens if I enter an address incorrectly?

A. If you enter an incorrect address, assets are sent to the wrong address. Therefore, those assets will be lost. Blockchain transactions cannot be reversed, so recovering assets sent to the wrong address is almost impossible all the time.

Q. Are Blockchain Addresses case-sensitive?

A. It depends:

• Ethereum and EVM-Compatible Chains (e.g., Binance Smart Chain, Polygon):
  Ethereum addresses are not case-sensitive themselves, but the checksum mechanism introduced in EIP-55 utilizes case sensitivity. This checksum is optional but helps users detect errors if the address is mixed-case.
• Binance Chain (BEP2) and Binance Smart Chain (BEP20):
  Like Ethereum, these chains use checksums that introduce case sensitivity in certain contexts, although addresses are typically considered case-insensitive.
• Solana:
  Solana addresses are base58-encoded and are case-sensitive, making it mandatory to maintain the exact character casing when using these addresses.
• UTXO Chains (e.g., Bitcoin):
  UTXO-based chain addresses, as of the writing of this article, are case-insensitive. It does not matter if they are written in UpperCase or LowerCase.

Q. Why do some addresses begin with 0x?

A. Addresses that begin with "0x" are typically associated with Ethereum and other Ethereum-compatible blockchains, such as Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, and others.

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VeChain network uses the 0x address format, but is not EVM-compatible.