A Bitcoin address is a string of 24 -35 alphanumeric characters (a combination of both alphabets and numbers) that are used to represent destinations of Bitcoin payments. Most of these addresses consist of random characters which can either be in uppercase or lower case with the special exception of ‘O’ and ‘o’ and ‘I’ and ‘i’ to prevent ambiguity during transactions by the users.
Most of the Bitcoin addresses are 33 characters but even lower characters can still prove valid.
Since each address represents a number, some addresses are significantly shorter since they represent numbers that begin in zeros that when omitted shorten the address. Some characters in the address are usually used as a checksum. This simply means that they can be used to confirm typo errors using Bitcoin software and that the address is not simply caused by a typing error or missing characters, but is actually valid.
There are currently three types of addresses that are most commonly used:
- P2SH Address that begin with the number 3 e.g. 3Wh57jxTm9DNQc2W47Cwcn7Sjdn
- P2PKH Addresses that begin with the number 1 e.g. 1EYX23nsQW4Ns3tAD4C356Jki
- Bech32 Addresses that begin with bc1 e.g. bc1Nch56cm6jcxxJ4HVc3cb45caj
Bitcoin address look up
A bitcoin address look-up helps you to see whether there have been scam alerts connected to that address or to report a scam if you have details on it. Sharing with the community helps separate the good buyers from the bad ones. You will be able to find connected websites or owner profiles, get a notification of any activities by the address in question therefore avoiding any addresses that have been involved in scams. Bitcoin address look-up has been made easier by the various platforms available.
Also there are several sites available for the generation of bitcoin addresses. These addresses can be generated offline using various free software tools. It is also possible to generate the address without having a connection to the Bitcoin network. Large batches of addresses can also be created using these platforms that can be beneficial to e-commerce websites that accept Bitcoin as each user can be given a unique transaction address. Bitcoin Address lookup, however, should be noted that a ‘from’ address cannot be generated, as the addresses are generated and sent to for payments. Addresses can be looked up for on Testnet.
Using a bitcoin address is also generally as easy as it is to generate it. The address is created when someone needs to make a payment to you. You then send the address to the payer who sends the Bitcoin to that address. Before the payment is accepted, a ‘signature’ is used (at least by most Bitcoin Wallets) to confirm that the owner of the address accepts the message. This can be used to finalize contracts cryptographically.
Each payment generally uses a new Bitcoin address rather than reusing addresses which also generates its own kind of problems. Common Bitcoin software does this automatically when one requests payment or creates an invoice. The old Bitcoin address is really case sensitive and is easily proven invalid when one or multiple characters are incorrect and will be rejected by the Bitcoin software. Bech 32 addresses are also case sensitive.
Bitcoin address lookup is worth it if you consider transacting in Bitcoin, since you will avoid scams and thefts.
