How it works
Your wallet generates a key pair: a private key (a secret you keep) and a public key (mathematically derived from the private key). The wallet address is a shorter, human-friendly encoding of the public key. Address formats vary by chain: Bitcoin addresses begin with bc1, 1, or 3; Ethereum addresses are 42 characters starting with 0x; Solana uses base-58 strings about 32-44 characters long.
Example
An Ethereum wallet address looks like 0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc454e4438f44e. A Bitcoin SegWit address looks like bc1qxy2kgdygjrsqtzq2n0yrf2493p83kkfjhx0wlh. Both are public information: blockchain explorers like Etherscan and Mempool.space show every transaction sent to or from any address. Your wallet software signs transactions with the corresponding private key to prove ownership.
Why it matters
Always double-check the recipient address before sending; blockchain transactions are irreversible. Phishing scams swap addresses in copy-paste actions, and similar-looking addresses (homograph attacks) try to trick rushed users. Most wallets show the first and last characters; verify these match what your counterparty sent you. Test transfers with small amounts before sending large balances to a new address.
