Bitcoin addresses: formats, privacy, and explorers

Bitcoin addresses typically start with 1 or 3 (legacy / P2SH; newer formats such as Bech32 start with bc1). Like email addresses, you can share them so others can send funds to your wallet. Unlike email, you can create as many new addresses as you want — they all belong to the same wallet. A wallet is simply a collection of addresses and keys that unlock funds. For privacy, prefer a new address for each payment. There is practically no limit on how many addresses you can create.

Until an address first appears as a recipient in a blockchain transaction, it is just a huge number among a vast space of possible addresses. Once it is used in a transaction, it becomes part of the known address set and you can check its balance on the blockchain.

Address info

Example explorer page:

• open_in_new https://www.blockchain.com/btc/address/1Cdid9KFAaatwczBwBttQcwXYCpvK8h7FK