Bech32
technology · wallet
A checksummed, human-readable encoding used for native SegWit addresses and other data.
1.definition
Bech32 combines a human-readable prefix, data symbols, and a checksum. Bitcoin uses it for version-0 native SegWit addresses such as bc1q...; later witness versions use the related Bech32m checksum. The prefix distinguishes networks, such as bc for Bitcoin mainnet and tb for testnet.
2.limits
The checksum detects specified classes of transcription errors; it does not prove that the destination belongs to the intended recipient. Bech32 strings are conventionally displayed in one case, and mixed-case strings are invalid.
Related terms
Address
→The destination you share to receive a cryptocurrency payment on a particular network.
wallet · technical
Bitcoin (BTC)
→The first widely adopted cryptocurrency, using proof of work and an issuance schedule capped near 21 million BTC under current rules.
cryptocurrency · btc
SegWit
→A Bitcoin upgrade that moved signatures into witness data, fixing third-party malleability and changing block capacity.
scaling · btc
Checksum
→Data derived from a message to detect accidental corruption or transcription errors.
technology · wallet
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