Address Format

Overview

An address format converts a protocol-level destination into a string that people and software can copy, scan, store, and validate. The encoded value may represent a public-key hash, script, account, contract, or another destination type. Formats such as Base58Check, Bech32, and Bech32m combine a payload with network or version information and error-detection data.

The visible characters are only the final representation. A validator normally decodes the string, checks its allowed character set and length, verifies its Checksum, and inspects the embedded version or witness program. Some formats also use a human-readable prefix to distinguish mainnet from testnet. A regular expression can reject obvious mistakes, but it cannot fully replace protocol-aware decoding.

Address format affects payment compatibility. A wallet may support a blockchain but not every destination type available on that chain. For example, older Bitcoin software may understand legacy Base58Check addresses but fail to recognize newer witness formats. Payment interfaces should therefore validate the address against the selected network and asset before preparing a Blockchain Transfer.

Format validation does not establish ownership or intent. An attacker can provide a correctly encoded address, and a user can paste a valid address from the wrong network. Some destinations also require a memo or tag outside the address string. Systems should store the address together with network, asset, and routing context rather than treating it as an isolated text value.

In practice, the safest implementation uses maintained network libraries and test vectors. The software should preserve the exact characters, avoid unsupported case conversion, and show the network beside the destination. A valid-looking string that cannot be decoded according to the expected data-encoding rules should be rejected before signing or broadcasting a transaction.