Address Validation

Overview

Context and purpose

Its operational purpose is to prevent malformed, unsupported, mistyped, or wrong-network destinations from entering a payment workflow. It should be considered alongside Address Ownership Verification . The relevant distinction is address ownership verification and address screening, which respectively assess control and risk rather than syntax and network usability. A typical workflow is as follows: A validator parses the address, checks encoding, length, checksum where available, prefix, network, asset rules, memo or tag requirements, and supported destination type before accepting it. Core controls include chain-specific libraries, versioned network rules, test vectors, checksum enforcement where applicable, contract-versus-account checks, memo validation, and clear error messages. In payment and crypto operations, A structurally valid address can still belong to the wrong person, a scammer, a sanctioned party, an incompatible contract, or a burn address. Validation is therefore an early technical control, not final approval.

How it works

Address validation checks whether a destination is syntactically and technically compatible with the selected chain and asset. It may include checksum, prefix, length, contract format and network rules.

Practical checks and failure points

Do not equate valid format with customer ownership or with support for the specific token and chain.

Related concepts

Address Format Mismatch · Address Network Mismatch