Wallet addresses
Crypto wallet address formats, network by network
A crypto address is a string a payment goes to, and every network family writes it differently: Ethereum and the networks built like it use a hexadecimal address, Tron a base58 address starting with T, Bitcoin two bech32 styles and two older ones, the XRP Ledger a base58 address starting with r. This page lists each format with an example taken from its own specification, and links a checker that tells which it is.
The formats at a glance
| Network | Starts with | Length | Example, from the specification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | bc1q or bc1p | 42 or 62 characters; 62 characters | bc1qw508d6qejxtdg4y5r3zarvary0c5xw7kv8f3t4 |
| Ethereum | 0x | 42 characters | 0x5aAeb6053F3E94C9b9A09f33669435E7Ef1BeAed |
| Base | 0x | 42 characters | 0x5aAeb6053F3E94C9b9A09f33669435E7Ef1BeAed |
| Polygon PoS | 0x | 42 characters | 0x5aAeb6053F3E94C9b9A09f33669435E7Ef1BeAed |
| BNB Chain | 0x | 42 characters | 0x5aAeb6053F3E94C9b9A09f33669435E7Ef1BeAed |
| Lisk | 0x | 42 characters | 0x5aAeb6053F3E94C9b9A09f33669435E7Ef1BeAed |
| Tron | T | 34 characters | TUoHaVjx7n5xz8LwPRDckgFrDWhMhuSuJM |
| XRP Ledger | r | 25 to 35 characters | rHb9CJAWyB4rj91VRWn96DkukG4bwdtyTh |
One address, several networks
An Ethereum-style address is the same string on Ethereum, Base, Polygon, BNB Chain and Lisk, because all of them use the same key format. The address does not say which network a payment should travel on — the invoice does. A transfer sent on a different network than the one named reaches the same address on the wrong chain, where it may be unrecoverable.
Questions about wallet addresses
What is a crypto wallet address?
A public identifier for an account on one network family, derived from a key the owner holds. Sending to it needs only the string; spending from it needs the key. Each family has its own encoding, so an address of one family is never valid on another.
Can I tell which network an address belongs to from the address alone?
The family, yes: the prefix and alphabet give it away, and the checker on this site names it. The exact network within a family, no — an Ethereum-style address is identical on every EVM network. The network comes from the invoice or the person you are paying, never from the address.
Does Unheld check the balance of an address?
No. The checker reads the format only: whether the string is a well-formed address of a family and whether its checksum holds. Nothing is looked up on any chain and nothing you type is stored.