Bitcoin address
Also · bc1q · bc1p · Receiving address
A Bitcoin address is a string that encodes the conditions to lock coins to, usually derived from a public key or a script. It is meant to be used once.
An address is not an account and not a key. It is a compact way to tell a sender which locking script to put on the coins. Legacy addresses start with 1 or 3, SegWit addresses with bc1q, Taproot addresses with bc1p. All of them include a checksum, so a typo is caught rather than paid to nobody.
Every address a wallet shows you is new, derived from the same seed. Reusing one is harmless for the funds but bad for privacy, since the public ledger then groups all payments to it under 1 label. Treat an address as a 1-time invoice. For recurring or public donations, Silent Payments and BOLT12 offers exist precisely to avoid reusing a static address.
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