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BTC address formats

The difference between SegWit and Bech32

Updated over 2 months ago

There are several BTC address formats (protocols) that crypto-related services support. YouHodler supports the top two BTC address formats - SegWit and Bech32. Before the deposit you must choose the correct type of the wallet. For withdrawals, our platform automatically determines the type of wallet using the address format.

Bech32

Bech32 is the advanced BTC address format that starts with the bc1. Since this is the newest wallet format, statistically the speed of transaction processing is slower than other types of BTC addresses but as with any transaction, the exact speed depends on the blockchain capacity and workload at the particular time.

SegWit

SegWit is the most common BTC address format that almost all businesses and wallets support. It starts with the number 3 and contains 26 to 36 characters. The average transaction fee and time can be higher for Bech32 but as with any transaction, it depends on the state of the blockchain.

BEP20

BEP20 is a standard on Binance Smart Chain (BSC), akin to BTC's SegWit in its aim to enhance efficiency. Like BTC addresses, BEP20 addresses start with "0x" and contain 42 characters. This standard facilitates token management on BSC, providing faster and cheaper transactions than Ethereum's ERC-20. It supports features like token swaps and staking, making it popular for decentralized apps. Similar to BTC transactions, BEP20 speeds and costs can fluctuate with network activity.

Please explore this article if you wondering about how to deposit crypto.

Before making the transfer, please check the address format of your wallet provider.

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