Written by Pablo Gómez
Founder & CEO at Metlabs · Reviewed on October 11, 2026
An address identifies a destination or entity under network rules. On Ethereum it may represent an external account or contract, with different derivation methods. On Bitcoin it usually encodes spending conditions.
An address is not a private key. However, a public record allows analysis of operations and relationships. Public identity association can reduce privacy.
Format and checksum checks catch certain errors rather than every incorrect destination. Address and network must be verified together before an operation.
Sources
Also known as
- wallet address
