Helping businesses choose
better software since 1999
better software since 1999
Guides & Research
Capterra Glossary
A bitcoin address is a unique identifier that represents a virtual location that cryptocurrencies can be used to send or receive bitcoin. When businesses create a bitcoin wallet, they receive both a public and private key. The private key proves a business owns a specific bitcoin wallet and the public key is used to send and receive funds. A bitcoin address is a hashed version of a public key, and is usually converted into a QR code that can be easily scanned during a transaction. Bitcoin addresses typically consist of a string of 26 to 35 alphanumeric characters or a QR code. Bitcoin addresses act as a token for a single transaction and cannot hold a bitcoin account balance. For each new transaction, a business must generate a new single-use bitcoin address to provide to the customer to facilitate the transaction.
Today, many small businesses are accepting bitcoin as a form of payment. This is because accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment helps corporations expand their customer base to people who do not possess or wish to use a traditional bank account to facilitate transactions. To receive bitcoin payments from customers, a business must give the customer a newly generated bitcoin address to send their funds to. Typically, companies will generate a QR code that customers can easily scan to complete the transaction.