Bitcoin address types, and which one to use
Four formats are in active use and they all coexist on one blockchain. The differences are real but small: mostly fees, a little privacy, and one compatibility gotcha worth knowing before you paste an address.
The four you will see
| Starts with | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
1… | Legacy (P2PKH) | Bitcoin’s original format. Works everywhere, costs the most in fees |
3… | P2SH, often wrapped SegWit | A compatibility bridge from 2017. Also used by many multisig setups |
bc1q… | Native SegWit (BIP84) | The practical default. Cheaper, and universally supported by now |
bc1p… | Taproot (BIP86) | Newest. Slightly cheaper again for typical spends, marginally better privacy |
They all pay each other
Any address type can send to any other. There are no separate networks and no bridging — a bc1p wallet paying a 1… address is an ordinary transaction.
The one caveat runs the other way: a handful of old services and unmaintained wallets cannot construct a payment to bc1p, and a very small number still struggle with bc1q. If an exchange refuses your address, this is almost always why, and switching your receiving address type in Settings is the fix.
What the differences buy you
Fees. Bitcoin fees are paid per byte of transaction data, not per amount sent. Newer formats encode the same payment more compactly, so a Native SegWit spend is meaningfully cheaper than legacy, and a simple Taproot spend is cheaper again. The proportions shift with how many inputs a transaction has, but the ordering holds.
Privacy. Taproot makes a simple single-signature spend look identical on-chain to a complex multi-signature or contract spend, because both reveal only a single key path. That is a real improvement, though it matters more as more of the network uses it.
Error resistance. Both bc1 formats use bech32 encoding, which is case-insensitive, easier to read aloud, and carries a stronger checksum than the older formats. Mistyped addresses are rejected rather than accepted.
Which should you pick?
Native SegWit if you want zero friction; Taproot if you want the newest and are receiving from modern services. The difference in outcome is small enough that either is a good answer, and both are ordinary parts of one wallet — the same recovery phrase derives both, via BIP84 and BIP86 respectively.
One thing that is not optional: do not reuse addresses. A reused address publishes that every payment to it belongs to one party, permanently and to everyone. Any decent wallet hands you a fresh address each time without being asked, and BitHedge does.
Common questions
What is the difference between bc1q and bc1p addresses?
bc1q is Native SegWit (BIP84) and bc1p is Taproot (BIP86). Taproot spends are usually slightly cheaper and reveal marginally less about how the coins were locked. Both are bech32-family addresses derived from the same recovery phrase by different paths.
Can I send bitcoin from a bc1q address to a bc1p address?
Yes. All address types interoperate — it is one blockchain and one network. The only friction is that a few old services cannot create a payment to a Taproot address; receiving into one from a modern wallet or exchange is fine.
Which Bitcoin address type has the lowest fees?
Taproot (bc1p) for a typical simple spend, with Native SegWit (bc1q) very close behind, then P2SH, then legacy. Fees depend on transaction size in bytes rather than amount, so the newer, more compact formats cost less to move the same money.
Why does my wallet give me a new address every time?
Because reusing one links all payments to it as belonging to the same person, forever and publicly. Fresh addresses are the single cheapest privacy habit in bitcoin, and every address a modern wallet generates comes from the same recovery phrase, so nothing is lost by using many.
Which address type does BitHedge use?
You choose in Settings: Taproot (BIP86) or Native SegWit (BIP84). Both derive from your standard BIP39 phrase, so either restores in any wallet supporting the same derivation.
BitHedge is a Bitcoin-only self-custody wallet for iPhone. Keys are generated on your device and never transmitted — no account, no KYC, no tracking. See how it works.
Keep reading
- Taproot or Native SegWit: choosing a derivation — BIP86 vs BIP84, compared on fees, privacy and compatibility.
- Your recovery phrase, and why it is the only thing that matters — How twelve words become a key, and how they get stolen in practice.
- Your Bitcoin transaction is stuck. Here is what to do — Why it is unconfirmed, and how RBF actually gets it moving.
- All guides