PAY-152 Payments & Banking

What is a wallet address?¶

A wallet address is an identifier used to send, receive or reference cryptocurrency or another blockchain-based asset.

Avoid the dangerous assumption¶

The dangerous assumption is that an address is the wallet itself or a permanent identity for one person.

An address is usually derived from cryptographic information associated with a wallet or account.

The exact format depends on the blockchain and asset involved.

One wallet may generate many addresses.

An exchange may assign deposit addresses to customers, rotate addresses or use shared infrastructure.

A single address may also receive funds from many people or services.

The address can be used to inspect recorded blockchain activity on the relevant network.

It may show incoming and outgoing transactions, balances or token interactions.

That does not reveal the private key or automatically identify the controller.

Preserve the complete address exactly as shown.

Addresses can be long, case-sensitive on some systems and easy to copy incorrectly.

Record the blockchain or network, asset, transaction hash, source and date observed.

Do not assume that two visually similar addresses are the same.

Also do not assume that an address seen in a screenshot remained controlled by the same person at every relevant time.

To attribute the address, seek exchange records, wallet data, device artefacts, communications, transaction patterns and proof of control.

When reporting, distinguish the blockchain address from the wallet application, exchange account, device and person.

Use a wallet address as a network identifier for tracing and prove its controller through provider, wallet, device and contextual evidence.