New to Bitcoin? Start at 1.1
5.2Lesson 2 of 6
What 1, 3, bc1q and bc1p mean
This lesson answers
- What is the difference between 1, 3 and bc1 bitcoin addresses?
- What is a bc1q address?
- What is a Taproot (bc1p) address?
- Can I send from one type of address to another?
- Which address type has the lowest fees?
The first characters of a bitcoin address tell you which kind it is: 1, 3, bc1q or bc1p. Each kind locks coins in a slightly different way, and coins held at the newer kinds are cheaper to spend. They all belong to the same Bitcoin and can pay each other.
The four kinds
| Starts with | Name | Since | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Legacy (P2PKH) | 2009 | The original kind: one key controls the coins. |
| 3 | Script (P2SH) | 2012 | Coins locked by a script, such as "any two of these three keys". Also used to wrap SegWit for older wallets. |
| bc1q | SegWit | August 2017, block 481,824 | Cheaper to spend and harder to mistype. The common 42-character form is one key; the 62-character form is a script, often several keys. |
| bc1p | Taproot | November 2021, block 709,632 | The newest kind. When spent the usual way, a single-key payment and a multi-key setup look the same on the chain. |
The very earliest coins, including the first block's reward and Satoshi's payment to Hal Finney, were paid straight to a public key with no address at all. Explorers show those as 1 addresses today for convenience.
Why the newer kinds cost less
Fees are paid by the space a payment takes in a block. SegWit, which brought bc1q, counts the signature part at a discount. Spending one coin from a 1 address takes about 148 virtual bytes; from a common bc1q address, about 68, roughly half. Spending from a bc1p address the usual way takes about 58, and multi-key setups can save more. A bc1p output is a little larger than a bc1q one, so paying to a bc1p address costs the sender slightly more. The amount sent makes no difference.
What people use now
We counted every new output in ten recent blocks, 973,301 to 973,310: 83,656 outputs, leaving out data-only ones. About 89% went to bc1q addresses, about 4% each to bc1p and 1, and 3% to 3. That is the share of outputs created in those blocks, not the share of all bitcoin held, which still includes many coins sitting in older kinds.
- Holds
- …
- Transactions
- …
- Separate pieces
- …unspent outputs
Tether's chief executive posted this 62-character address in 2025 when asked where its bitcoin is held. Its length shows it is locked by a script rather than a single key.
See it on satoshis.watch →Mistakes the format catches, and one it can't
Every address carries a built-in check, so a mistyped character almost always makes a wallet refuse it instead of sending to nowhere. The bc1 format is guaranteed to catch up to four wrong characters. Both formats also leave out some characters that are easy to confuse with others. What no format can catch is a valid address that simply isn't the right one, such as a look-alike or one swapped in by malware. Compare the whole address with the original, character by character. If that is hard, check the start, the end and a good stretch of the middle. Look-alike addresses are made to match the first and last few characters. Copy the address from the person's own screen or message, not from your history.
What an address type doesn't tell you
The type says how coins are locked, not who holds them. People, companies and exchanges use every kind, and one wallet often uses several. Many wallets today create bc1q or bc1p addresses by default.
How this shows up when you look up an address: Bitcoin address types on satoshis.watch.
Check yourself
Practice, not a test. Think of your answer first, then reveal it.
1Can you send bitcoin from a bc1q address to a 1 address?Reveal
Yes. All four kinds are part of the same Bitcoin and can pay each other. A few older wallets and services may not send to the newer kinds.
2Why is spending from a bc1q address cheaper than from a 1 address?Reveal
Its signature data is counted at a discount, so the payment takes less of the block's space, and fees are paid by space.
3Does an address starting with 3 tell you it belongs to an exchange?Reveal
No. The type only says how the coins are locked. People, companies and exchanges use every kind.
Sources
- Bitcoin Improvement Proposals 13 and 16 (3 addresses), 141 and 173 (SegWit, bc1q), 341 and 350 (Taproot, bc1p).
- SegWit and Taproot activation heights, and the share of new outputs by type in blocks 973,301 to 973,310: counted on a Bitcoin node on 26 October 2026.
- Tether's address: posted by its chief executive, Paolo Ardoino, on X, 1 April 2025.
- FBI Denver, FBI Warns of Cryptocurrency Token Impersonation Scam (26 April 2024): look-alike addresses share the first and last few characters, so check the entire address.