CashAddr address of BCH Bitcoin Cash

As we all know, the development team of Bitcoin Cash has updated the new address format a long time ago. The new address format of Cash Cash, CashAddr, was launched as early as January 14, 2018. Although CashAddr has been launched for 2 years, many friends still have doubts about the address format of Bitcoin Cash, and even some people cannot distinguish between new and old addresses. This article will dispel everyone's doubts.

1. What is CashAddr?

CashAddr is a new address format for Bitcoin Cash. If you have ever seen the address of Bitcoin or the address of Bitcoin Cash, then you will at least be familiar with this address-basically a lot of letters and numbers.

CashAddr is a new format, technically, it is a new "encoding". Visually, it will be displayed in different forms.

2. What does the CashAddr address look like?

It will be displayed in the following form, for example:

bitcoincash: qpm2qsznhks23z7629mms6s4cwef74vcwvy22gdx6a

Please note the prefix "bitcoincash:", technically, this has always been part of the address. However, this prefix may be optional or completely hidden when some wallets are finally implemented.

3. How does the change in address format affect us? What do we need to do?

The new address format was introduced to encourage users to use the new address, but this is not mandatory. For users, there may be a "wallet incompatible" experience at the beginning. However, this can also be solved by address conversion tools. For users, if your wallet or service provider has not been upgraded to support CashAddr, then you can try a new address. The new address format is very useful to solve the problem of transmitting the wrong address.

4. Can the old address be used?

Technically, it can be used. However, it is recommended to use a new address whenever possible. If you are still using the old address, the old address can still continue to work. But for most users, it should be upgraded to a new address, because the new address is more secure. In addition, when everyone uses the same format, the user experience will be enhanced.

5. Can we use the new format immediately?

Yes, the new format is now fully available.

6. When I try to transfer my Bitcoin Cash to a new address, the wallet does not support it, why?

If the wallet is not upgraded, then it does not support the new address format. But don't worry, this problem is easily solved. You can use the address conversion tool to convert the old address format to the new address format. Any legacy Bitcoin address format will be converted to one and only one CashAddr format, and vice versa. Therefore, there are two versions of any given address (Legacy and CashAddr), and they are interchangeable because they correspond to the same set of private and public keys.There are several conversion tools available. Recommend

https://cashaddr.bitcoincash.org/

Another conversion tool is an electronic cash wallet.

If you use address conversion tools, it is recommended to use only trusted tools. Because there will be some malicious tools to provide you with fake addresses, causing asset losses.

7. If I convert an old address to a new format and send these bitcoin cash to my friend, but his wallet does not support this new format, what will happen?

It's ok. The money will still appear on his old address (because the address is actually the same, but the encoding method is different).

8. What are the benefits of this special address format?

In addition to providing different address formats, the new format is not case sensitive, which makes addresses easier to write and communicate between people. And it can be expanded, and in the future when Bitcoin Cash adds more new functions, there is no need to change the address format.

9. Does CashAddr involve the protocol layer, is it a hard fork or a soft fork?

No, CashAddr does not involve protocol layer modification. Only the format has changed.

10. Has my private or public key been changed?

No, it will not change at all.