You might have heard that MoonPay and many others use SegWit and wondered what that means. Here, we'll explain a little more!
Address types
When it comes to Bitcoin address formats, they can look quite different. BTC addresses typically consist of 27 to 34 alphanumeric characters and have various beginnings. Let's break it down:
1 - These are known as legacy addresses (P2PKH).
3 - These are called wrapped SegWit addresses (P2SH), and they are widely used.
bc1q - These are Native SegWit addresses (P2WPKH), they are also very common and these are what MoonPay uses.
What is SegWit
SegWit, short for Segregated Witness, is a feature of the Bitcoin protocol that most Bitcoin-based services now embrace. It reduces gas prices, meaning transactions have lower fees - but the benefits of SegWit for Bitcoin extend beyond just cheaper fees. Its primary goal is to enhance transaction speed on the blockchain network, reducing block sizes and speeding everything up.
SegWit is an important step towards making Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies more scalable. For the Bitcoin network to function smoothly, we need fast and efficient blockchain networks, and SegWit leads the way in scaling these networks for widespread adoption, directly and indirectly benefiting everyone involved.
Sending crypto to a SegWit address
If you're wondering how to send crypto to a SegWit address, don't worry, it's straightforward! You can start by sending your coins to an exchange that accepts transactions from legacy addresses (P2PKH and P2SH format). Then, once your funds are there, you can easily withdraw them to the SegWit enabled address in your MoonPay account.
Remember, SegWit is here to make things faster and smoother for everyone in the crypto world! Happy transacting!