Definition of crypto wallet address

The cryptographic address for receiving funds, which is the public key of a public/private key pair. The wallet address is like the account number on a checking account but used only for receiving money (making a deposit) and not for making payments. The private key is used to make a crypto payment.

Depositing Crypto in a Wallet

In order to obtain the wallet address to receive crypto, users have to select the type of crypto (bitcoin, ether, etc.) from their wallet menu. The address is an alphanumeric string of up to 42 characters, and although it is manually copy friendly (see Base58), it should nevertheless be copied and pasted into the sender’s system via the built-in copy function if possible or via a QR code that the wallet displays.

A Tip for Receiving Crypto

A sound tip for receiving crypto from someone for the first time is to send a tiny fraction of the total amount first to see if the addresses were copied correctly. If the first transaction is successful, the remainder can be sent. See Bitcoin address, public key cryptography, cryptocurrency and crypto glossary.