What is a Public Key / Wallet Address?
The short answer
The "account number" you can safely share so people can send you crypto.
A public key (often shown as a wallet address) is derived from your private key but cannot be used to work backwards to it. It’s safe to share publicly — on a website, in a message — the same way you might share a bank account number to receive a payment.
Related terms
Full glossaryHODL
Crypto slang for holding an asset long-term rather than trading it, originating from a famous misspelling of "hold."
Mining
The process, used by Bitcoin and similar networks, of using computing power to validate transactions and earn new…
Staking
Locking up crypto to help secure a proof-of-stake network, in exchange for rewards.
NFT (Non-Fungible Token)
A token representing unique ownership of a specific digital (or sometimes physical) item, unlike a coin where every…
Smart Contract
Self-executing code on a blockchain that automatically carries out an agreement without a company in the middle.
Max Supply
The absolute maximum number of coins that will ever exist for a given cryptocurrency, if one is set.
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