Bitcoin Cash addresses come in two formats that point to exactly the same keys. CashAddr, written as bitcoincash:qp3w… (or without the prefix as qp3w…), is the standard format since 2018. Legacy addresses start with 1 or 3 and look identical to Bitcoin addresses. The legacy format is the one that causes expensive mistakes, because a wallet cannot tell from a 1… address whether you meant BTC or BCH. Use CashAddr for Bitcoin Cash, and if you receive a legacy BCH address, convert it before sending.
Why there are two formats
Bitcoin Cash split from Bitcoin on 1 August 2017 at block 478,558, keeping Bitcoin's history, keys and address encoding. For several months both chains used the same 1… and 3… addresses, and people sent BTC to BCH addresses and back. In January 2018 the BCH ecosystem adopted CashAddr: a base32 encoding with a bitcoincash: prefix and a stronger checksum, so that BCH addresses no longer look like Bitcoin ones. Bitcoin itself moved on to Bech32 (bc1…), which Bitcoin Cash does not use because it never adopted SegWit.
| Format | Example start | Valid on BTC? | Valid on BCH? |
|---|---|---|---|
| BCH CashAddr P2PKH | bitcoincash:q… | No | Yes |
| BCH CashAddr P2SH | bitcoincash:p… | No | Yes |
| Legacy P2PKH | 1… | Yes | Yes (same key) |
| Legacy P2SH | 3… | Yes | Yes, but see note on SegWit |
| Bitcoin SegWit / Taproot | bc1q… / bc1p… | Yes | No |
CashAddr's first character after the prefix shows the type: q for a key hash (the equivalent of a 1… address), p for a script hash (3…). The checksum is 40 bits long, eight characters, which makes undetected typos practically impossible.
Converting between formats
Because both encodings carry the same 20-byte hash, conversion is lossless. Electron Cash and most BCH wallets display both forms and accept either. Bitcoin.com's wallet and several block explorers such as Blockchair show the legacy equivalent on the address page. If an exchange gives you a BCH deposit address in legacy format, the CashAddr version is the same destination; converting it simply protects you from pasting it into a Bitcoin wallet by mistake.
When BTC and BCH end up at each other's addresses
Because legacy addresses are shared, two mistakes happen in practice, and both are recoverable only by whoever holds the private key on the other chain.
- BTC sent to a legacy BCH address. The coins land on the Bitcoin chain at that address. If the address belongs to your own BCH wallet, import the same seed or key into a Bitcoin wallet that uses the same derivation path, and the BTC appears. If it belongs to an exchange's BCH deposit, only the exchange can recover it, and many will not.
- BCH sent to a legacy BTC address. The coins land on the Bitcoin Cash chain. The owner of the Bitcoin address controls the same key on BCH and can claim them with a BCH wallet such as Electron Cash by importing the seed. An exchange's BTC deposit address is again up to the exchange.
- BCH sent to a 3… P2SH address of a Bitcoin SegWit wallet. On Bitcoin Cash, SegWit-wrapped outputs are not protected by the same rules. Treat this case as high-risk and ask the wallet's or exchange's support immediately.
Importing a seed into a second wallet is safe only in wallets you trust and have downloaded from the official site. Do not paste a seed into any website that offers to 'recover forked coins'.
Exchanges handle this differently. Some credit mistaken BCH deposits to a BTC address after a manual check, some charge a fee, and many decline. The earlier you contact them, with the txid and both address formats, the better.
Checking a BCH transaction
- Paste the txid into a Bitcoin Cash explorer such as Blockchair or bch.loping.net. A BCH txid is 64 hex characters, the same shape as a Bitcoin txid, so search on the right chain; the transaction hash identifier lists the candidates.
- If the explorer finds it on the BTC chain instead, you sent the wrong coin.
- Look at the output address in both encodings to confirm it is the one you meant.
BCH on KOT.CASH
When you receive Bitcoin Cash from a swap, paste a CashAddr address from your BCH wallet; the order form validates the address for the selected coin. When you pay in BCH, the order page shows the deposit address and the network; the provider credits after 6 confirmations, about an hour at Bitcoin Cash's ten-minute block target. Guides on buying Bitcoin Cash with USDT and swapping BCH to BTC cover the full flow, and the address validator checks Bitcoin formats so a BTC address is not confused with a BCH one.
FAQ
Is bitcoincash:q… the same as a 1… address?
Yes, if they encode the same hash. CashAddr and legacy are two spellings of the same destination on Bitcoin Cash.
Can I send BCH to a bc1 address?
No. bc1 is a Bitcoin SegWit format that Bitcoin Cash does not support. BCH wallets reject it.
I sent BTC to my own BCH wallet's legacy address. Is it lost?
Usually not. Import the same seed into a Bitcoin wallet with the same derivation path; the BTC sits at that address on the Bitcoin chain.
Why did the BCH community introduce CashAddr?
To stop people confusing BCH and BTC addresses after the 2017 split. CashAddr has its own prefix and a stronger checksum.
How many confirmations does a BCH deposit need?
The KOT.CASH liquidity provider credits BCH after 6 confirmations, about an hour on average.