Receiving Bitcoin is one of the first things you will do on Heartbit. The good news is that it is straightforward once you understand a few basic concepts. This guide walks you through how Bitcoin addresses work, how to share yours, and what happens after someone sends you BTC.
What Is a Bitcoin Address?
A Bitcoin address is like an email address for money. It is a string of letters and numbers that tells the Bitcoin network where to deliver funds. Just as someone needs your email address to send you a message, someone needs your Bitcoin address to send you BTC.
Bitcoin addresses typically start with "1", "3", or "bc1". Modern addresses beginning with "bc1" are called SegWit addresses and generally result in lower transaction fees. Heartbit generates SegWit addresses for you automatically, so you benefit from these savings by default.
Finding Your Address on Heartbit
To receive Bitcoin on Heartbit, navigate to your Wallet screen and look for the Receive option. You will see your Bitcoin address displayed as both a text string and a QR code. You can copy the address to your clipboard with a single tap, or let the sender scan your QR code directly.
Sharing Your Address
You can share your Bitcoin address with anyone who wants to send you BTC. Unlike a bank account number, a Bitcoin address is safe to share publicly. It only allows people to send funds to you, not to withdraw from your account.
That said, reusing addresses is generally discouraged for privacy reasons. Each time you receive a payment, Heartbit can generate a new address for you. All previous addresses remain valid and linked to your account, so funds sent to older addresses will still arrive.
Network Confirmations
After someone sends you Bitcoin, the transaction enters a queue called the mempool. Miners pick up transactions from this queue and include them in blocks. Each block added on top of the one containing your transaction is called a confirmation.
Most services, including Heartbit, consider a transaction settled after a certain number of confirmations. One confirmation typically takes about ten minutes, though this can vary depending on network congestion. Heartbit will notify you as confirmations accumulate and your balance updates.
What If I Give the Wrong Address?
Bitcoin transactions are irreversible. If you share an incorrect address, the funds will go to whoever controls that address, and there is no way to reverse the transfer. Always verify the address before sharing it. Copy and paste rather than typing manually, and confirm the first and last several characters match.