Receiving Bitcoin

Learn how to receive bitcoin securely

To receive bitcoin, simply provide the sender with your address. You just need to make sure you're providing the right address.

How do I know what my Bitcoin address is?

You can find out your Bitcoin address by opening your Bitcoin wallet.

Read more: How do I create a Bitcoin wallet?

Every Bitcoin wallet is a little different, but your Bitcoin address will always be displayed somewhere within the wallet.

Here's an example of a Bitcoin address:

3FZbgi29cpjq2GjdwV8eyHuJJnkLtktZc5

If you don't have a Bitcoin wallet yet, we recommend the Bitcoin.com Wallet. It's the easy-to-use, fully non-custodial Bitcoin wallet trusted by millions.

Read more: How to send bitcoin.

How can I let people know what my Bitcoin address is?

Your Bitcoin wallet will allow you to copy your Bitcoin address to your clipboard. Then, you just need to provide the sender with that address via email, messaging app, SMS, etc.

Most wallets also provide you with a QR-code version of your Bitcoin address. If you're in the same room as the sender, they can scan your QR code to get your address.

Can I receive bitcoin to my exchange wallet/account?

If you're using a centralized cryptocurrency exchange like the Bitcoin.com Exchange, the process is the same as above (ie. find your Bitcoin address and provide it to the sender). When you receive Bitcoin to a centralized exchange, however, you'll have to wait for the exchange to acknowledge it has received the bitcoin and reflect the receipt in your account. This may take quite a bit longer (up to several hours) than if you receive your bitcoin to a wallet you control (ie. a non-custodial wallet).

Read more: Custodial versus non-custodial Bitcoin wallets.

Is it safe to give out my Bitcoin address?

You can safely give out your Bitcoin address to friends, family, and acquaintances. No one can steal your bitcoin using just your Bitcoin address. They'd need both your address and the private key to it. However, you should know that, since the Bitcoin network is publicly viewable, whoever knows your Bitcoin address can easily find out exactly how much Bitcoin you have at that address by simply pasting the address into a Bitcoin block explorer like this one. They can also see every transaction you've ever made using that address. If you don't want people to see this information, you'll need to use a fresh Bitcoin address. Luckily, that's easy to do. The Bitcoin.com Wallet, for example, allows you to create an unlimited number of new addresses, and creating a new address is done with the touch a button.

TIP: to protect your privacy, it's recommended to use a fresh bitcoin address for every transaction.