Address

Address is an account attribute derived from the public key. The address also contains the chain ID that identifies the blockchain network, therefore the address on the Mainnet cannot be used on the Testnet and vice versa.

The address is a 26 byte array (see the Address Binary Format). In UIs the address is displayed as base58 encoded string.

Example address:

3PDfnPknnYrg2k2HMvkNLDb3Y1tDTtEnp9X

Normally, the address starting with 3P refers to the Mainnet, and the address starting with 3M or 3N refers to Testnet or Stagenet.

The address is used to obtain information about the account:

• token balances,
• entries of account data storage,
• aliases,
• assigned script, etc.

See examples in the How to Retrieve Information from the Blockchain article.

The address is indicated:

• in Transfer, Mass Transfer and Lease transaction to identify a recipient;
• in Invoke Script transactions to identify an invoked dApp.