How to avoid problems with those stupid wallet addresses that most blockchains use - Crypto in Plain English - Episode 177 - by cryptohunt.it

How to avoid problems with those stupid wallet addresses that most blockchains use

Welcome to the cryptohunt jam where we spend one minute a day to explain crypto. In plain english.

Last time we showed you how to send money via stablecoins. But in the process we noticed something super annoying: These wallet addresses.

They are a frustratingly cryptic string of numbers and letters… and easy to get wrong. Uppercase and lower case matter, they are seemingly randomly mixed, and are pretty long. In other words: They are user hostile and unfortunately you have to deal with it.

But there are a few ways to avoid trouble.

First, make sure everyone handling them always just copy-paste them through their computers or phones, By avoiding to manually write them down, lots of those potential errors can be eliminated.

Second, make sure you know the difference between your wallet address - which is also called public address and your private key. Both look the same, but you never want to share the private key with others. It unlocks full access to your wallet and anyone asking is likely trying to scam you. What you can share is usually called wallet address, or public address.

Lastly, if you are sending larger amounts, make sure to do a small test transaction and confirm the amount with the recipient before you send the rest.

And yes, we are sorry we have no better news for you. One day we’ll laugh about how stupid this all is, but for now we are stuck with it. But hope is on the horizon: There are blockchains, like Celo, that allow you to use email addresses or phone numbers instead, making it more like Paypal.

And next time, we’ll talk about the public ledger and why you may not want to send money via crypto if you care about privacy.

Disclaimer: This podcast references our opinion and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Do your own research and seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.