bc1p

bc1p is the prefix used for Pay-to-Taproot (P2TR) Bitcoin addresses on the mainnet. These addresses are Bech32m-encoded strings that begin with the prefix bc1p and encode a 32-byte witness program used by the Taproot spending rules. bc1p addresses were introduced with the Taproot upgrade activated in 2021 and are used for spending outputs via the Taproot key path or script path. The encoding uses Bech32m, reflecting a witness version 1 program, which differentiates them from earlier Bech32 addresses for SegWit that use witness version 0 (such as those beginning with bc1q).

A bc1p address always starts with bc1p and encodes a 32-byte program that corresponds to the Taproot public key and associated spending conditions. The Bech32m encoding provides error detection and is designed for modern witness programs. In practice, bc1p addresses are longer than many older address formats and are intended for use with Taproot spending, including the advantages of Schnorr signatures and potential script-path spending.

Usage and compatibility: bc1p addresses are supported by modern Bitcoin wallets, nodes, and services that implement Taproot. Some older wallets or services may not recognize or display Taproot addresses correctly, so it is advisable to verify recipient support before sending funds. On test networks, the equivalent Taproot prefix uses tb1p.

Privacy and features: Taproot consolidates spend paths under a single output, improving privacy by making complex scripts indistinguishable from simple key-path spends on-chain. It also enables more flexible scripting and efficiency improvements, while maintaining compatibility with existing transaction models.