Segwit
address prefix：3…
Segwit (Segregated Witness) is currently a better solution for Bitcoin to cope with expansion.
When the miners package the blocks, they need to verify each transaction with a digital signature, confirm that there is no problem, and then record the transaction in the block. But for the average user, he only cares about how many assets are in each account and does not need to verify every transaction. Segwit is the digital signature information in the block out, so that each block can carry more transactions, thus achieving the purpose of expansion.
Advantages of segwit:
More secure, with better security than common addresses.
Faster, scalable block capacity, faster checking of transactions.
Cheaper, transaction fees are cheaper than regular address types.
Normal
address prefix：1…
( Legacy Address ) Addresses starting with 1 . This is the most original Bitcoin address,
such as: 【Creation address: 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa】
which belongs to Satoshi Nakamoto.
Taproot
address prefix：bc1…
Bitcoin Taproot is an important upgrade to the Bitcoin protocol designed to enhance Bitcoin’s privacy, security, and scalability. It was activated in November 2021 and represents another significant upgrade to Bitcoin since the SegWit upgrade in 2017.The primary goal of the Taproot upgrade is to improve Bitcoin’s privacy. Traditional Bitcoin transactions are public, meaning that anyone can see the transaction inputs, outputs, and amounts involved. This public transaction format can expose users’ privacy information, such as the flow of funds and holders’ information. The Taproot upgrade employs a new scripting language and transaction signature scheme that can merge multiple transactions into a single transaction, making transactions more private. This way, the input and output information of a transaction can be hidden, and only the final result of the transaction is made public, thereby enhancing Bitcoin’s privacy.Additionally, the Taproot upgrade can improve Bitcoin’s security. The new scripting language can support more transaction types, including multisignature and time-locked transactions, thereby enhancing Bitcoin’s security. Furthermore, this upgrade can also reduce transaction fees and confirmation times, improving Bitcoin’s scalability.In conclusion, Bitcoin Taproot is an important upgrade to the Bitcoin protocol designed to enhance Bitcoin’s privacy, security, and scalability. Its activation lays a more solid foundation for the future development of Bitcoin.
Native Segwit
address prefix：bc1…
Also a SegWit address.
The address of native SegWit starts with bc1.