Bitpanda BTC deposits switch to Native SegWit: What users need to know

What is Native SegWit?

With Native SegWit comes a new address format: Native SegWit addresses (also known as bech32) start with “bc1” and all letters are lowercase, which brings better readability and prevents errors.

Here’s an example SegWit address:

3J98t1WpEZ73CNmQviecrnyiWrnqRhWNLy

And here’s an example Native SegWit (bech32) address:

bc1qar0srrr7xfkvy5l643lydnw9re59gtzzwf5mdq

*Please note that the addresses shown above serve as examples only - sending Bitcoin to any of them will result in fund loss.

Why did Bitpanda switch from SegWit to Native SegWit?

Bitpanda switched its internal wallets from SegWit to Native SegWit because Native SegWit is a newer standard that offers cheaper and faster transactions on the Bitcoin network. By doing this, we also support Bitcoin, as making transactions smaller leads to less congestion in the network.

How will this affect deposits?

When clicking on “Deposit” in the Bitpanda App, users can generate a wallet address to send their Bitcoin to in order to deposit them on Bitpanda. Currently, this address will have the format “3…” and is a normal SegWit address. 

From now on such an address will have the format “bc1…”, which is the standard for Native SegWit addresses. You, as a user, can deposit BTC to this address in the same way as you’re used to depositing your BTC - only the address format has changed.

Will this affect withdrawals?

Bitpanda has supported Native Segwit withdrawals from the beginning, and already supports withdrawals to addresses from the latest Bitcoin soft fork, Taproot. So, nothing changes for withdrawals. The change from SegWit to Native SegWit applies to Bitpanda’s internal wallets, and is only relevant for deposits.

What do I have to do as a user?

There is nothing to do or worry about for you as a Bitpanda user. The only difference is that you will now send your BTC to Native SegWit addresses (beginning with “bc1”) instead of SegWit addresses when depositing to Bitpanda. Just keep an eye on the address used for future transactions to be sure that your BTC arrives.

The Bitpanda terms and conditions apply.