<p>You are using the testnet which uses 2 instead of 3, but as far as i know it is impossible to tell if something is a multisig or segwit adress when they both start with 3 on the "real" bitcoin chain, It could be both..</p>

<p>However you can indeed be sure that it is a segwit adress when they start with BC1, these are so called bech adresses. See more here, <a href="https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0173.mediawiki" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0173.mediawiki</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-08T19:51:01.920Z
I generated the address as shown above: I first call 'getnewaddress' which returns the n2B address. Then I use that address as a seed for the 'addwitnessaddress' which gives me the 2N address. Is it because I am doing all this on the testnet, perhaps?
ImJustACowLol
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-08T19:54:06.457Z
Ah yes, 2N is indeed the default for the testnet. See https://testnet.smartbit.com.au/tx/d529ccb7c17557bb784e410bfffc1bf57b60991b86eb0f48028369182491c0fb for example
Jan Janssen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-08T19:19:19.933Z
2018-01-08T20:01:04.993Z
2018-01-08T20:01:04.993Z
Jan Janssen
<p>Probably a question that has been asked a lot before, but how do I know if an address I generate with bitcoind and bitcoin-cli is SegWit?</p>

<p>I take the following steps to (attempt to) generate a SegWit address with the command prompt:</p>

<pre><code>$ bitcoin-cli -testnet getnewaddress

n2BC24zr3L5BwVazecnvPPh7NwgcV2Vfxa

$ bitcoin-cli -testnet -addwitnessaddress n2BC24zr3L5BwVazecnvPPh7NwgcV2Vfxa

2NBnkQpnPitDbE3evwZXGpNpRLE51cJpdGA
</code></pre>

<p>Now this confuses me because <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/6vq5ef/is_it_possible_to_distinguish_check_normal_btc/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">in this post</a> it is stated that SegWit addresses start with a '3'. Yet in <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/7fnuqh/how_to_check_transactions_of_a_segwit_address/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this</a> address it is said that they start with 'bc'.</p>

<p>The address I've generated in the above example starts with 2N, which is neither of the above. How can I know if it is still SegWit? Or did I do something wrong while trying to make a SegWit address?</p>

<bitcoin-core><segregated-witness><bitcoin-cli>
What Do SegWit Addresses Look Like?
ImJustACowLol
# What Do SegWit Addresses Look Like?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-01-08)

Probably a question that has been asked a lot before, but how do I know if an address I generate with bitcoind and bitcoin-cli is SegWit?

I take the following steps to (attempt to) generate a SegWit address with the command prompt:

```
$ bitcoin-cli -testnet getnewaddress

n2BC24zr3L5BwVazecnvPPh7NwgcV2Vfxa

$ bitcoin-cli -testnet -addwitnessaddress n2BC24zr3L5BwVazecnvPPh7NwgcV2Vfxa

2NBnkQpnPitDbE3evwZXGpNpRLE51cJpdGA

```

Now this confuses me because [in this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/6vq5ef/is_it_possible_to_distinguish_check_normal_btc/) it is stated that SegWit addresses start with a '3'. Yet in [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/7fnuqh/how_to_check_transactions_of_a_segwit_address/) address it is said that they start with 'bc'.

The address I've generated in the above example starts with 2N, which is neither of the above. How can I know if it is still SegWit? Or did I do something wrong while trying to make a SegWit address?

**Tags:** bitcoin-core, segregated-witness, bitcoin-cli


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-01-08. Score: 1

You are using the testnet which uses 2 instead of 3, but as far as i know it is impossible to tell if something is a multisig or segwit adress when they both start with 3 on the "real" bitcoin chain, It could be both..

However you can indeed be sure that it is a segwit adress when they start with BC1, these are so called bech adresses. See more here, <https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0173.mediawiki>

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I generated the address as shown above: I first call 'getnewaddress' which returns the n2B address. Then I use that address as a seed for the 'addwitnessaddress' which gives me the 2N address. Is it because I am doing all this on the testnet, perhaps?  
> **username_1**: Ah yes, 2N is indeed the default for the testnet. See https://testnet.smartbit.com.au/tx/d529ccb7c17557bb784e410bfffc1bf57b60991b86eb0f48028369182491c0fb for example  

---

