<p>Could you please help me understand these observations related to Bitcoin transaction?</p>

<p>I have setup a brand new wallet from scratch and I sent 0.0246 BTC to it (well, slightly more but after the fees are deducted, that is the amount I see in my wallet). So it looks like this.</p>

<pre><code>(Bunch of other addresses here) =&gt; 14xEotnA... 0.0246 BTC
</code></pre>

<p>That one on the right side being my wallet.</p>

<p>Then I have sent 0.0125 BTC to a friend, and this is what I see:</p>

<pre><code>(My address) =&gt; 1PkhkZ...  0.0125
                1MRQY...   0.0119056 BTC
</code></pre>

<p>So that second bit shows how much is left in my wallet, but the wallet address is now a totally different string?</p>

<p><em>UPDATE:
Yes, this is a duplicate. The answer suggested at the top of the page is a valid answer and was helpful.</em></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-16T01:48:05.407Z
Note: a **wallet** is a collection of addresses. A good wallet will create a new address for very transaction.
chytrik
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-16T07:33:03.703Z
So at the end of each transaction, the current wallet goes to zero and all the rest of the funds that were not sent will appear in a new address?
mbilyanov
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-16T11:32:07.537Z
@symbolix a transaction will spend one or more UTXOs (and each one is spent entirely, you cannot only spend half a UTXO, etc). Any excess BTC beyond what was transacted is sent to a new address, called a change address.
chytrik
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-16T11:35:52.477Z
But that address is just a variant of our original public address? Can I reuse the old address?
mbilyanov
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-17T07:03:29.237Z
it is not a ‘variant’, it is a new address. You can reuse the old address but this is highly discouraged for privacy reasons, and for security reasons as well (though perhaps less pertinently). A good wallet will automatically give you a new address for every transaction.
chytrik
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-17T11:28:12.560Z
Ok. I understand now. Everytime I send BTC to someone my funds keep moving to new addresses (the change). What about receiving? Me receiving address is changing again in that case? What if someone sends me BTC to one of the previous addresses?
mbilyanov
<transactions>
Why the address changes after each transaction?
mbilyanov
# Why the address changes after each transaction?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-02-16)

Could you please help me understand these observations related to Bitcoin transaction?

I have setup a brand new wallet from scratch and I sent 0.0246 BTC to it (well, slightly more but after the fees are deducted, that is the amount I see in my wallet). So it looks like this.

```
(Bunch of other addresses here) => 14xEotnA... 0.0246 BTC

```

That one on the right side being my wallet.

Then I have sent 0.0125 BTC to a friend, and this is what I see:

```
(My address) => 1PkhkZ...  0.0125
                1MRQY...   0.0119056 BTC

```

So that second bit shows how much is left in my wallet, but the wallet address is now a totally different string?

*UPDATE:
Yes, this is a duplicate. The answer suggested at the top of the page is a valid answer and was helpful.*

**Tags:** transactions

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Note: a **wallet** is a collection of addresses. A good wallet will create a new address for very transaction.  
> **username_0**: So at the end of each transaction, the current wallet goes to zero and all the rest of the funds that were not sent will appear in a new address?  
> **username_1**: @symbolix a transaction will spend one or more UTXOs (and each one is spent entirely, you cannot only spend half a UTXO, etc). Any excess BTC beyond what was transacted is sent to a new address, called a change address.  
> **username_0**: But that address is just a variant of our original public address? Can I reuse the old address?  
> **username_1**: it is not a ‘variant’, it is a new address. You can reuse the old address but this is highly discouraged for privacy reasons, and for security reasons as well (though perhaps less pertinently). A good wallet will automatically give you a new address for every transaction.  
> **username_0**: Ok. I understand now. Everytime I send BTC to someone my funds keep moving to new addresses (the change). What about receiving? Me receiving address is changing again in that case? What if someone sends me BTC to one of the previous addresses?  

---

## 0 answers

