What Is SegWit?
SegWit is a Bitcoin protocol update that changes how signature data is processed and introduces the concept of transaction weight.
What Is SegWit?
SegWit is short for Segregated Witness. It is an update that allows signature data, which proves a transaction is authorized to be spent, to be handled in a different structure. It was activated on the network in 2017. One of its primary goals is to prevent transaction IDs from being affected by certain modifications (fixing transaction malleability), and the other is to improve the utilization of block space.
Signature data is not deleted or removed from security checks. Nodes still verify that the transaction is validly signed. What changes is how the data is organized and how it is treated in the block weight calculation. Therefore, it is incorrect to think of SegWit as a “signature-less Bitcoin transfer.”
Why Are Fees Affected?
Bitcoin transaction fees are related to the transaction size, expressed in virtual bytes (vBytes), and the chosen fee rate. SegWit-type transactions can provide more efficient size calculations for a similar spend. For example, different address types for the same number of inputs and outputs can lead to different fee results.
However, using SegWit is not a guarantee of a cheap transfer under all conditions. If the network is very congested, the fee rate will rise. Consolidating many small outputs into the same transaction can also increase the size. The final fee should be seen on the sending screen.
What Does It Mean When Choosing an Address?
You may see names like “Native SegWit” in wallets. Common native SegWit addresses start with “bc1q.” Taproot addresses, which start with “bc1p,” are associated with a later improvement; not all bc1 addresses are the same type. The sending platform must support the recipient’s address format.
Bitcoin does not turn into another asset just because the address format is different. These are different spending structures on the Bitcoin mainnet. Do not attempt to convert the address yourself or change its characters. Use the address generated by the “Receive” section of the wallet and check the support status of the sending service.