What is this extra address on blockchain.info?

0

I sent bitcoins for the first time to my friend. He has an address 1JkqP4qMvVpQApqyH4m9J4LBdqfFacMKSf

I chose to send them through my wallet on Bitcoin-QT, but I was interested to check blockchain.info about the transaction as well.

I see that blockchain.info shows that I sent bitcoins to another address as well! Can anyone explain why it shows that I sent bitcoins (about $30) to the address 1NTyaVoNrQYx2PA5ce7bVmqA6jfmSSkvxU on blockchain.info? I definitely did not send to that address...

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This is my Bitcoin-QT client window. It shows the correct transaction amount.

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Ci3

Posted 2013-11-20T19:28:36.663

Reputation: 141

Question was closed 2013-11-28T22:13:35.757

Answers

3

This is because you did not have a coin that exactly matched the amount you wanted to send to your friend. So bitcoin had to split a larger coin into 2 coins... 1 with the amount to send to your friend and the rest as "change" to send back to you. The address you don't recognize is a new address that was created for the change, and it's in your wallet.

RentFree

Posted 2013-11-20T19:28:36.663

Reputation: 2 391

Awesome answer, but what do you mean "the new address is in my wallet"? Are you saying I have two addresses now? If someone sent to that new address, would it end up in my wallet? – Ci3 – 2013-11-20T19:48:45.003

Yes, you have 2 addresses. Bitcoin added 1 for you. People can send to either one and it will end up in your wallet. – RentFree – 2013-11-20T19:57:21.170

BTW the term "coin" in my answer is known technically as a "transaction output" or "txout" – RentFree – 2013-11-20T19:58:38.550

Ok thanks, this makes sense. Wow I was freaking out for a moment wondering where my coins went! – Ci3 – 2013-11-20T20:03:10.127

Why did you freak out though, because your Balance (in the upper left) is correct, right? – RentFree – 2013-11-20T20:06:07.377

1I'm just new to bitcoin, and didn't know what was happening. I thought my client wasn't as updated as blockchain.info for some reason. – Ci3 – 2013-11-21T03:56:16.970

Addresses are only supposed to be used once, so you should have one for each transaction you send. Also note that blockchain.info has a lot of misinformation, so it's best to avoid it if you don't want to get confused. – Luke-Jr – 2013-11-21T07:24:40.750

What misinformation? I think it's very accurate and helpful! – RentFree – 2013-11-21T12:01:38.413

1Same thing happened to me. What I don't understand is how come this "new address" it created for me doesn't show in my addresses area in Bitcoin-QT? Shouldn't it automatically be a part of my digital wallet file? Does the address only exist on the network? Is there anyway to make it show in the QT client since it is in fact a new address of mine? – Lev – 2014-03-15T09:34:31.957

Asked: 2013-11-20T19:28:36.663

Viewed: 1 405 times

Active: 2013-11-20T23:43:41.190