BTCBurn Fun

Bitcoin Donate Address:
Send BTC to a Person

Bitcoin does not have one single burn address. It has several unrelated mechanisms, each one irreversible, and most people sending to a "burn address" have never been told which one they are using. This page explains exactly how Bitcoin gets burned, what each format looks like, and how to send the same coins to a person who can spend them.

This cycle’s live Bitcoin wallet

Mechanics

Three ways Bitcoin actually gets burned

These are genuinely different mechanisms with different consequences. None of them can be reversed.

Eater addresses

The classic method. Coins are sent to a Bitcoin address that provably has no private key, so no one can ever sign for them again. The most famous is Counterparty's, which has permanently absorbed about 2,131 BTC across roughly 3,170 deposits since 2014.

OP_RETURN outputs

A script that the consensus rules guarantee can never pay out, so any value attached to it is unspendable by construction. Used to anchor data on-chain rather than to destroy value deliberately.

Accidental loss

By far the most common real-world cause. Someone moves to a new seed phrase, forgets the old addresses still hold coins, and the balance becomes unreachable without anyone choosing to burn it.

The Counterparty eater address

1CounterpartyXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXUWLpVr

Verification

Every Bitcoin address format, and how to read one

There are four address formats in common use. Two of them are routinely rejected or misread by tools that were written before they existed, which is how legitimate transfers end up flagged or lost.

Format	Example address	Type	What to know
P2PKH	1BvBMSEYstWetqTFn5Au4m4GFg7xJaNVN2	Legacy	Starts with 1. The oldest format; highest fee.
P2SH	3J98t1WpEZ73CNmQviecrnyiWrnqRhWNLy	Script	Starts with 3. Used for multisig and wrapped SegWit.
Native SegWit	bc1qar0srrr7xfkvy5l643lydnw9re59gtzzwf5mdq	Bech32	Starts with bc1q. Cheapest and most common today.
Taproot	bc1p5d7rjq7g6rdk2yhzks9smlaqtedr4dekq08ge8ztwac72sfr9rusxg3297	Bech32m	Starts with bc1p. 62 characters. Newest, activated 2021.

Practical

What it costs, and how long it takes

Redirecting Bitcoin costs the same network fee as any other transfer. There is no platform cut.

Network fee

One standard transaction fee, set by the mempool. CryptoBurn Fun adds nothing on top.

Confirmation time

Typically 10 minutes per block; about an hour for the 6 confirmations most people treat as final.

Reversibility

None. Once the transaction is in a block, no party can undo it.

Minimum practical amount

Any amount. Very small sends are dominated by the network fee, so they are usually not worth making.

Comparison

Burn or redirect: Bitcoin

Same network, same fee, opposite outcome.

Same network, same fee. The only difference is where the value ends up.
Aspect	Burn address	Redirect
Recipient	Nobody	A person you choose
Who can spend it	No one, ever	The recipient, immediately
Supply effect	Permanently removed from circulation	Unchanged
Reversible	No	No
Network fee	Standard	Standard
Platform fee	None	None
Verifiable on a block explorer	Yes	Yes

Questions

Bitcoin redirect questions

Answers to the questions people ask most before sending. If anything here conflicts with the Risk Disclaimer, that document takes precedence.

Can a Bitcoin burn address ever be recovered?

No, and that is what makes it a burn rather than a payment mistake. An eater address is chosen precisely because no private key for it exists or will ever exist, so there is nothing for anyone to sign with. Nobody controls it, not even whoever created it.

Is bc1p a burn address?

No. A bc1p prefix means Taproot output, which was activated in November 2021. It is a normal, fully spendable address, and it is 62 characters long. Anything that only recognises the older bc1q prefix may display it incorrectly, which is a formatting problem rather than a burned balance.

Why do people burn Bitcoin for tax reasons?

In some jurisdictions, disposing of crypto to an unspendable address has been treated as a disposal that realises a capital loss. That treatment is not consistent worldwide, and sending to an address you control yourself may be characterised as a gift instead of a disposal, which can backfire. This is a question for a qualified tax adviser in your own country, not for a website.

What is the difference between a Bitcoin burn address and 0x000000000000000000000000000000000000dEaD?

They are on different networks. The 0x...dEaD address is an Ethereum address, not a Bitcoin one. Sending Bitcoin there is not possible, and any site offering you a Bitcoin payment with a 0x address is either confused or lying to you.

I moved my wallet to a new seed phrase and my old balance is gone. Was it burned?

It was almost certainly never moved. Bitcoin addresses derived from an old seed phrase still hold their balance and are still fully spendable by anyone holding that seed. Nothing is burned unless someone deliberately sends it to an unspendable destination.

Does CryptoBurn Fun take a fee or custody my Bitcoin?

Neither. The transfer goes straight from your wallet to the recipient's wallet on the Bitcoin network. There is no account, no custody, no platform cut, and no point at which CryptoBurn Fun holds your coins.

Illustrative examples · your notes

Log your Bitcoin redirect.

Anything you log here is tagged Your note and stays in this browser on this device only — it is never uploaded, never shared with us, and is not proof that a transfer happened. The blockchain is the only real record, so confirm any transfer on a block explorer before you treat it as settled.

Keep reading

Bitcoin Live BTC address See the approved Bitcoin wallet and QR code for this cycle. Bitcoin What is a burn address? Background on burn addresses, scams, and why people burn coins. Bitcoin Redirecting Ethereum? Ethereum burns work differently, including an automatic base-fee burn.

Written and maintained by Liora Labs