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A Bitcoin transaction spends one or more previously created outputs and makes new outputs. Your wallet tracks outputs it can spend and uses private-key material to authorize a payment; the network checks that authorization before a transaction can be confirmed. A Bitcoin address is a receiving identifier, not a wallet account or the bitcoin itself.
Follow a payment from Alice to Bob to see how addresses, public keys, signatures, inputs, outputs, change, and fees fit together—and what each means for privacy and security.
What happens when you send bitcoin?
Bitcoin does not update account balances in a central database when Alice pays Bob. Instead, the transaction consumes earlier outputs and creates new ones. The outputs that have not yet been spent are called unspent transaction outputs, or UTXOs. A wallet’s spendable balance is the value of the UTXOs it can use, rather than a single quantity stored at one address.
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For a simple arithmetic illustration, suppose Alice spends a 1 BTC output and creates a 0.3 BTC payment output and a 0.699 BTC change output. The remaining 0.001 BTC is the fee. Those amounts are only an example of how the arithmetic works; they are not a current fee estimate or a recommended payment amount.
From payment request to confirmed transaction
- Bob gives Alice a receiving identifier. Bob’s wallet can display a Bitcoin address for him to share. Alice’s wallet uses it to construct the payment output.
- Alice’s wallet selects UTXOs. The wallet chooses earlier outputs available to it, then creates transaction inputs that reference them. An input identifies a specific earlier transaction output, not merely an account balance.
- The wallet creates outputs. One output specifies the conditions for Bob to spend the payment later. A second output may return surplus to Alice as change. If Alice’s wallet selects several earlier outputs, the transaction can have several inputs.
- Alice’s wallet authorizes the spend. It supplies the data required to satisfy the conditions on the earlier outputs, including an appropriate signature. In the familiar P2PKH teaching example, the transaction includes a public key as well as a signature.
- The transaction is broadcast and checked. Peers and miners validate transactions. The network checks, among other things, that the referenced outputs are available and that the required spending conditions have been satisfied.
- A block inclusion gives the transaction a confirmation. The transaction’s confirmation time varies; an estimate is not a guarantee. Bitcoin.org’s general overview discusses approximate timing, but it should not be treated as a promise for a particular transaction or as a live fee or timing estimate.
Once an output is spent, it cannot be spent a second time. Bob’s later payment uses the output created for him as an input, referring to its transaction ID and output index, and provides data that satisfies its spending conditions.
How a wallet address relates to a public key and private key
A wallet creates or manages secret private-key material and derives a corresponding public key. The private key is authorization material: using it, the wallet can produce a signature required to spend outputs protected by the corresponding conditions. The public key can be shared or revealed when required, but it does not let someone else create the signature needed to spend the bitcoin.
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In the classic pay-to-public-key-hash (P2PKH) example used in Bitcoin’s developer guide, the public key is hashed, and that hash is encoded as a Bitcoin address. The familiar Base58 address form described in the guide includes a version number, a hash, and a checksum. The address is a convenient way to communicate receiving information; it is not the public key in every case, the private key, or a container holding coins.
The address represents or encodes information about spending conditions. The transaction output commits to the conditions that a future spender must meet. For the P2PKH example, the spender later provides a public key that matches the hash and a valid signature. Other Bitcoin address and script forms exist, so the P2PKH description is a teaching model, not a claim that all Bitcoin addresses use the same encoding or spending rules.
| Term | What it means | Role in a payment |
|---|---|---|
| Address | A receiving identifier associated with spending conditions. | A sender uses it to construct a payment output. It is not the bitcoin or the secret key. |
| Private key | Secret material used to authorize spending. | The wallet uses it to produce the signature required by the applicable conditions. |
| Public key | A value derived from the private key. | In the P2PKH example, it is supplied when spending and checked against the hash committed to by the earlier output. |
| Signature | Cryptographic proof created with the relevant private key. | It demonstrates authorization under the output’s spending rules without disclosing the private key. It does not encrypt the transaction. |
| UTXO | An output that has not yet been spent. | A wallet may select it as an input to a new transaction. It can be spent only once. |
| Fee | The difference between the input value and the total output value. | It is available to the miner that includes the transaction in a block. |
Why transactions have inputs, outputs, and change
A wallet does not normally subtract a payment from a single account balance. It assembles inputs from available UTXOs. Because those outputs were created by earlier transactions, their values may not exactly equal the amount the sender wants to pay.
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If Alice’s selected inputs total more than her payment plus fee, her wallet can create a change output that she controls. That change is a new UTXO, just like Bob’s payment output: it is not a return of the original input in place. The original input is consumed in full, and the new outputs define where the value can be spent next.
The transaction’s fee is represented by the leftover value: add up the input values, then subtract the output values. For example, if inputs total 1 BTC and outputs total 0.999 BTC, the difference is a 0.001 BTC fee. The amount is determined by the transaction’s actual inputs and outputs; the illustrative numbers above do not indicate what a transaction should pay to be confirmed.
This model also explains why a wallet’s displayed balance can be made up of multiple UTXOs and why the wallet must select inputs when spending. A balance display is a wallet’s summary of the outputs available to it, not a claim that one address contains that total.
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Can someone spend bitcoin using only your public key or address?
In the P2PKH example, no: knowing the public key or the address does not provide the private key needed to produce a valid signature. A signature proves authorization under the output’s spending conditions; it does not reveal the private key. Bitcoin.org’s vocabulary guidance states, “Private keys must never be revealed as they allow you to spend bitcoins for their respective Bitcoin wallet.”
Keep public receiving information separate from secrets. Sharing a receiving address is different from sharing a private key or recovery phrase. Never paste a private key or recovery phrase into a website, send it to someone claiming to be support, or treat a public address as if it were secret authorization data. Bitcoin.org explains that a recovery phrase can restore a wallet and that anyone who obtains it can access the corresponding bitcoin.
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Bitcoin transactions are public and traceable, not anonymous. Bitcoin.org states, “All Bitcoin transactions are public, traceable, and permanently stored in the Bitcoin network.” A used address exposes its public transaction history and associated activity. If a person or service can connect an address to your identity, that information can help connect transactions to you.
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Address reuse can make those connections easier: using the same address for multiple receipts can link activity that might otherwise be harder to associate. Bitcoin.org recommends using a new address for each receipt where practical. Wallets may manage address generation for users, but the exact behavior depends on the wallet; do not assume every wallet handles addresses in the same way.
Different address and script forms can encode different spending conditions and may reveal different information when an output is spent. The P2PKH explanation is useful for understanding keys and signatures, but it does not describe every format or wallet compatibility behavior. For a payment, use a receiving method the recipient’s wallet supports and check the destination before confirming.
Self-custody versus custodial storage
With self-custody, you control the private keys or recovery information that lets you authorize spending. That control also makes you responsible for protecting it and maintaining a usable backup. If the secret material is lost and no valid recovery method remains, access to the corresponding funds may be lost.
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With custodial storage, a third party controls the keys and processes withdrawals on the user’s behalf. The user depends on that provider’s security, solvency, and withdrawal policies, rather than directly authorizing every spend with keys they control.
| Responsibility or dependency | Self-custody | Custodial storage |
|---|---|---|
| Who controls the keys? | The user controls the private keys or recovery information. | The service controls the keys. |
| Who authorizes a spend? | The user’s wallet uses the user-controlled key material to authorize the transaction. | The provider processes or authorizes a withdrawal under its own systems and policies. |
| Backup and recovery | The user must protect keys and recovery information and ensure a backup can be used. | The user relies on the provider’s account-recovery process and continued service availability. |
| Main dependency | Careful handling of secrets and recovery information. | The provider’s security, solvency, and withdrawal policies. |
Bitcoin.org summarizes the self-custody trade-off this way: “When you hold your own private keys, you control your bitcoin—but you are also responsible for keeping it secure.” Neither arrangement removes the need to understand who can authorize a transaction and what happens if access is lost.
Practical checks before sending or receiving
- When receiving: share the recipient’s intended receiving identifier, and verify that the sending wallet accepts the address or payment method. An address is public receiving information, not a recovery secret.
- When sending: check the destination and amount in the wallet before approving. A transaction output establishes the conditions under which the recipient can later spend that value.
- When assessing a balance: remember that it represents spendable outputs the wallet can use, not coins stored at one address.
- When protecting access: keep private keys and recovery phrases secret and maintain recovery information securely if you use self-custody. Do not give them to websites or support contacts.
- When considering privacy: assume on-chain activity is public; avoid reusing an address when using a new one for a receipt is practical.
For an introductory protocol description, Bitcoin’s developer transaction guide uses P2PKH to teach how a previous output is spent and a new one created. Bitcoin.org’s wallet, privacy, and vocabulary explanations provide the corresponding cautions about control, public transaction history, and key safety. Those sources explain durable concepts; exact behavior, fee displays, and address handling depend on the wallet and transaction form in use.
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