Vanity addresses are special wallet addresses that have a custom sequence of characters chosen by the user. These addresses are often used on Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains to make wallet addresses more recognizable.

How to Create Vanity Addresses

To create a vanity address, you use an algorithm that tries many combinations until it finds an address with your chosen characters. This process can take a lot of time and computer power, especially if you want a long custom sequence.

Uses of Vanity Addresses

Companies use vanity addresses to make their wallets easily identifiable. For example, the 1inch wallet address starts with seven 1s: 0x1111111254fb6c44bAC0beD2854e76F90643097d

What is Address Poisoning?

Address poisoning is when a scammer creates a fake wallet address that looks very similar to a real one. They send fake tokens or small amounts of money to your wallet, hoping you will accidentally use their fake address for future transactions.

Recognizing Address Poisoning

Scam addresses often look like real ones by matching the first and last few characters. For example:

Real address: 0x676Aecc97bF721C3cb3329A22D49C0ea0ED375F7

Scam address: 0x67694AF0ee15792a89573c72cDd21e4560d375f7

Protecting Yourself

Always double-check the entire address before sending money. Be careful of addresses in your transaction history that look slightly different from the ones you trust. Avoid using copy-pasted addresses from unknown sources.

Final Tips

Vanity addresses can be useful but also risky. Always verify addresses before making transactions. Use services like Etherscan that help identify phishing attempts and label suspicious addresses.