Address Format

address format

In the Cosmos Network, there are 3 addresses.

Bech32

• new standard address format defined in BIP173.
• In the bitcoin, Base58Check is mostly used address format.

data structure

• human-readable part(HRP) prefix
• separator("1")
• data part (data+checksum)

Cosmos Bech32 Address Type

HRP (human readable part)	Definition	Example
cosmos	Cosmos Account Address	cosmos1qaa9zej9a0ge3ugpx3pxyx602lxh3ztqda85ee
cosmospub	Cosmos Account Public Key
cosmosvaloper	Cosmos Validator Operator Address	cosmosvaloper1qaa9zej9a0ge3ugpx3pxyx602lxh3ztqgfnp42
cosmosvaloperpub	Cosmos Validator Operator Public Key
cosmosvalcons	Cosmos Validator Consensus Address	cosmosvalcons17ktnf2yk5a5fgd4uxs3zgn7cv2hp38zuw8j35e
cosmosvalconspub	Cosmos Validator Consensus Public Key	cosmosvalconspub1zcjduepqgx5wxl6eygqf6rx4gura2dy5vzelthjgqntk7q9l2hnpjqam6atsq8u0lx

cosmos-sdk/types/address.go

// Bech32MainPrefix defines the main SDK Bech32 prefix of an account's address
Bech32MainPrefix = "cosmos"

// PrefixAccount is the prefix for account keys
PrefixAccount = "acc"
// PrefixValidator is the prefix for validator keys
PrefixValidator = "val"
// PrefixConsensus is the prefix for consensus keys
PrefixConsensus = "cons"
// PrefixPublic is the prefix for public keys
PrefixPublic = "pub"
// PrefixOperator is the prefix for operator keys
PrefixOperator = "oper"
// PrefixAddress is the prefix for addresses
PrefixAddress = "addr"

// Bech32PrefixAccAddr defines the Bech32 prefix of an account's address
Bech32PrefixAccAddr = Bech32MainPrefix
// Bech32PrefixAccPub defines the Bech32 prefix of an account's public key
Bech32PrefixAccPub = Bech32MainPrefix + PrefixPublic
// Bech32PrefixValAddr defines the Bech32 prefix of a validator's operator address
Bech32PrefixValAddr = Bech32MainPrefix + PrefixValidator + PrefixOperator
// Bech32PrefixValPub defines the Bech32 prefix of a validator's operator public key
Bech32PrefixValPub = Bech32MainPrefix + PrefixValidator + PrefixOperator + PrefixPublic
// Bech32PrefixConsAddr defines the Bech32 prefix of a consensus node address
Bech32PrefixConsAddr = Bech32MainPrefix + PrefixValidator + PrefixConsensus
// Bech32PrefixConsPub defines the Bech32 prefix of a consensus node public key
Bech32PrefixConsPub = Bech32MainPrefix + PrefixValidator + PrefixConsensus + PrefixPublic

https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/blob/master/docs/spec/addresses/bech32.md

Address Generate Flow

sample code

https://github.com/cosmos-gaminghub/explorer-backend/tree/example/address-format

AccAddr

1. generate secp256k1 private key
2. generate public key from private key
3. generate address from public key
4. generate accAddress from address

ValAddr

1. generate secp256k1 private key
2. generate public key from private key
3. generate address from public key
4. generate valAddress from address

ConsAddr

1. generate ed25519 private key
2. generate public key from private key
3. generate address from public key
4. generate consAddress from address

Base64 encoding

When using API, some value are encoded with Base64.

• example1 http://198.13.33.206:1317/cosmos/base/tendermint/v1beta1/blocks/6121767

"proposer_address": "9Zc0qJanaJQ2vDQiJE/YYq4YnFw="

When decoding this value, you can see F59734A896A7689436BC3422244FD862AE189C5C. This is Address.

• example2 http://198.13.33.206:26657/genesis

{
    "address": "F59734A896A7689436BC3422244FD862AE189C5C",
    "pub_key": {
        "type": "tendermint/PubKeyEd25519",
        "value": "Qajjf1kiAJ0M1UcH1TSUYLP13kgE128Av1XmGQO711c="
     },
     "power": "8174386",
     "name": "CCN"
},

When decoding this value, you can see 41A8E37F5922009D0CD54707D5349460B3F5DE4804D76F00BF55E61903BBD757. This is PubKey.