Address tools

Verify a signed message

Confirm that a message was really signed by the owner of a Bitcoin address. Enter the address, message and signature - done. All local, no private keys needed.

Why signed messages are useful

Whoever holds the private key to an address can sign any message with it - without sending a single transaction. That is exactly what makes the signature a proof of ownership: only the key holder can create it, and anyone can verify it with this tool. Exchanges, for instance, often ask for such a proof during account recovery.

Key properties

  • Proves controlonly the private-key holder can sign validly.
  • Tamper-proofchange one character of the message and the signature becomes invalid.
  • No risk to coinssigning and verifying never move any Bitcoin.
Limits: signatures from single-key addresses (P2PKH, P2SH-SegWit, native SegWit/bech32) can be verified. Complex conditions such as multisig, timelocks or general scripts cannot be checked this way.

Frequently asked questions

01What does this tool do?

It checks whether a message was signed with the private key of a specific Bitcoin address. You enter the address, message and signature - if all three match, the proof holds.

02Do I need a private key?

No. Verification only needs the public key, which is reconstructed from the signature. Your coins and private keys are never touched.

03What is this useful for?

To prove ownership of an address without sending anything. A common case: an exchange asks you, during account recovery, to sign a message with "your" address - proving you control it.

04Which signature formats are supported?

The common Base64 signatures from Bitcoin Core and Electrum (BIP-137). We derive every possible address form from the signature (legacy, P2SH-SegWit, native SegWit) and compare them with the given address.

05Does the check run locally?

Yes. The entire signature verification happens in your browser (secp256k1). Nothing is sent to any server.