Litecoin address
validator.
▸ /reference — address types
▸ /notes
0x30 for P2PKH (L-prefix) and 0x32 for P2SH (M-prefix). The bech32 human-readable prefix is ltc, distinguishing it from Bitcoin's bc.3, sharing the version byte with Bitcoin. This made cross-chain mistakes possible and was retired. The validator still accepts these as valid for backward compatibility but flags them as deprecated.▸ /faq
What does a valid Litecoin address look like?
Three shapes are in active use: P2PKH legacy starting with L, P2SH starting with M (or, on older wallets, 3 — now deprecated because it collides with Bitcoin P2SH), and native SegWit starting with ltc1q. The ltc1p Taproot format is defined but Taproot has not activated on Litecoin mainnet, so treat format-valid ltc1p addresses with caution.
Why did Litecoin move from 3-prefixed P2SH to M?
Bitcoin's P2SH addresses also start with 3 and use the same version byte (0x05). Sending Litecoin to a Bitcoin 3-prefix address — or vice versa — would silently succeed at the encoding level but lose the funds. In 2017 Litecoin introduced a distinct version byte (0x32 → M-prefix) to prevent this.
How is the checksum verified?
Legacy and P2SH addresses use Base58Check (double SHA-256 of the version + payload). SegWit and Taproot use Bech32 / Bech32m, which embed a polynomial-modulo checksum directly in the address text. We compute both locally — no network calls.
Are LTC and BTC addresses interchangeable?
No. Despite both using SegWit and Bech32, they sit on independent chains with independent UTXO sets. Sending LTC to a Bitcoin address (or vice versa) is irrecoverable. The validator surfaces the network so you can check before signing.