Bech32 is a SegWit address format developed by Bitcoin Core developer Pieter Wuille. Bech32 is a human-readable address format that can be used to both send and receive cryptocurrency payments. It was originally proposed as a standard address format for the bitcoin network, but has since found wider acceptance among cryptocurrency projects.
At its core, Bech32 addresses are encoded in Base32 and contain a checksum that helps users avoid sending payments to the wrong address. The addresses are also longer than traditional bitcoin addresses, with 42-62 characters instead of the usual 34. They also aren’t case sensitive anymore.
Bech32 addresses also offer more security in the form of Error Detection. Rather than relying on the user entering an address correctly, the checksum ensures that each address is valid and correctly formed before a payment is sent. This helps to avoid loss of cryptocurrencies due to mistyped addresses.
Finally, Bech32 transactions have smaller transaction sizes than the older Legacy addresses, meaning they are cheaper to send and far less likely to be dropped by miners during periods of network congestion. This makes them ideal for users looking for quick, cheap transactions.