SegWit (short for Segregated Witness) is a protocol upgrade that changes the way data is stored. SegWit comes with many benefits.
Benefits of SegWit
- Significantly cheaper transaction fees.
- Decreased risk in sending transactions.
- Faster signatures.
SegWit on ShapeShift
app.shapeshift.com makes it easy to switch between Legacy and SegWit addresses.
1. When receiving BTC or LTC, you can select a SegWit address.
2. On the receive page, click the drop down menu.
3. Select Segwit (or Segwit native).
4. You can also view your balances for each address type by going to the Accounts section and expanding the view.
- Note: Your BTC account balance will reflect the total amount on your BTC Legacy address and your BTC SegWit addresses.
- When you spend Bitcoin in the ShapeShift Platform, funds will be spent from the smallest number of UXTOs regardless if the funds are on your BTC Legacy address or BTC SegWit address.
- By default, change from these transactions will go to your BTC SegWit address.
- We recommend moving all your BTC funds to your BTC SegWit address to get the full benefits of SegWit. You can do that by sending all your funds to your new BTC SegWit address in the ShapeShift Platform
If you have any questions, please reach out to our Support Team.