Base58 removes 0 (zero), O (uppercase O), l (lowercase l) and I (uppercase I) because they look alike in common fonts and are hard to distinguish when read aloud. This reduces transcription errors — critical for wallet addresses where a mistake can mean permanent loss of funds.
Base58 Encoder / Decoder
Encode and decode text with Base58 (Bitcoin / Flickr)
The encoding created by Satoshi for human-readable Bitcoin addresses
Base58 is a binary-to-text encoding scheme that uses 58 alphanumeric characters, deliberately excluding 0 (zero), O (uppercase O), l (lowercase l) and I (uppercase I) — all easily confused by humans. It was created by Satoshi Nakamoto for Bitcoin addresses and is widely used in cryptocurrencies, IPFS (CIDv0), and any system where addresses need to be typed or spoken by people.
Real-time encoding and decoding
- Select Encode or Decode mode. Choose the alphabet: Bitcoin (standard, uppercase first) or Flickr (lowercase first — used in short URLs).
- Type or paste your text. Conversion happens in real time.
- Use the swap button to reverse direction: the output moves to the input field and the mode switches automatically.
Sources and references for this tool
These references help contextualize formulas, standards, APIs and limitations used on this page. They do not replace professional validation when a result has legal, financial, medical or operational impact.