Pay to PubKey Hash (P2PKH)

What is Pay to PubKey Hash (P2PKH)?

Pay to PubKey Hash (P2PKH) is the classic Bitcoin script that locks coins to the hash of a public key. To spend, you later reveal the matching public key and prove ownership with a signature. Picture a padlock keyed to a silhouette, and the full key only shows up when you unlock it.

How Pay to PubKey Hash (P2PKH) works

Quick walkthrough, no fluff. Imagine you are paying a friend who wants classic style Bitcoin.

1. Step 1: You send coins to one of their addresses.
2. Step 2: The output locks to the hash of their public key using hash160.
3. Step 3: When they spend, they reveal that public key and add a signature made with their private key.
4. Step 4: Every node checks the math on the cryptographic signature and confirms that the hash matches the shown public key.
5. Step 5: If it checks out, the network accepts the spend and the coins move.

That is the idea. Clean, simple, time tested.

Why Pay to PubKey Hash (P2PKH) Matters

So why should you care? Here is the short version.

• Benefit: Wide support across wallets and exchanges, which means fewer headaches and faster sends.
• Perspective: It is the original mainstream Bitcoin format, still common even as newer types roll in.
• Relevance: You will see it anytime an address starts with 1, in tutorials, old backups, and many cold storage setups.

Key Characteristics of Pay to PubKey Hash (P2PKH)

What makes it stand out:

• Locking: Coins are locked to a hash of a public key, not the key itself.
• Privacy: The public key appears only when spending, not at receive time.
• Support: Works almost everywhere, from older wallets to hardware devices.
• Fees: Slightly larger weight than modern formats, so can cost more when mempools spike.

Variations

P2PKH is the classic, but there are newer cousins you will bump into:

• P2SH: Pay to Script Hash (P2SH) wraps flexible scripts inside a hash, making multi sig and other tricks look like a simple address.
• P2WPKH: The SegWit version that lives in bech32, saves fees and cuts malleability; see Segregated Witness (SegWit) for what changed.
• P2TR: Taproot brings key and script unification with more privacy in typical spends, often seen as bc1p addresses.

Example

You tip a creator by sending to an address that starts with 1, they later spend it with their key and signature, and that is Pay to PubKey Hash (P2PKH) doing its thing.

Fun Fact

Early blocks used pay to pubkey, not the hashed version. Switching to P2PKH kept keys hidden until spend and saved bytes, which was very Satoshi energy.

Wrap-Up

In one line: Pay to PubKey Hash P2PKH is Bitcoin’s classic padlock where the key stays offstage until it is time to move coins.