What characters does Base58 use?

The Bitcoin Base58 alphabet is: 123456789ABCDEFGHJKLMNPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijkmnopqrstuvwxyz. It omits 0, O, I, and l to prevent handwriting or font confusion.

How is Base58 different from Base64?

Base64 uses 64 characters including +, /, and = padding, which can cause issues in URLs and when visually transcribed. Base58 removes the four ambiguous characters and has no padding, making it more compact and human-friendly at the cost of slightly more complex arithmetic.

Does Base58 encode leading zero bytes specially?

Yes. Bitcoin's Base58Check convention maps each leading 0x00 byte to a leading "1" character in the output. This tool preserves that convention when you use Hex mode with 00-prefixed input.

Is this tool the same as Base58Check used in Bitcoin addresses?

No. This tool performs plain Base58 encoding. Base58Check additionally prepends a version byte and appends a 4-byte checksum before encoding. You can replicate Base58Check manually by preparing the correct hex payload before encoding here.

Is my data sent to any server?

No. All encoding is done in JavaScript directly in your browser. Nothing is transmitted.

Base58 Encoder

Name: Base58 Encoder
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

Encode plain text or a hex string into Bitcoin-style Base58 — the alphabet that drops confusing characters 0, O, I, and l.

Input

Plain text to encode

Base58 Output

Base58 Alphabet (Bitcoin)

123456789ABCDEFGHJKLMNPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijkmnopqrstuvwxyz

Omitted characters: 0 (zero), O (uppercase O), I (uppercase I), l (lowercase L)

Summary

Encode plain text or a hex string into Bitcoin-style Base58 — the alphabet that drops confusing characters 0, O, I, and l.

How it works

Choose your input mode: plain Text or raw Hex bytes.
Type or paste your input into the text area.
The Base58-encoded output appears instantly as you type.
Click "Copy" to copy the result to your clipboard.
Switch between Text and Hex modes at any time — the output updates automatically.

Use cases

Encoding Bitcoin addresses and wallet keys for human-readable display.
Generating compact, copy-safe identifiers for IPFS content hashes.
Creating short tokens or IDs without ambiguous characters.
Understanding how Base58 differs from Base64 in encoding schemes.
Converting hex payloads to a form safe to copy and share verbally.
Learning and testing Base58 encoding behavior for blockchain development.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-06-09 · Reviewed by Nham Vu