Why does XMRig say "invalid wallet address"?
XMRig usually says “invalid wallet address” because the mining pool cannot recognize the address you submitted, or because your connection settings put the wrong text in the wallet field. Check the address, the coin your pool expects, and any worker-name formatting before changing anything else.
Check who is rejecting the address
XMRig is mining software that connects your computer to a pool—a service that combines mining work from many people. Often, an “invalid wallet address” message comes from the pool when XMRig tries to sign in. It does not necessarily mean your wallet itself is broken.
Look at the nearby lines in XMRig’s output. A message about a login error or rejected connection usually points to the pool’s sign-in requirements.
Your address might be valid for Monero but still unsuitable for that pool or connection type.
Copy a fresh Monero receiving address
Open your Monero wallet and copy its receiving address again. Paste it directly into your mining settings rather than typing it by hand.
For Monero’s main network, where real XMR is used:
- A standard address has 95 characters and starts with
4. - A subaddress, an extra receiving address from the same wallet, has 95 characters and starts with
8. - An integrated address, which includes an extra payment identifier, has 106 characters and starts with
4.
These are useful clues, not complete proof that an address is valid. Monero addresses also contain an error-detection check, so a single changed character can make one invalid.
Watch for missing characters, spaces, line breaks, or quotation marks accidentally included in the copied value. Do not paste a payment-request string beginning with monero: when the pool expects only the address.
A Bitcoin address, an Ethereum address, or an address from a Monero test network will not work as a regular Monero payout address.
Check XMRig’s wallet field and pool settings
In a typical XMRig config.json setup, your pool login goes in the user field inside the relevant entry in pools:
"user": "YOUR_MONERO_RECEIVING_ADDRESS"
Replace that placeholder with your actual address. The surrounding quotation marks are required JSON formatting; they are not part of your address. If you launch XMRig with command-line options, check the value after -u or --user too.
Make sure you are editing the configuration XMRig actually loads. A shortcut, startup script, or different configuration file may still contain an old address.
Also confirm:
- The pool server and port are intended for Monero mining.
- The service expects an XMR address, not an account username or another payout currency.
- You have followed that pool’s rules for naming a worker—your individual mining device.
Some pools accept an address followed by a worker name. Others require the worker name elsewhere. An unsupported suffix can make an otherwise valid address fail.
Check address-type support safely
Not every pool accepts subaddresses or integrated addresses. Check its current instructions. If necessary, try a standard receiving address from your own Monero wallet.
Exchange deposit addresses deserve extra care: the exchange may restrict mining payouts or have deposit requirements your pool cannot meet.
You only need your public receiving address for payouts. Never enter your recovery phrase, private spend key, or wallet password into XMRig or a pool login.
The bottom line
Start with a freshly copied address, then verify the active user setting and your pool’s address-format rules. If it still fails, ask pool support about the exact error—but remove passwords and other sensitive details from any logs you share.
