# Prove EVM Address Ownership

When interacting with third-party protocols or auditors, you may be asked to prove that
you control a given EVM address without moving any funds. Common scenarios include
protocol onboarding, institutional audits and OTC arrangements.

Rather than relying on a test transaction - which is inefficient and leaves an on-chain
trace - the standard approach is to sign an arbitrary message with the private key of the
address in question. Because only the holder of the private key can produce a valid
signature, a successful verification is cryptographic proof of ownership.

This guide demonstrates how to do this using Fordefi and Etherscan's `Verified Signature`
tool. You have two options for how to share the result with the verifier:

- **Publish** the signed message to Etherscan and share the public URL.
- **Share privately** by sending your wallet address, message, and signature hash directly to the verifier.


## Steps

1. Go to Etherscan and navigate to the `Verified Signature` tool through the menu:


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1. Click `Sign Message` then, for the connection option, select `Other Wallets > Fordefi`:


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1. Type in your message and click `Sign`.
2. Sign the message with Fordefi. You will then be presented with two sharing options.


### Option A: Publish and share a URL

Press `Publish` to publish the signed message to Etherscan:

Publishing makes your message permanently and publicly visible on Etherscan. Do not publish if your message contains any PII or sensitive information.

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You can then share the resulting public URL with the verifier:

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The verifier now has cryptographic proof of ownership over that EVM address.

### Option B: Share the signature details privately

If you prefer not to publish the message, share the following fields directly with the verifier instead:

- **Wallet Address**
- **Message**
- **Signature Hash**


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The verifier can confirm your ownership using these fields in the `Verify Signature` tool.