Private keys are for signing transactions.
2
votes
1answer
77 views
How to remove private keys from wallet.dat and create “receive only” wallet?
I want to create a wallet for monitoring incoming transactions. So it should be receive only wallet that will be place on hosting, that is potentially not secure. If I understand it well, this won't ...
3
votes
3answers
349 views
Is a private key used up when part of the bitcoins it controls are sent?
Here is my current understanding of Bitcoin:
I have 10 bitcoins in my wallet.
If I send 5 bitcoins to someone else, I am sending the private key from my wallet to somebody's public key address.
...
4
votes
1answer
142 views
What qualifies a valid private key?
The title pretty much sums up the question - say (for instance) I have a string of letters or numbers committed to memory, how hard would it be to convert that into a private key? Or similarly, how ...
1
vote
0answers
46 views
Problem with importing key to blockchain.info
Problem
downloaded my wallet into a drive which does not have enough disk space left.
has not currently synced yet
transferred bitcoins by mistake whilst it was syncing
I have backed up my ...
5
votes
1answer
80 views
Is there a service that automatically “sweeps” funds to another address whenever they are sent?
There's the sweepprivkey proposal from 2011 which was not accepted, that would have allowed one to instruct her bitcoind client to listen to transactions and sweep funds whenever they are transferred ...
2
votes
1answer
122 views
Will a paper wallet ever have format issues?
I found a paper wallet in my drawer, created in 2011 and with quite a lot of money on it. The private key says 'wallet import format'. I'm pretty confident that I will have no problem with importing ...
2
votes
1answer
132 views
How long would it take to crack an 8-word brain wallet?
Assuming my private key for a bitcoin wallet is derived from SHA256(passphrase) and the passphrase is 8 words long, how long would it take the average attacker to crack my bitcoin wallet through a ...
1
vote
1answer
73 views
How do I extract the private keys from my namecoind wallet?
Seems like namecoind doesn't support the dumpprivkey command.
5
votes
5answers
271 views
What happens if I don't “pick up” bitcoins with a Bitcoin client? [duplicate]
Say I want to save ten bitcoins could I send them to myself and just not 'pick them up' with my client? In a way would I be storing the bitcoins in the blockchain and when I want them just start up ...
1
vote
0answers
32 views
Private key to WIF
Based on the following link: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Wallet_import_format , a private key of 256 bits gets transformed into a WIF address that is stored in the wallet.
However, my question here ...
1
vote
1answer
205 views
How Would This Procedure Be Performed? Transfer to Offline wallet
I've read alot of questions before I posted this... What I want to do is take my wallet from blockchain.info that contains a few bitcoins, and "store" it offline, however I have some specific ...
2
votes
4answers
273 views
I ran out of space while synchronizing, how do I get my private keys & find my balance?
OK, my most immediate concern is that I made three ~$500 bitcoin purchases this weekend and downloaded the Bitcoin-Qt client, but ran out of HDD space just before it finished synchronizing the ...
2
votes
1answer
160 views
Is it possible to create an address from a predefined private key?
I was not sure how to formulate the question title. What I want to achieve is the same as VanityGen and many other tools do to create an address starting with a predefined part, but with private keys.
...
4
votes
1answer
422 views
How can I convert a SHA256 hash into a Bitcoin base58 private key?
How can I take the output of sha256sum
sudofox@ubuntu:~$ echo -n 'Hi guys!' | sha256sum
7542fb6685f9fd8f37d56faf62f0bb4563684a51539e4b26f0840db361e0027c -
and turn it into a Base58Check encoded ...
2
votes
1answer
298 views
How do I get the public bitcoin address from a given private key in wallet import format offline?
I have made paper wallets. And I continually send what bitcoins I get to them. I'm paranoid that I've been sending bitcoins to the paper bitcoin addresses where somehow at sometime my saved private ...
3
votes
1answer
373 views
How Do I Fix: “Safe mode: Warning: Displayed transactions may not be correct!”
While trying to retrieve the private key from satoshi bitcoin client i'm getting this error code:
Safe mode: Warning: Displayed transactions may not be correct! You may need to upgrade, or other ...
2
votes
1answer
178 views
Dumpprivkey or dumpwallet won't show my private key for the address in my wallet
Haven't opened my wallet in a while so it's not in sync with the network. 5400 blocks remaining as I write. The wallet is not encrypted.
Received some bitcoins to my address in this wallet. Now I ...
2
votes
1answer
97 views
Does a blockchain.info My Wallet have a key pool? [duplicate]
Does a wallet in blockchain.info My Wallet contain a pool of extra keys as in bitcoin-qt?
Should the wallet be backed up after every new address is created, or only after several are created?
4
votes
1answer
130 views
How to generate keypair completely offline?
Is it possible to generate address and private key pair completely offline, using only dice / other random number generators, calculators, paper and pen? If yes, whats the procedure and formulas used?
...
0
votes
1answer
81 views
How can I use message signing to prove that I have private keys for many different accounts?
I want to prove the total sum of BTC I have access to. Therefore I think if I use message signing to assert "owned by makerofthings7" in each address, then anyone can compute the total coins in my ...
2
votes
1answer
174 views
Is it technically possible to create and use dynamic private key - public key pair and use it with bitcoin?
Is it technically possible to create and use dynamic private key - public key pair and use it with bitcoin?
I am not sure anything conceptually similar to this already exists. Yet, "dynamic" private ...
2
votes
1answer
321 views
How to transfer addresses from Satoshi client to MultiBit?
I'm trying to take an address from my Satoshi client and transfer it into my new MultiBit client. I have found several questions similar to this, and have tried all their solutions, but to no avail.
...
0
votes
2answers
197 views
When importing private keys, will compressed or uncompressed format be used?
I am looking into implementing support for compressed public keys on Vanity Pool. However, I have my concerns about importing solutions into a desired vanity address under that format. From what I can ...
7
votes
4answers
217 views
Is this an ok “poor man's 2 out of 3” key solution?
In the situation that you want no individual to have the complete private key, but you do want to share the complete key between 3 individuals, of which any 2 can construct the complete key, what is ...
5
votes
3answers
226 views
Can I create a deterministic wallet and export/disclose indiviual keys without compromising the wallet?
Scenario:
Create a deterministic wallet and a larger number of private keys and associated bitcoin addresses on a safe (e.g. offline) computer.
Backup the seed securely. Store the private keys ...
3
votes
1answer
110 views
How do Javascript-based wallets generate random numbers and is this cryptographically secure?
Hybrid wallets and some paper wallet generators create private Bitcoin keys using Javascript inside the browser. Which source of entropy do they use? How do they make sure the PRNG is suitable for ...
3
votes
1answer
144 views
How do I import a private key into Bitcoin-Qt on a Mac?
How do I import a private key into Bitcoin-Qt on a Mac? bitcoind is nowhere to be found, and pywallet says it requires "bsddb" when I run it, which is also nowhere to be found. I generated some vanity ...
2
votes
0answers
66 views
Is this the proper way to use Bouncy Castle to generate a Bitcoin compatible key?
I'd like to use Bouncy Castle to generate the keypair for use with all *coin variants.
Is this the correct implementation to get the correct ECC curve that the *coin variants use?
...
5
votes
3answers
133 views
How does ImportPrivateKey get the Address if I don't explicitly send it?
Suppose I just used vanitygen to create this key:
Pattern: 1a
Address: e1aMGYXuGpUwDGH9gz3ZBs8UH746nRdEk6
Privkey: 5KhCszBi22hEZZixPEQkLAMtUVkxbGaxBFsH7a9iefqrxHmSXgH
All I had to do to import this ...
2
votes
0answers
55 views
What are the preferred UI images for Bitcoin Address & private key and multi-signature key?
How should I visually distinguish between the different types of keys available for the end user?
So far the common keys I've come across are
Private key (not to be shared)
Bitcoin address (to be ...
2
votes
2answers
97 views
How does an encrypted wallet persist used keys from “getnewaddress” and the keypool after a restart?
I'm reading this wiki on wallet encryption and am confused on how I can call getnewaddress as described here and where that is being tracked after a restart of bitcoind.
When a wallet is ...
4
votes
3answers
199 views
How are fractions of bitcoin implemented and spent?
If the ability to spend bitcoins and therefore bitcoins depend on/correspond to private keys, how can fractions of coins exist? Can the key be split up? How are fractional transactions signed versus ...
4
votes
3answers
304 views
How to redeem a private key in case it is compromised
I know MtGox allows me to redeem a private key, but that doesn't necessarily ensure that all the value is extracted from that address in a timely manner. Is there no simple way to send the entire ...
2
votes
2answers
828 views
Using dumpprivkey to make a paper backup
I'm just getting started with bitcoin and haven't acquired any significant amount yet, but want to feel relatively secure before I do. And at the moment, my fear of losing bitcoins or a device on ...
3
votes
1answer
91 views
Once a wallet file is initially created, does the reference client generate additional private keys?
I'm just assuming that the wallet.dat file created by the reference client contains just one private key. (Correct me if I'm wrong here)
I want to know if the client generates additional private keys ...
5
votes
2answers
718 views
How can I delete an address (private key) in the list of received Bitcoins?
For every transaction I wanted to get, I was creating a new address, but soon I realized that there is just no way to delete all these addresses from the UI.
To make it clear, here is a picture:
I ...
2
votes
2answers
194 views
Missing key on blockchain
I created 2 different wallets at block chain. The first one gave me an address for receiving btc. I used that address for a purchase, however, now when I login to my wallet, it no longer shows that ...
6
votes
3answers
237 views
Can we use a Paper Private Key that has been loaded in the Bitcoin client?
Okay, I want to start offering Bitcoin as a payment option on my e-commerce site. For now, I just want to keep it simply as an option for those overseas customers who don't have credit cards/PayPal so ...
1
vote
1answer
148 views
What to save in a wallet?
I am programming a specialty wallet software. I am able to generate a EC_key and valid bitcoin addresses. I am not sure what to save to a wallet file in order to recover the EC_key in the future. Must ...
0
votes
2answers
1k views
I cannot send bitcoins from my block chain wallet because I don't have the private key. Where is it located?
I didn't create a private key for my bitcoin address and am unable to do anything with these coins. How do I resolve this issue?
7
votes
1answer
196 views
What is the status of hierarchical deterministic wallets (BIP32)
BIP32 specifies hierarchical deterministic wallets, where a master seed fully determines a whole tree of keypairs that can be arbitrarily branched. It also introduces the notions of internal and ...
6
votes
3answers
480 views
What would happen if you send bitcoins to a non-existent Bitcoin address?
If one were to send bitcoins to an address that has not been created yet, what would happen? Would the coins be lost forever? Would they just sit there until the address and key pair are generated?
6
votes
3answers
290 views
Will I need to keep track of my old private keys forever?
Let's say someone (person A) starts using Bitcoin and in a period of time eagerly publishes some of their randomly generated (eg. by the Satoshi client) receiving Bitcoin addresses on formus, sends ...
2
votes
1answer
253 views
In what cases would a bitcoin address not have a private key?
According to the https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Address site, it states that "most" addresses have a private key. Here is the relavent text:
Most addresses have a "private key"
For most ...
7
votes
1answer
491 views
What is a private key and a public key?
What exactly is a private key and public key in relation to Bitcoin? What are they, how are they used, and how does one find out what their private and public keys are?
3
votes
2answers
881 views
How can I export all my private keys using bitcoind?
I know that PyWallet has a -dumpwallet but without using pywallet, how can I export all the addresses and privatekeys with the stock bitcoind?
Is there an API command that lists all addresses held by ...
4
votes
2answers
257 views
Storage of Private Keys
Most web apps that accept bitcoin (whether it's an exchange, a gambling site, etc) provide the user with a public address for depositing bitcoins into their account.
How are these web applications ...
4
votes
2answers
293 views
Can I use a passphrase as a private key?
Is there a way to use a long (and possibly hashed) passphrase as a private key, so that all I need to recover my Bitcoins would be that password?
I was thinking of buying Bitcoins using a private key ...
7
votes
1answer
2k views
Extract private keys from Bitcoin Wallet
I have encrypted my bitcoin wallet. I know the passphrase, that's not the issue.
I want to transfer my bitcoins to blockchain.info but it's asking me for the private key. I cannot find it nor can I ...
5
votes
2answers
625 views
Why don't addresses in an (unencrypted) wallet.dat file seem to match addresses that would be generated by the private keys in the wallet?
I've been messing around with an empty wallet file using the 'pywallet' utility, and have come across something I can't understand.
A dump of the unencrypted wallet readily reveals a list containing ...
