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Considering the Bitcoin client for Windows 0.8.1:

So the best way (if I have already used up 100 keys) is to send bitcoins to different wallet and then to newly generated one?

When I want new keys, can I just delete old wallet from default location and WILL BE THE NEW ONE GENERATED AUTOMATICALY when turning on the client?

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3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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A wallet (by default) always contains 100 unused keys. Every time the client needs a new key (for a new address, for sending change to, or - in theory - for solo mining payouts), it takes the oldest address from the pool, and creates a fresh one to add.

This just means you need to backup every 100 transactions. No need to switch to a new wallet.

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  • When I want new keys, can I just delete old wallet from default location and WILL BE THE NEW ONE GENERATED AUTOMATICALY when turning on the client? And is this option possible?
    – Comodore
    Commented Mar 29, 2013 at 10:25
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    If you delete the wallet, a new one will be created yes. But that does mean you lose all your funds, as you lost all old keys. You don't need to worry about this - a wallet always generates new keys when it needs them.
    – Pieter Wuille
    Commented Mar 29, 2013 at 16:46
  • And so the key pool is getting constantly bigger? How can I get to know how big is at the moment?
    – Comodore
    Commented Mar 30, 2013 at 17:16
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    The keypool always contains 100 future keys. The total number of keys in a wallet (those used + those in the pool) constantly grows indeed, though. I don't think the total number is exposed anywhere, but the getinfo command (RPC or debug window) can tell you the timestamp of the oldest entry in the key pool.
    – Pieter Wuille
    Commented Mar 30, 2013 at 17:29
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Run the client with the parameter -keypool=10000 to generate 10000 keys in your keypool.

Pros: Less backing up

Cons: Your wallet will be bigger (file size) and take maybe a few seconds extra to load

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    Today I learned.
    – Colin Dean
    Commented Mar 29, 2013 at 0:31
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That is for Bitcoin-Qt, if you use MultiBit, after you sent money, the change will return to the sending address.

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