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Reading about the "change" addresses and doing "wallet.dat" backups, I keep reading that -by default- bitcoin-qt generates 100 keys and use them when you need a new address. My question is this: what happens after you use all 100 keys (for change, mainly). bitcoin-qt generates another block of 100 keys?. Only one?.

The information is critical for backup policy, and I can't find it online.

If you get a new 100 keys block, doing regular frequent backups is mostly fine, but if only a new key is generated, you should backup the wallet after any incoming or outgoing transaction...

Better yet, bitcoin-qt should have a permanent pool of 100 addresses, and add a new random address when you use one, in a FIFO style. That way you should be quite safe if you do less than 100 outgoing transactions between backups!.

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Better yet, bitcoin-qt should have a permanent pool of 100 addresses, and add a new random address when you use one, in a FIFO style. That way you should be quite safe if you do less than 100 outgoing transactions between backups!.

That's what it does.

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    The only exception is if you are using getnewaddress from the API. Because you don't need to unlock the wallet, it simply pulls from the key pool. It won't create a new one and you can deplete the wallet of all keys from the key pool.
    – Stephen Gornick
    Commented Apr 21, 2013 at 7:59
  • Stephen, in that case is the pool going to refill "eventually", or your pool is now 99 keys long forever?.
    – jcea
    Commented Apr 21, 2013 at 15:02

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