Bitcoin Forum

Best Offline Wallet For Storing Bitcoins?

I am currently using Coinbase to store my Bitcoins. I want to move some of the balance out of Coinbase to reduce the risk of anything bad happening.

I am wanting a Wallet program I can use to generate a private and public key on an offline computer. I will then print the public key and private key, and wipe the computer.

I can then pay money into the public key.

If I then want to spend the Bitcoin in future, whats the best program to import my private and public key into to use the balance?

I don't trust using websites to generate wallets, as the majority of them are known to log your private key.

you can do it with all the wallets that let you export the private keys.
you can even use bitcoin core for this. https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet
- download the code from the main source
- check the signature of downloaded file
- disconnect network cables.
- boot up with a live linux
- generate a random address and back it up

there are some possibilities.
you could use bitaddress.org to generate your private and public key and print it. you can download an offline version on github.
that way you can wipe your system, stay offline the whole time and wipe it when you are done.
also there are real wallets like electrum, that you could use to create an wallet with some 20(?) keys offline and make a watch only wallet online. for a transaction you can prepare it in the online wallet and only go to the offline wallet to sign the transaction. this is quite safe.
if you are super paranoid you can use tails. it is a live system and it has electrum included (not sure which version is current and if it is still included, but it should be).

I usually use bitaddress respiratory from here https://github.com/pointbiz/bitaddress.org
- Download it and move it to offline computer which i never connect to internet.
- Open it on browser than it will open same site like bitaddress.org but it will not be connected to any server online.
- Than generate bitcoin address, print out it and i will note bitcoin address in notepad in online laptop so that whenever i need, i can atleast remember my bitcoin address.


Storing that printed paper wallet in safe place, protected from tearing, washing, fire etc.

Thanks for the great advise

I will download the bitaddress.org website as suggested and run it from an offline computer :)

There is one thing i wish to add:

~Bitcoin~'s proposal is perfect. Using the sourcecode of bitaddress.org on a clean, air-gapped computer is safe. The only downside on this is: if you wish to spend your funds, you usually sweep the private key (read the private key into a desktop/mobile wallet). As soon as you've swept your private key, it's compromised, and you should discard the paper wallet (or at least, never use it again, you should never actually erase private keys).

An option if you want a wallet with wich you can actually make outgoing transactions in a relatively easy way is installing a wallet on an airgapped, offline, computer, and installing a watch-only wallet on an online computer (a wallet that doesn't have your private key).
The wallet on the online computer is used to generate transactions. The transactions are printed or saved on a usb-stick and transported to the offline computer for being signed with the wallet containing your private key.
The signed transaction is then transported back to the online computer to be broadcasted with the watch-only wallet.

I've used electrum for this purpose in the past...
- install electrum on a clean, offline, computer... Generate a new wallet (write down the seed)
- export the xpub, put it on a usbstick
- install electrum on an online computer, import the xpub
- generate a transaction from the online computer, save on a usbstick
- transfer to the offline computer, sign with electrum, move signed tx to the usbstick
- broadcast it from the online computer


So, to sum it up, in my opinion:
- paper wallet = wallet for long time storage... A deposit address you use to dump your coins into that is really safe and easy to generate
- offline wallet = wallet that can still be used to generate outgoing transactions in a relative easy way, but is harder to setup

since nobody mentioned this i just want to add that depending on the amount you want to invest in bitcoin and hold in a safe place i would suggest looking at some of the hardware wallets. it is not free like other methods but it is easier for regular users to keep their coins in a safe wallet.

Offline Wallet I use is Bitcoin Core. I think it is a place to store bitcoin good while. And I see his version always updated and it was very good in my opinion. The private key and sign message there can also be done.

Using Electrum or Armory for cold storage using two computers works fine but has largely been replaced by hardware wallets which are just as secure and a heckuva lot more convenient. Anyone can afford a Ledger Nano S for $65. You can also store private keys for ETH and ETC and use the Nano S for secure login to sites like Google.

You could easily print a paper wallet that you can know well how you can protect because the protection methods of important paper documents have thousand-year history. From this history, we know well, what are the usual risks and we've several, provenly working methods to handle them. However, you should take care of that unless you're keeping the paper in an oxygen-safe space, its condition will worsen by time so you may have to re-print it from time to time.

I put my bitcoins on to many different paper wallets in small usable amount,  if i want to use them i just scan the private key QR code in to breadwallet on my iphone and they are ready to use.  if doing this then download the bitaddress.org on to an airgapped computer first or just disconnect from the internet, check with anti virus and malware checker and then wipe the browser.  i find this really easy way to operate.

First of all, let me say that you've made a wise decision. It would be even better to transfer all funds out of Coinbase and use dedicated wallet software (such as Bitcoin Core) to stay in full control of your Bitcoin independent of third parties - which is the very reason of why Bitcoin came into existence.

To generate your key pairs you can - as many have already suggested - use an offline version of bitaddress.org. Of course you could also install and use Bitcoin Core to export the private key of a certain Bitcoin address in your wallet via the console. With Bitcoin Core you can also import a private key and make your Bitcoin spendable again.

When you import a private key into Bitcoin Core and make a transaction, please keep in mind that after the transaction the remaining funds will be per default located at a different address than your original one! So you must keep a copy of your wallet.dat or lookup the new location of your remaining Bitcoin and export the corresponding private key again!

ya.ya.yo!

for offline wallet, i used bitcoin core and multybit, and so far its works good for me. but for bitcoin core, i am a little bit desperate when waiting for syncronization.

but for the other wallet, i use mycelium and its a good choice for me.

I used vanitygen for offline wallet and saving bitcoin, vanitygen is unique i can make wallet name are like 1TraderETHcxsDyih4qyjh89dMH for example and it is safe too.  ;D

bets offline wallet bitcoin electrum, because not syncronize

You should download the bitaddress.org website and then transfer it to another computer, which will never go online again. There are people claiming that generated addresses are stored somewhere on the computer, and if you go online these addresses can be retrieved.

The printer is also a problem, because most printers have some sort of storage for the printer buffer, and this can also be retrieved. The bigger printers and photocopiers even have a harddrive. If you are very paranoid, buy a old second hand computer and printer and use that to create offline wallets. Never go onto the internet with these devices again.

I would simply get a hardware wallet. It allows for the safety of offline storage, while you still have access to your coins with a few clicks when you need it.

A Trezor, Ledger or Keepkey are all good products that will likely suit anyones need for safe storage.

do not get me wrong. i have nothing against hardware wallets, but do you need them?
do not scare people into feeling like having them is a must. you can do a perfectly safe wallet on your own. it might be even safer, since you have to buy a hardware wallet online and how can you guaranty that you receive an original product and not some fake to steel your coins?

i am happy that you get best answer from here . i want also suggest you that you should download myscellium wallet and create adress and with going in export option you can see baracode and also private key . you can use that baracode or private key for further use adress for spent btc .
so you should key print out of that private key .

That's why you should only buy new products from the official stores(trezor,ledger etc.) and avoid buying hardware wallets from untrusted sellers,it is highly unlikely one of these big companies will scam you and steal your coins.

the company producing the hardware wallets will surly not try to scam me, but they still have to send the package and this is a possible way to swap the original device with a tempered one. i know that this is a fare fetched situation, but people tend not to mind it, but have some similar scenarios when they speak about the dangers of making your own wallet.

You do have a point, but if you're this paranoid, you should also read the full sourcecode of any wallet software you run, and compile it yourself just to be sure nobody tampered with your wallet software.

As soon as you trust the signature of the maintainer, you already assume the signer of the binary didn't go rogue and inserted malicious code to steal your coins.

Don't get me wrong, i think you have a valid point, but in order to be 100% safe, you should review the sourcecode of your OS and your wallet, compile everything yourself,... For me, it's just not practical to live that way. I'd rather trust some experienced companies and maintainers than do everything myself ;)

see that is exactly my point. i hear this a lot from hardware wallets enthusiast. why is a hardware wallet better then a simple wallet? to be fair you have to look at it this way:
either we trust the programmer or we check the source code. both this goes for both. the simple wallet and also the hardware wallet. then you have the transfer period. i can download it and check the checksum. you would have to trust the shipping company and in addition you also have to use some kind of software (as far as i know) to run the hardware wallet.
and from this point the safety is in the users hand anyway. so i do not see why a hardware wallet should be better. at least when just looking at those points.

the only reason why people choose hardware wallets is that they are looking for an easy way to reach a high level of security. not everyone has programming knowledge to secure his wallet himself or even go through the code, compile it, ...

using any other wallet like electrum means going through these steps:
- make a raw transaction online
- transfer that raw unsigned tx to the offline computer that has the private keys
- sign transactions offline
- transfer it back to an online system and
- finally broadcast it

and in all these steps you have to be careful not to contaminate the offline system with a malware while transferring. this which may be simple for many of us, is still scary and not acceptable for many other people.

sorry, but i feel like those are things you can learn very easily and i am sure there are tutorials and vids on this. if you want something in life you have to do something.
sure you can also just trow money at something and expect the problem to go away, but using a hardware wallet because every thing else is to complex for you will surly be a bad decision on the long run.
and btw there is a thread about if banks will offer some service as wallets. if enough helpless people will want that then i am sure the banks will do it for you. and even hold your keys.

So you want Bitcoin use to be difficult so that banks can replace it with their user-friendly alternatives? Nope my friend.. Hardware wallets

are just a more secure method to store your coins, because you have to get access to the physical device to access the Bitcoins. Not

everyone have access to the tools to do that, so it's accepted that hardware wallets are a more secure method to store coins than online

wallets or desktop wallets. Make it easier and they will use it. { The same thing happened with the internet. }

Some great advice and forced me to look up what "air-gapped" meant and now I need to learn how to achieve this.
Feel like such a donut when it comes to securing and understanding a lot of the jargon used. I might have stumbled on a few porn sites before I found what I was looking for but thats the price of learning. :D

Paperwallet you mean? Paperwallet is the safest design so far, easy to take and store, better than hardware. Theives would never a paper and possibly he knows nothing about bitcoin. They may steal hardware wallet because they think hardware is worth money.

I have taken all the advise on board and here's my plan...

Create 10x Bitcoin address's on an offline computer using downloaded version of bitaddress.org. Create 10x Bitcoin address's with Electrum on offline computer. Put all 20x keys in KeePass using encryption and 30 character password. Then encrypt KeePass file with TrueCrypt and different 30 character password. Copy to file to several USB sticks, and bury the USB sticks in waterproof boxes in family members gardens.

Can then pay a little into each wallets for the next 20 years and there's a pension plan  ;D

Lol, but that's so complicated... you will having a lot of address... okay but i'm glad for heard you already getting your answer and why you're not trying or making it be more simple than like your explanation is like an essay..? let's trying your method and i also waiting about your result... maybe i can trying your method...

sounds good to me, but might i suggest to use VeraCrypt instead of TrueCrypt. TrueCrypt had some problems and development has stopped. VeraCrypt is the successor.
oh and make sure to include a version of the used software on the usb as well. maybe a newer software will not support you old data anymore (which i consider unlikely) and you will have a hard time finding an older version.   

the method he is suggesting is only a paranoid version of a safe way of making a cold storage.

and as for what you said, these applications that stop being backward compatible will always have a little line of code to enable old users still be able to enter their old version and use it.
and also on top of that, you can always find the old version either on the distributors site or if it is open source on the source code history to compile yourself or somewhere on the internet.

so let him be paranoid. b etter safe then sorry. also it is really not trouble to include the software on the stick too. one again better safe then sorry and at least it safes you the trouble of searching for it and puts your mind at ease.

I think, that hardware wallets are not as safe as an encrypted Bitcoin core offline wallet. Too many more possible bad actors and vulnerabilities with solutions like Trezor.

Storing your bitcoins in more than one wallets is a good idea. When you use an offline, one of the most important criteria that you want to ensure is the availability of the bitcoins. Bitcoins cannot get damaged so the two most important criterias that you've to take care is keeping your private keys private and keeping your bitcoins, the offline wallets you're storing your bitcoins in, available. Keeping more than one wallet help you protect your bitcoins with more private keys and from more wallets, it's more likely that you can access enough.

i will advice electrum wallet and mycelium wallet and even the bither wallet or something like that in blue color and if possible them go for the bitcoin core it needs 40gb download but the best wallet till now with max features

I just know about it so we can print own paper wallet only need to install bitaddress respiratory to offline computer but if want change to online wallet it will not get a problem??

There are conceptually two broad categories of the wallets you are looking for.

1. Online wallets: In these wallets it needs you to connect to the internet and then save your stakes. However, you need to essentially keep your “private keys” secure to safeguard your hard earned BTC. A few to recommend would be Exodus, Electrum, Coinomi, Jaxx etc.

2. Offline wallets: On the other hand, in offline wallets, they are not just hardware wallets. Practically any wallet that never needs to connects to the internet to interact falls under this category. However, technically the moment you connect to the internet they no longer remain “Offline”. Here you just need to download the link and install it. A few to recommend would be Bitcoin Core, Bitcoin paper wallet, Ledger, Nano S, Trezor, Electrum, etc.

Now it is you who has to decide which one to choose. But generally as long as you can keep your private keys secure you could use either one.