Bitcoin Forum

Any ideas what could happen to your BTC holdings if your storing them on an offline hard wallet and want to sell them 5-10 years later? Would there be code issues where the BTC you have now will not be recognized or cashable at that that time ?

Im curious because I bought a hard wallet but have no idea how usable the BTC version i have today will be in the future?

A private key is forever a private key. Don't worry about "changes in the code" because you will be able to cash out your Bitcoins the same way you can right now just by restoring your wallet with your seed or by importing your priv key.

Hey Try ninja, i sent PM, could u reply ?
thnx

Hey Try ninja, i sent PM, could u reply ?
thnx

I wont be using segwit addresses if they are coming out.  there's a possibility miners could at some future point decide not to validate their signatures.

5-10 years is a very long time. many things can happen. it is a better idea to keep yourself updated about bitcoin regularly by listening to the news.
TryNinja is correct, however there is an if behind it. if nothing happens.
bitcoin is still in beta, and although this is highly unlikely but if a bug is found in the code or in the way private keys are used for example a weakness in ECDSA then you may need to take actions such as moving funds to the new set of keys of that time in the future.

Yes it possible, and you have to make sure that your hardware wallet firmware always uptodate, because of continous bitcoin development hardware wallet need to update.

Don't rely solely on hardware wallets they are peaces of shit when it comes to long term un-powered storage. Use a paper wallet + HDD copies and online encrypted and hidden backups together. Use the strongest level of encryption you can and use a password that has rare words numbers and symbols.

Hardware wallets are really cool they are a great way to strike up a conversation about bitcoin and make for great small talk but I really wish people would stop spreading the idea that they are the default/go to method of storing Bitcoins for a long time periods.
They use the same kind of flash memory as USB thumb drives and the gates/data they hold can decay over time if left for prolonged periods of time without power to cap/top off the power levels in the gates.

Exactly, hardware wallet might be a good choice but remember you can't access your bitcoin If you lose or damage your hardware wallet and didn't have any backup. So for those reasons i think you might follow quantis tips as he mentioned above since you will store your coin for 5-10 years right? I'm also saving bitcoin for long term investment so i backup my private key online encrypted, if something bad happen with my wallet in future at least i have a backup.

Most hardware wallets use the same memory as a USB memory stick and they usually only last about 10 years, depending on how much it is used. These hardware wallets come with a Seed, and this Seed is very important. If something goes wrong with the device, you can use this Seed to restore the wallet onto another device or onto another wallet.

IMPORTANT : Keep the Seed in a safe place. ^smile^

There would be zero code issues related to the Bitcoin wallets aside from issues that spring up due to the hardware breaking down in one form or another, if that even happens at all to you. Aside from that the Bitcoin are still spendable and always recognized as valid, so there is no issue with having the Bitcoin forgotten about and then used later.

As long as you have the private key you should be able to use the wallet despite forks to the blockchain, assuming I understand the tech correctly.

Maybe ten years away is a long time, many make diamond ideas to keep themselves in order to be banned bitcoin regularly.
Weaknesses in ECDSA then you may need to perform actions that are like moving funds to a new device. Lock that time in the future.

If i will just stored my bitcoins in a hard wallet then for sure they will cost too much in the future because the price in the future for bitcoin will be very high and there is no impossible thing to make that happen and i will just sell it in the future and use my money to build my own business for more profits.

Hey, I don't see any new PM coming from you in my inbox. Could you see again if you really succeed sending the message?

Well a long term storage for the hardware wallets might not last at all but I think if you have a hardware wallet that you are using now I think keeping it up to date from time to time and keeping an eye on the bitcoin movement is really a need to do, you might want to know the latest news on what is happening with bitcoin to just make you aware that bitcoin got crash down back to $500 dollar or bitcoin got extinct! some news just like that, but I think it will not happen it is just an example, well my point is you need to update yourself and not just waiting some years so the bitcoin would definitely increase value and you gotten rich for waiting, what if the reverse of what you have expected and not profiting is what just had happen, but I think yes check your wallet from more often and keep in touch on the community would be a great choice.

I would suggest you to use paper wallet instead of hardware wallet if you are worried about change in firmware or software in future. I don't think the way private key and bitcoin address are generated will be changed anytime in future. So you don't have to worry about anything if you just store private key and bitcoin pair in paper wallet.

There will be no difference in your holding and you will be able to cashout simply after any period but may become difficult if present form of bitcoin become obsolete due to hard or soft fork and newer form gain more popularity.

I don't think there will be any difference to your coins, I feel your coins will be more secured in a hard wallet cause you will be owing your private key and that's very important in times of future, no one can take away your coins then and if you are referring to segwit, I don't think it will be cause any real problem to you. You may peacefully keep your coins safe and reap the benefits. However keep a eye on its price and any important announcements.

If you just started earlier so doubt your your a millionaire today but I don't really recommend in a hardware wallet I don't really use a hardware wallet and I never really even try to use hardware wallet but I guess it is not safe beside it is offline and don't really imagine if it is safe for storing bitcoin.

For starts why did you buy a hard wallet when you have no idea of it, before you bought it you should have done your research and etc.. so you won't waste your money on buying one. If you store your BTC on that offline hard wallet I think there will be no problems on that because if today we are already advance on our technology how about the future right?. So I think there will be no code issues or what so ever as long as there is bitcoin and other coins and cryptocurrency. I also believe at by that time we will be able to cash bitcoin and use it in real world but that would take time because BTC is constantly increasing over time there still many variables to play in for the future. So will just see how it goes and hopefully bitcoin and other crypto coins will be successful in the future.  ;)

there is a possibility, but it will not happen, it's like saying that it is possible that miners will stop accepting transactions and destroy bitcoin, of course it is possible but won't happen. Just think about it, if they actually decide to not validate the signatures they would kinda destroy the bitcoin because if segwit gets activated literally 90% of the users will be using it in order to send over the money.

Of there will be compatibility issues with the old software but as long as the software/hardware developers of the wallet  are still in business a simple update should fix that and just in case of a possible hard fork remember to store your private keys as the best option to your stack of coins.

Once in a while you need to check on whats happening in the world of bitcoin just to make sure you investment is safe.

Normally no as many hardware wallets have already prepared their wallets to be ready for a hard fork in bitcoin. You are already a member of this forum so all you need to do is to read the forum often. This way you will be updated with any new regarding bitcoin and what happens to it. If you bought one of the latest hardware wallet from a big brand like Trezor should be no problem.

Hardware is not advisable for long term storage especially when you are not updated on bitcoin, You might get left behind if you didn't update your wallet hardware which is the usual case why some people lose their BTC after long years of storing it.

There are some situations that may happen, first, maybe your bitcoin would grow, and the second one is that your bitcoin would fall.

Well, you might become either rich or poor)

10 years Its long term i hope if your keeping in hardware wallet you should be update about technology changes in bitcoin as well as altcoin impacts yes of course as the blockchain primary thing private key is always same no matter how many codes are changed

No damage would happen to your bitcoins.It would remain safe.You could use the same private key to get access.Or else,you could use your seed to recover your account.But follow the developments occuring in bitcoin environment day by day so that you would have clear knowledge if any new development takes place.