Bitcoin Forum

I just got my second account to start fresh. When you log into blockchain.info it is quite clear what your public key is because it is printed large on the webpage. 

I was told if blockchain.info goes bankrupt I still have my bitcoins b/c I have the private key.  Where is this private key?  It is no where to be found on the website? 

Thanks

Go to Import/Export, click paper wallet on the left tab and a window will come up. It contains a PDF backup of your addresses. Print it for backup and place it at a safe place.

You can go to inport/export (input your primary password) then click on export unencrypted (and enter your sending password if you have one).

Some people consider a private key to be considered compromised once they are in this state. It would probably be better to export your private key encrypted then you can decrypt your keys with your primary and sending passwords. 

Also if you give them an email address, they'll email you a wallet back up.
Always handy to have, but it's up to you if you wanna share your email address with them.

Indeed, that is your bitcoin address, not your ECDSA public key.

another question : since newest release multibit doesn't accept json file anymore (blockchain.info backup fromat )
where we can import that backup? electrum?

When u log into blockchain.info, u'll see a Paper Wallet icon in the bottom right corner. Just click on it and save your paper wallet in PDF form. The private key is in WIF (https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Wallet_import_format).

How do you use the private key from that PDF file ?

The long string "5xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" is your private key.
You can import it in other wallet client and then you can spend the bitcoin on your address.

Just back up the balance to a dat file on cloud?

This makes no sense at all, writing down your balance won't help you recover your coins.

I suggest you BIP38 encrypt your key and write it down.

You could scan the QR code with your phone, or your could print it out and scan with your webcam.

I would not recommend trying this buy you could also manually type in your private key into QT or blockchain (this would probably result in a lot of frustration, but it is possible)

Simply select & copy your private key from the PDF file. Almost all standard wallets support importing wallet using private key. Be careful, dont send or show your private key to anyone. That is the gateway to your wealth.

As others explained, writing down your addresses and balance would be helpful at all.
What you need is the private keys, and nothing more than that.

You could also encrypted the file with your private keys in 7zip or winrar.

You can also print it out or save it in your email, I believe.

If you are going to use email backups you better be sure that you have a strong primary password as if your email gets hacked then your wallet backup would be vulnerable.

If blockchain is down, its very possible they will collect all of your BTC its safer to use cold storage because you are the only who have private key

BlockChain cant be down as long as the Internet is up. I think u mean BlockChain.info. Now, they cant steal your BTC as they dont store your private key. It is stored in an encrypted form in their DB and only your password can unlock it.

Correct, and cold storage isn't useful at all for daily transactions.

"You can go to import/export (input your primary password) then click on export unencrypted (and enter your sending password if you have one)."


That's right ! :)

You can also download an encrypted backup of your entire wallet that you can restore to other wallet services if blockchain.info goes down one day  :)

You would still need your password to decrypt your private keys