Bitcoin Forum

I feel pretty stupid asking this but I don't know any BTC'ers in real life so here goes.....

I have all of my BTC in a blockchain.info wallet (2FA enabled + 2 passwords)

I regularly back up my wallet when I buy more BTC by requesting email backups.

Any way the question is if blockchain.info ceases to exist in the future, goes bust etc is my wallet balance safe because I made email back ups?

Could I transfer the balance from my most recent email back up to another wallet provider?

Thanks in advance?

You must back up your wallet. You can import it on multibit wallet if blockchain ceases to exist or have some service interruption.

I have supposed email back ups from blockchain.
I just mean if blockchain.info closes down or something like that will the email back ups I have be enough to transfer the whole balance I have somewhere else?

If you have the private key of your address. Nobody can take it away from you, Even if all exchanges and Online wallet providers gone.
So keep your private key on safe place with safe mode. That's all you should remember.

Just import your wallet into offline wallet like multibit or electrum or something  :P

Your balance will be absolutely safe even if blockchain shutdowns.Save your backups on multiple places. :)

Copy the private key and keep it safe somewhere.

I use online wallet too as the default wallet takes a long time to complete downloading and is so slow to start up.

Only bitcoin-qt  takes that much of time why don't you give a try to multibit or others that don't need to sync.

Where do I find my private key on a blockchain.info wallet?

from priv key make paper wallet put in safe-deposit box and your BTC are safe  :)

If you want the encrypted file, click the "download" button on the bottom right corner on your wallet home page.
If you want the unencrypted private keys, click "import/export", "export unencrypted" to get them.

Simon - thanks boss

Is that safe to do sir?

No problem. :)


If your computer is free of malware, then the action of exporting private keys from blockchain.info and importing them in Multibit or Electrum are safe.

Here is what the backup email from blockchain.info says:

If any of the computers you used to access blockchain.info have malware, you would have exposed your backup copy and password to the attacker, not just on the computer you are preparing to import to. MultiBit and electrum are both opensourced which means you could easily verify the source or build it from the source.

yes that all right and dont put your private keys on dropbox or email.
find a better safe place ,you dont want to lose your treasure because somebody hack your email.

So my BTC's are safe in the event something happens to blockchain.info as I have email back up yes?

Somebody please?

If Blockchain.info goes away, download the Multibit client from bitcoin.org and import the blockchain.info backup. Everything will be there, except addresses created after the backup.

If blockchain.info somehow disappears they wouldn't be able to touch your funds as faik.
is my wallet balance safe because I made email back ups?
Absolutely as long as it is encrypted well.

Steds & Odo thank you.

The answers I was looking for, feeling relieved now.

I don't like the sound of paper wallets etc, I'm not tech clued up enough for that.

I suggest you test the recovery -- just to be completely sure.

I have paper wallets. They require a different kind of security -- primarily protection from fire, water, and physical access.

There is little danger of hackery as long as you are confident that the computer used to make them is not compromised. The long series of steps that some people take are for ultra-secure storage. Otherwise, download a trusted paper wallet generator and you will be fine. I use this one: https://github.com/casascius/Bitcoin-Address-Utility. Binary is here:  https://casascius.com/btcaddress-alpha.zip

Is there a possibilty that blockchain will cease its service for us?

Most Bitcoin companies don't last very long. Blockchain.info has been an exception so far.

What if I did not backed up my wallet? What if that BTC is gone, where can I go or who can I contact?

Then you are fcked you can't do anything after that. Always keep a copy of your wallet file some place safe.

If you are talking about blockchain.info wallet, I believe they would still send you a backup if they cease to exist. Just contact Blockchain.info support, I'm sure they will help you. They also send you email backups in json format from time to time.  At http://blockchain-status.com/, the server says that if the server gets compromised, they would send you a email backup. I believe it would be the same for a shutdown.

If you are talking about desktop wallet, you can't get your BTC back. To spend your BTC, you need a private key of the address or the coins inside the address cannot be moved. No one else except the person with the private key can transfer the coins in the address.

its good you asked this question coz I'm wondering about this too. now, all I need is to read.  ;D

I believe, judging by experienced members replies here that as long as you have an email back up (json file) then you will not lose your coins in the event of a blockchain.info shut down.

can anyone extend on this, on backing up a file?

like a youtube video would help.. showing you can load back your balance.

If you have lost access to your 2fa device or have forgotten your identifier then you can contact blockchain.info and they may be able to recover access to your account however you would still need to remember your password (and 2nd password if applicable)

Which wallet are you using?
I don't think there is a video covering all the popular wallet clients.

Though blockchain.info has 99.9% availability. It's better to have an official QT/core wallet in you pc, you are in max control of your private address.
By opening the wallet you contribute to the network at same time.