Bitcoin Forum

Hi guys,

I need help for the following;
1. Where can i get an offline wallet?
2. Is it more secure than an online wallet?
3. Can a wallet hold not just Bitcoin but also Alt Coin?

Thanks in advance....

1. You should really get an offline wallet by installing a bootable Ubuntu OS into your keydrive and then rebooting your computer into this clean OS and then downloading and syncing with bitcoin core. After that, it should be fairly simple to create a new wallet.

2. It's a lot more secure than an online wallet.... while it's offline. As soon as you reveal your private key by putting it into a hot wallet that's connected to the internet, that potentially lowers security because of potential malware on the computer/wallet.

I mean, it might still be safe and no one might know your private key because your PC doesn't have any keyloggers or snooping malware... but you never really know. The NSA is monitoring all internet data... so no doubt, somwehere, the info you sent from your wallet could be cached in a governmental server.

But to stay safe, you can always just never input your private key. If you send bitcoin to the addresses associated with your private key, your bitcoin becomes associated with that private key.

Only reveal your private key when you absolutely must use/sell that bitcoin.

3. Right now bitcoin doesn't hold any smart contracts. But bitcoin addresses always are subject to forking. So whenever bitcoin forks, your address becomes cloned and you get an identical amount of the forked coins. Of course that doesn't mean your current bitcoin address holds the forked coins -- it's just that the forked coin chain has an identical address & private key.

1. There are many floating around the internet. Just make sure you check their legitimacy first. For Bitcoin specifically, I'd recommend Electrum, which you can use as an offline wallet by following these instructions: http://docs.electrum.org/en/latest/coldstorage.html

2. Yes. It's much harder to take coins out of them after all. You normally have to go through a number of hoops, so the same goes for any potential hacker.

3. Wallets can typically only hold coins they're designed for. If you want to hold different types of coins in a single wallet, you likely have to use an online one.

Thanks for your information.

Remember that if you want an offline wallet, you will need to download the entire blockchain which I think is over 200gb.

1. You can have a look at Ledger Nano S or Trezor
2. In some cases, but it`s definitely better than keeping them on the exchangers
3. Yes, Ledger Nano supports these currencies : BTC , BCH , BTG, ETH , ETC , LTC , DOGE , ZEC , XRP , DASH , STRAT , KMD , ARK , EXP , UBQ , VTC , VIA , NEO , XST , XLM , HSR, DGB , QTUM , PIVX

And update each time you connect, I assume? I mean, download the blocks found after the latest sync

No. You can simply generate a paper wallet from https://www.bitaddress.org/, then simply deposit on the adress given. I believe you can simply import the private keys into something like electrum, sign an offline transaction, and broadcast it with something like https://coinb.in/

This might also be an interesting read. http://docs.electrum.org/en/latest/coldstorage.html


Then what's the point of having an offline wallet? This is just a regular core wallet you guys are talking about.. ?

Only 100% security during the moment it's not connected to the network (means almost all of the time).

Plus enhanced security for everyday use: printed pkey is also kinda offline wallet, so the more options you have to access your wallet, the better. I'm saying like your regular app, encrypted and obfuscated key somewhere in iCloud, on your NAS at home, printed and saved in safe or bank cell etc — all of it simultaneously.