Hello. I would be interested to know if there is a list anywhere that ranks countries according to their "Bitcoin friendliness".

For example, I know from my own experience that Germany is friendlier than Britain. What do I mean by this? I mean it is just easier to transfer money from exchanges to banks and the other way around, the German tax people are generally "cool" with people owning Bitcoin, plus you do not pay capital gains tax on any crypto held longer than a year. Meanwhile, British banks are all angsty and I have heard of people getting their accounts shut down because they transfer fiat to/from an exchange.

Has anyone ever compiled such a list? It would be interesting to do our own rankings, I think, from personal experience!

I know lots of online magazines like Forbes sometimes do lists of "ten Bitcoin-friendly countries". But these sort of articles are usually just fluff (like "ten countries it is easy to retire to" and from experience I know their "lists" are rubbish).

So which are the best from the point of view of the individual like us? I know Germany is pretty good and I would tend to imagine the smaller and more "dynamic" countries like Estonia ought to be better, but what about Asia, Central America, etc? Which country is best of all???

Hello. I understand the reasoning why having a hidden wallet is good on a Trezor device.

I have made the password quite challenging, but at the same time it is possible to commit it to memory.

Can you tell me, if I lose or forget my password, how would I retrieve my coins?

Because as I understand, I have one seedphrase for the two wallets (hidden, standard).

Would I need to enter the seedphrase in another device (eg. Electrum) to get my coins back? And would they all appear "together"?

I hope someone can kindly advise me and anyone else reading it what is the best thing to do in such a scenario.

After buying a new PC (Windows 11), I set up Electrum once again after going through all the correct procedures.

On my old PC, I had my coins stored in a default wallet. So what I did was set up a new wallet on my new PC (this time I gave it a name) and imported the seed (if that is the correct, phrase). So I typed in my sixteen words and the coins appeared in this new wallet.

I now have the novelty that I can see them on both the old PC in the old default wallet and the new PC in my named wallet.

I plan to eventually move my coins to a Trezor wallet. But is there any way I can disable the old default wallet in my old PC, before I get rid of the old PC entirely?

Hello, everyone. I have a new PC and I like having my Bitcoin in an Electrum wallet on the screen. I have Windows 11.

I have not been doing much with my Bitcoin in the past year, besides checking the Electrum wallet to see it is still there!

So I am a bit out of touch with things, as I am not really a technical person at all (I only bought some Bitcoin ten years ago as it interested me as an Economics student).

Is there a relatively simple step-by-step guide out there that I can follow? Obviously I know all about only downloading the software from the official site and verifying it via Kleopatra, but it is so long since I did it, that I am worried I will leave out something vital which might compromise me in the future...

Can anyone recommend a good online video or guide on here that I can follow to avoid mistakes? As I say, I want to have a new Electrum wallet on my new PC (and to do it so that no one accessing my old PC could get to my coins that way). Thanks in advance!

Hello. I have downloaded Electrum software to my laptop (Windows 10) and I keep my Bitcoin in my wallet on the laptop.

I have now bought a new laptop with Windows 11. I would like to have my Electrum wallet on this computer now, as I fear the old laptop is going to give up the ghost very soon. I am not very tech-savvy, but I do know all about verifying the signature, etc., which I always do when I download a new version.

Can anyone provide a link to a handy step by step guide to "migrating your Electrum wallet to a new PC"? What happens if I download Electrum onto my new laptop? Will my Bitcoin now be visible on both computers or do I make this one my "single wallet" as it were..?

[Trezor Wallet website]

So I am setting up my first Trezor wallet. I have a Model One. Trezor sent me this link:

https://wiki.trezor.io/User_manual:Setting_up_the_Trezor_device__T1

I have two PCs, one runs on Windows 8 and one runs on Windows 10.

I am using the one which runs on Windows 10, as the link from Trezor says "device is compatible with Windows 10" (meaning not with Windows 8?).

OK. So I see the first instructions: "To allow your Trezor device to communicate smoothly with Trezor Wallet, we strongly recommend installing Trezor Bridge. It is the most optimized solution that is compatible with Chrome and Firefox browsers. When you go to the Trezor Wallet website, you will see a page with a download link."

So I click on the link.. and every time, it says in red: "You were disconnected. Please check your internet connection and reload the page".

When I reload, this happens every time. I check my connection. All is well (incidentally, no problems when I open this page, as a check, on my other PC running Windows 8!).

But to even add to the confusion, I see this other link:

https://wiki.trezor.io/Setting_up_Trezor_One

This talks about all different things! It says the first thing you do is: "Download Trezor Suite from https://suite.trezor.io" I go to this page and it asks me to download the desktop app.

So which is it? Which route do I take? Can anyone provide a link to a definitive step-by-step guide to setting up a Trezor Model One wallet?

Hi, I ordered a Trezor wallet from SatoshiLabs in the Czech Republic to neighbouring Germany.

The shipping detail said: "The consignment was sent for transportation".

Then, for a full 48 hours, it just sat at Depo Nový Jičín 70, which I thought was strange.

Then "the consignment was sent to the destination country".

But 24 hours later, the shipping has not appeared on the German system and there are no/will be no further updates on the German system.

It is true that the email confirming the order said: "Please note that it may take up to 3 days until the order appears in your local provider's system."

But that is now 72 hours when an order of a very important item (!) has been "off the radar". The German system never allows for such "white spots" when you buy other stuff online and track them.

Any need for concern?

Hello. I have an Electrum wallet which I use on Windows 10 on my PC. I know the security issues, but I just prefer the larger screen for seeing what I do and not making mistakes. I have been careful so far. I only have one default wallet and have the keys.

I wanted to ask, because I have also got a smartphone now with Android, which I know is better with security issues.

If I were to also download an Electrum wallet set-up on my phone, could I access the same wallet without any problems? So it would be like internet banking, say, when you can view the same account through the web or on the app?

I am in the process of upgrading to the latest version of Electrum using Windows, Installer version.

Clicked on the link in my wallet and it took me to the site (opened up a Microsoft browser window, though I generally use Chrome).

Downloaded the new Installer version, which seems to have correctly substituted itself for the old one.

Now I want to verify the signature. But when I click on "signature" on the web page, it just takes me to a new browser page:

https://download.electrum.org/4.1.2/electrum-4.1.2-setup.exe.asc

Which has BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE ---- all the code -- END PGP SIGNATURE

But how do I save this so that I can verify it on Kleopatra? Left click just opens the browser window, right click does not let me download it....

This seems like a stupid question, but how do I save this file (signature) in downloads? When I try to use "save as", it will only let me save it as a text file.

This will be the first time I have updated my Electrum Wallet. I use a desktop PC and Windows 10.

I see that there is a notice "Update to Electrum 4.1.2 is available" at the bottom of the screen.

Is there anything I need to know about security or anything else before I begin? Or do you just click and it goes ahead automatically?

Hello. I am trying to claim my Bitcoin Gold using a Coinomi wallet.

I am trying to sweep the private key from my Blockchain wallet, as this is where my BTC was when the fork occurred.

But I cannot find the private key in my Blockchain wallet. It gives me the "extended public key" for BTC under "more options", but that is all.

All that is written under Bitcoin in my "wallets and addresses" section is: Private Key Wallet [default]. I cannot click on this to find my private key, as it will not let me click.

Under Ethereum in my "wallets and addresses" it lets me see a private key with no problem. But not for BTC.

Can anyone help me? Or does private key here mean the seed?

I am planning to claim Bitcoin Gold using a Coinomi wallet, which I have just downloaded from their site. I used the Windows version, as I do not have any access to Android. I have a couple of questions.

1. This guide says: "this process requires that you use a Bitcoin mobile wallet currently available only for Android. If you don’t have an Android mobile phone, I suggest getting one for this process"

https://99bitcoins.com/how-to-claim-bitcoin-gold-btg-guide/

But is this the case? Although I have not started the process, it seems capable of doing all the same Android things so far...

2. I kept my Bitcoin on Blockchain at the time of the fork. I have now moved the Bitcoin onto an Electrum wallet. There is nothing at all in my Blockchain wallet at the moment. So am I now free to provide the seed from the Blockchain wallet when claiming the Bitcoin Gold in the Coinomi wallet? There is NO way that my coins in the Electrum wallet can be got at in this way (I doubt it, but I wanted to double check with the experts, as crypt is new to me).

3. When providing the seed from Blockchain, do I give the long (16 words?) seed I was given at the start or do I give the shorter one I now have (12 words).

Hello. I had Bitcoin for a long time on a Blockchain wallet. I have since moved them to Electrum, though I still have access to my Blockchain wallet.

Now that Bitcoin Gold has recovered a bit in price, I was thinking I really need to claim all my coins. I have been a Bitcoin holder since 2013 and have only ever claimed Bitcoin Cash (because it was given to me in my wallet automatically and, if I recall, for the coins I held at that time also on Kraken).

Is there a comprehensive step-by-step guide anywhere to how to go about claiming coins resulting from Bitcoin forks?

I know there are a lot of suggestions online, but I find they sometimes leave things out and expose you to potential risks. I really only trust the posters on here. 

I set up an Electrum wallet before I learnt about verifying the signature.

Even though I typed in the name of the website on my browser (i.e. did not do a Google search), I still want to be cautious, so it looks like I will have to start all over again... 

Will I be protected as long as I delete all my Electrum files on my computer and start all over again? Or is there anything else I should be aware of in terms of securing myself?

Also, are there any other things like this that I should be aware of regarding Electrum? I had never verified other downloads before, so this was not something I even thought about. As I just heard about it by chance, I wonder if there are other things people are not aware of and only find out after they have set up their wallet, for example? I will admit that I am not one of the most web-savvy people, so I am probably in a minority here...

1. I started buying and storing XBT with Blockchain back when the seed was 16 words. I still have them in a safe place.

2. I have set up an Electrum wallet, which has given me its own seed (12 words), as I choose the option "create a new seed" (I did not think I could click "I already have a seed", because I was not sure if this meant one from Electrum and if another one would work).

3. Now I want to transfer the XBT which I have on Blockchain (and a small amount on the Kraken exchange) to my new Electrum wallet. Obviously, I will only use a small amount first as a trial.

What is the best way to do this? Just send like normal transactions from both Blockchain and Kraken?

When I set up the Electrum wallet, I was a bit unsure about what role the old seed played. If I transfer to an Electrum wallet which has given me this new seed, am I like a second person, a second owner of my own Bitcoin? Would it not be safer to somehow keep to the old seed? But how is this done if it is 16 words?

I am planning to set up an Electrum wallet.

I will use it on my PC, which is currently running Windows 8. However, it is quite an old PC and I think it might give up the ghost at any minute.

In which case, I have another PC, which runs on Windows 10 (which I like less, so I use less).

In my case, is there any Windows version which is better for me? I mean Standalone Executable, Windows Installer or Portable version?

I just want to be sure that I will have no hassles moving over to another computer (which I guess everyone has to do at some point).

In general, I prefer safety over everything else.

I have always held my Bitcoin in a blockchain.info wallet. When I started buying XBT in 2013, I did some research and it seemed to be the best variant. Now I have a number of issues.

1. When I go into "wallets and addresses", I see that my XBT and BCH are all in "Imported Bitcoin Addresses. Imported funds are not protected by your Secret Private Key Recovery Phrase. To ensure these funds are secured, please transfer them directly into your wallet."

I never paid attention to this before. It seems strange to me, because I imported my crypto from a Kraken exchange back in 2013 and, to my mind, all funds must be "imported" at some stage. It is like a bank account. You deposit money at the start and then as time goes on... I see that to transfer the funds to the address which IS protected, you need to pay a small commission, correct?

2. On the subject of your recovery phrase, mine is 16 words and not 12. I cannot see how this can be changed without telling people, possibly creating problems.

3. On a side-note, when I log into my wallet using a Chrome browser on a PC, only part of your screen appears on my screen. So I am not actually able to sign out or scroll to the right or down (for example, to change the language).

Are there maybe better options now or is a blockchain.info wallet still the best way to go?

Because I hold Bitcoin, I was given about the same amount in Bitcoin Cash at one point.

I was also given some Stellar (XLM) for free.

Does anyone know if this is regulated in any way regarding taxation? My Bitcoin emerged out of fiat. But this came out of nothing!

I was thinking of applying for a crypto debit card and had been looking into Bitwala card. My main aim is to avoid all the hassles with high-street banks.

Has anyone had experience of using a crypto debit card and any thoughts? I have a couple of questions.

1. Can you transfer from your own Blockchain wallet to the card? I have my Bitcoin mainly in my own Blockchain wallet, though also some in Kraken.

2. I was trying to think of some tax implications for the future. In theory, I have made gains on my Bitcoin as I bought quite a while ago and so ought to pay CGT. But no one would know if I just quietly ran down my Bitcoin and spent it as fiat. However, if some day I wanted to use the Bitcoin to buy something like property, then I would need to legalise it all, obviously... so how do I explain if I took out the odd £500 every month or so?

3. Can they only be used as a debit card to make purchases and ATM withdrawals? Or can any of them be used to do things like SEPA transfers? For example, I believe the Bitwala card gives you an IBAN.