Altcoin storage without blockchain

[SPKLC]

If I download a wallet and install it, can I send coins to it and backup the wallet without having to download the blockchain? I mean, can I backup the wallet and encrypt it before the coins have showed up as balance in the wallet?

Thx

[monsterer]

Yes, the private key(s) are all you need to back up.

[SPKLC]

Yes, the private key(s) are all you need to back up.

Ok good!

Just to be 100% clear on what I should do: install - send coins to my wallet - encrypt the wallet - and then backup my wallet.dat? 

[OnkelPaul]

You can install/encrypt/backup before sending coins to an address in your wallet.
The wallet only stores the private keys, not the actual coins, and depending on its type, it either generates a list of private keys in advance (the traditional approach), or it creates a sequence of keys (the HD approach.)
Of course, to show the true balance of your wallet, it needs to know the whole blockchain so it sees all transactions, and you will not be able to spend from the wallet before it sees the transactions.

Onkel Paul

[SPKLC]

Ok thanks guys! Hopefully this thread can be of use to other nabs

[altcoinhosting]

depending on the altcoin, you might even be able to make a private/public key pair without using the official wallet software... (you could basically do this for any coin, but for certain altcoins, open source software is available to help you in this task)

For example: a paper wallet generator for offline use will give you a private key (and an public address). Just store the private key, and deposit your coins to the public address... No need for wallet software, nor for downloading a whole blockchain  

[bit1]

Lol,
Download the huge blockchain is a problem by the time that it takes but fortunately there are anothers options like to a use a bootstrap or use online wallets..... But really I do not understand why almost nobody makes availables zipped files  with the entire blockchain.

[altcoinhosting]

Lol,
Download the huge blockchain is a problem by the time that it takes but fortunately there are anothers options like to a use a bootstrap or use online wallets..... But really I do not understand why almost nobody makes availables zipped files  with the entire blockchain.

It was claimed on this forum (can't find the exact post right now) that it would take as long to download the torrent of the bitcoin blockchain, as it would take to download the blockchain in the normal way (using the core wallet).
I too find this hard to believe...

[OnkelPaul]

It was claimed on this forum (can't find the exact post right now) that it would take as long to download the torrent of the bitcoin blockchain, as it would take to download the blockchain in the normal way (using the core wallet).
I too find this hard to believe...

The blockchain download code in the standard wallet has recently been improved quite a bit so that the download time in the client is comparable to the torrent download time (it was considerably slower before.) I did not perform an actual measurement, but I think it's reasonably similar now. A big chunk of the blockchain syncing time seems to be spent on block and transaction verification and management of the UTXO set and memory pool. At least on my machine, network activity consumes comparably little time, so further optimizing this will probably not yield a much faster blockchain download.

Onkel Paul

[altcoinhosting]

It was claimed on this forum (can't find the exact post right now) that it would take as long to download the torrent of the bitcoin blockchain, as it would take to download the blockchain in the normal way (using the core wallet).
I too find this hard to believe...

The blockchain download code in the standard wallet has recently been improved quite a bit so that the download time in the client is comparable to the torrent download time (it was considerably slower before.) I did not perform an actual measurement, but I think it's reasonably similar now. A big chunk of the blockchain syncing time seems to be spent on block and transaction verification and management of the UTXO set and memory pool. At least on my machine, network activity consumes comparably little time, so further optimizing this will probably not yield a much faster blockchain download.

Onkel Paul

The explanation you've given actually makes a lot of sense, and explains a lot for me... So, it's basically the fact that a lot of processor power is needed to verify all transactions that slows down the whole process, so this becomes the bottleneck instead of downloading the chain in itself.

Thanks