Some common doubts about Bitcoin Paper wallet

[bitloud]

Paper wallet is a very secured method of storing bitcoins as offline.  But I have some doubts.

Bitcoin Paper wallet have any database ?

If dont have database,

How it storing as offline ? Where it storing ?

How transations working without a database ? (Sending & Recieving)

If have database,

 How it storing ? Where it storing ?

I also dont know about checking Bitcoin Paper wallet Balance.

Please Repy..

Regards....

[mocacinno]

I guess you're missing some of the basic concepts of bitcoin.
A paper wallet holds your private key, preferably in an encrypted manner. It also shows the address that corresponds to this private key, altough theoretically, the (encrypted) private key would suffice, since you could (potentially) calculate the public key and the address based on the private key.

If you create a transaction with outputs to the address on your paper wallet (and the transaction makes it into a block) (basically, you're sending funds to your paper wallet), everybody running a core client or node will have the transaction with outputs to the address on your paper wallet into his own, database (it's in the blocks that are physically stored onto their disk).
It's a decentralised database, hundreds of people have the database containing all confirmed transactions ever made onto their own harddisk. They don't only store their own transactions, but they store everybody's transactions...

Afterwards, you can import the private key into any wallet you want, the wallet will have to download all the blocks (unless it's an SPV wallet, or an online wallet, since those wallets rely on blocks downloaded by a central node), including the blocks containing the transaction with outputs to the address on your paper wallet. Afterwards, you can create a transaction with these inputs.

It does not matter if you create a paper wallet today, receive inputs for 2 years, and only after two years import the private key into a wallet... As soon as you import it, the wallet will scan the blockchain, and find all past transactions, and you'll be able to generate a transaction using these unspent inputs, eventough the private key was not imported into a synced wallet at the time the transactions providing the inputs were generated.

[Coding Enthusiast]

First of all please don't add unnecessary "size" to your comments it is annoying. Instead change the "zoom" level of your browser if you have trouble reading.

I'll try to explain:
What you need to know about bitcoin is that there is no such thing as "bitcoin" and you are not "storing coins" what you have is a private key which creates a public key, and record of all transactions that are stored on this public ledger called blockchain that peers hold on their computer when running a full node.

When you receive bitcoin, what happens is that some else is signing away the ownership of an output to your public key. And when you want to spend that output you sign away ownership of that output with your private key and give the ownership to another public key and all the records of these transactions between people are saved on the blockchain so your "database" is the blockchain.

What you do offline (generating a paper wallet) is that you are creating that private key to be able to receive those outputs and be able to spend them later.

For checking your paper wallet's balance, you go to that database (blockchain) and check your public key and see how many outputs were sent to your pubkey and add them up to see how much balance you've got. You do this usually by going to an online block explorer and typing in your bitcoin address (base58encrypted) starting with 1 or 3.

[deisik]

Paper wallet is a very secured method of storing bitcoins as offline.  But I have some doubts

Paper wallet is just a sheet of paper where your private and public keys are written down or printed out

This is just what you need to know (and obviously no one else should) to access your bitcoins on the network as well as send them using any decent software wallet that allows importing the keys. And as far as I know, any desktop wallet allows that. Bitcoins themselves are stored on the blockchain (and never leave it), so you access them using these keys by a Bitcoin address, which is basically a hashed public key itself

[bitloud]

First of all please don't add unnecessary "size" to your comments it is annoying. Instead change the "zoom" level of your browser if you have trouble reading.

I'll try to explain:
What you need to know about bitcoin is that there is no such thing as "bitcoin" and you are not "storing coins" what you have is a private key which creates a public key, and record of all transactions that are stored on this public ledger called blockchain that peers hold on their computer when running a full node.

When you receive bitcoin, what happens is that some else is signing away the ownership of an output to your public key. And when you want to spend that output you sign away ownership of that output with your private key and give the ownership to another public key and all the records of these transactions between people are saved on the blockchain so your "database" is the blockchain.

What you do offline (generating a paper wallet) is that you are creating that private key to be able to receive those outputs and be able to spend them later.

For checking your paper wallet's balance, you go to that database (blockchain) and check your public key and see how many outputs were sent to your pubkey and add them up to see how much balance you've got. You do this usually by going to an online block explorer and typing in your bitcoin address (base58encrypted) starting with 1 or 3.

Thank you for your reply. Now I am understood our paper wallet bitcoin is storing in Blockchain. So database is Blockchain.
We are getting only access for entering in bitcoin  with Public key and and protecting with private key. Right?

[Coding Enthusiast]

Thank you for your reply. Now I am understood our paper wallet bitcoin is storing in Blockchain.

Transactions are stored on the blockchain not your paper wallet. Paper wallet is your private keys written on a paper. It is a bit similar to your email password and writing it on a piece of paper.

So database is Blockchain.

Yes.

We are getting only access for entering in bitcoin  with Public key and and protecting with private key. Right?

Your public key is what you can give to others, which you see, store and give it to others as base58encrypted string (starts with 1 or 3).
And your private key is your secret information that you should never give anyone, and keep it safe. You usually see it as a base58encrypted string (starts with 5, L or K)

[bitloud]

So database is Blockchain.

Yes.

Then what is the difference between storing bitcoin in Blockchain OR paper wallet?
Database is Blockchain.
I am thinking about paper wallet seriously. Because, almost 4 months ago Blockchain had problems..
Website was not opening for 1 full day. It was their maintenence.
That time I was very worried, When blochain is back as normal, I transfered my all Bitcoin from Blockchain to Coinbase.
After that  I never used Blockchain again.
If blockchain is again getting problem, I think we cant use my Paper wallet bitcoins.
I had a bad experience with Liberty Reserve. I had dollars in Liberty Reserve when they stoped their website.

[mocacinno]

So database is Blockchain.

Yes.

Then what is the difference between storing bitcoin in Blockchain OR paper wallet?
Database is Blockchain.
I am thinking about paper wallet seriously. Because, almost 4 months ago Blockchain had problems..
Website was not opening for 1 full day. It was their maintenence.
That time I was very worried, When blochain is back as normal, I transfered my all Bitcoin from Blockchain to Coinbase.
Till today I never used Blockchain again.
If blockchain is again getting problem, I think we cant use my Paper wallet bitcoins.
I had a bad experience with Liberty Reserve. I had dollars in Liberty Reserve when they stoped website.

Some more misconceptions...

First:
It has been stated before: bitcoins aren't a physical thing... You cannot hold a bitcoin.
Bitcoins exist as a number of unspent inputs, records into a decentralised database that say that address x has x BTC worth of unspent inputs.
The person holding the private key for address x can also generate a valid record that can potentially be added to the same decentralised database, that transfers the unspent inputs of address x to address y. In that case, the person holding the private key for address y can use the new, unspent inputs.
If you want to know more, i suggest using google to find more info on how bitcoins work exactly. There are tons of sites dedicated to this topic.

Second:
blockchain.info => a company that owns a block explorer and an online wallet provider
the blockchain => the ledger (database) consisting of physical files stored on hundreds of computers... The database of each and every transaction ever made.
Your transactions are stored on The Blockchain, offcourse, the node(s) of blockchain.info also downloaded The blockchain, so they also store your transaction, but they're just a company running a couple of nodes, they do not own the blockchain itself.
I know, it's confusing that a company chose a name that is the same as the technology they're using, but that's just the way it is...

[bitloud]

Some more misconceptions...

First:
It has been stated before: bitcoins aren't a physical thing... You cannot hold a bitcoin.
Bitcoins exist as a number of unspent inputs, records into a decentralised database that say that address x has x BTC worth of unspent inputs.
The person holding the private key for address x can also generate a valid record that can potentially be added to the same decentralised database, that transfers the unspent inputs of address x to address y. In that case, the person holding the private key for address y can use the new, unspent inputs.
If you want to know more, i suggest using google to find more info on how bitcoins work exactly. There are tons of sites dedicated to this topic.

Second:
blockchain.info => a company that owns a block explorer and an online wallet provider
the blockchain => the ledger (database) consisting of physical files stored on hundreds of computers... The database of each and every transaction ever made.
Your transactions are stored on The Blockchain, offcourse, the node(s) of blockchain.info also downloaded The blockchain, so they also store your transaction, but they're just a company running a couple of nodes, they do not own the blockchain itself.
I know, it's confusing that a company chose a name that is the same as the technology they're using, but that's just the way it is...

Thank you for your reply. I have readed your reply carefully.
From your reply I am assuming that, no one can hold bitcoin. We can use our paper wallet bitcoin if Blockchain.info not working properly OR completely stopped. Right ?

[mocacinno]

Thank you for your reply. I have readed your reply carefully.
From your reply I am assuming that, no one can hold bitcoin. We can use our paper wallet bitcoin if Blockchain.info not working properly OR completely stopped. Right ?

Yes, bitcoin isn't a physical thing, it's more like some records into a database. Since the database is decentralised, it is very unlikely that somebody messes with it, or that at one point, the complete database will be lost.
The second part is also correct, blockchain.info is just a company. If they ever go bancrupt, or just disappear, a lot of people using the blockchain.info wallet will potentially have problems accessing their wallets (unless they made proper backups). But this has no impact on your paper wallet. You could just import your private key into a synced bitcoin core wallet, or into an SPV wallet like electrum, and you can just use your unspent inputs to generate a transaction without ever needing the company blockchain.info

[bitloud]

The second part is also correct, blockchain.info is just a company. If they ever go bancrupt, or just disappear, a lot of people using the blockchain.info wallet will potentially have problems accessing their wallets (unless they made proper backups). But this has no impact on your paper wallet. You could just import your private key into a synced bitcoin core wallet, or into an SPV wallet like electrum, and you can just use your unspent inputs to generate a transaction without ever needing the company blockchain.info

So most  secured method for storing our Bitcoins is Papper wallets. If we using paper wallet, no need to worry about online wallets going scam OR account blocked.

import your private key into a synced bitcoin core wallet or into an SPV wallet like electrum.

I dont understood this. How get "synced bitcoin core wallet". Paper wallet sync is possible?

[jaberwock]

The second part is also correct, blockchain.info is just a company. If they ever go bancrupt, or just disappear, a lot of people using the blockchain.info wallet will potentially have problems accessing their wallets (unless they made proper backups). But this has no impact on your paper wallet. You could just import your private key into a synced bitcoin core wallet, or into an SPV wallet like electrum, and you can just use your unspent inputs to generate a transaction without ever needing the company blockchain.info

So most  secured method for storing our Bitcoins is Papper wallets. If we using paper wallet, no need to worry about online wallets going scam OR account blocked.

import your private key into a synced bitcoin core wallet or into an SPV wallet like electrum.

I dont understood this. How get "synced bitcoin core wallet". Paper wallet sync is possible?

you won't store bitcoin in a paper wallet, you only store some private key that might give you the power to transfer some amount of Bitcoins to other addresses.

also you don't sync a piece of paper with a private key, you sync a wallet that might or might not have your private keys imported

looks like you need to learn the very basics about Bitcoins before worrying about paper wallets

[BitMaxz]

The second part is also correct, blockchain.info is just a company. If they ever go bancrupt, or just disappear, a lot of people using the blockchain.info wallet will potentially have problems accessing their wallets (unless they made proper backups). But this has no impact on your paper wallet. You could just import your private key into a synced bitcoin core wallet, or into an SPV wallet like electrum, and you can just use your unspent inputs to generate a transaction without ever needing the company blockchain.info

So most  secured method for storing our Bitcoins is Papper wallets. If we using paper wallet, no need to worry about online wallets going scam OR account blocked.

import your private key into a synced bitcoin core wallet or into an SPV wallet like electrum.

I dont understood this. How get "synced bitcoin core wallet". Paper wallet sync is possible?

you won't store bitcoin in a paper wallet, you only store some private key that might give you the power to transfer some amount of Bitcoins to other addresses.

also you don't sync a piece of paper with a private key, you sync a wallet that might or might not have your private keys imported

looks like you need to learn the very basics about Bitcoins before worrying about paper wallets

Other address you are transferring the whole bitcoin address if you install the private key in other wallet provider?
I just try this when i was installing the private key in the same wallet in electrum only one address is you can get..
Unless if you are using 2fa in electrum when you are backuping private key you can get different address..  when installing it to other wallet or in same electrum wallet..

[mocacinno]

Other address you are transferring the whole bitcoin address if you install the private key in other wallet provider?
I just try this when i was installing the private key in the same wallet in electrum only one address is you can get..
Unless if you are using 2fa in electrum when you are backuping private key you can get different address..  when installing it to other wallet or in same electrum or wallet..

Sorry, but i can't really understand your question... I think you're saying that you can not import a private key into an existing electrum wallet.

This is partly correct.

You either generate an HD wallet, this wallet uses a seed in order to generate an xprv. This xprv is used to generate a bunch of derived addresses.
Once you used electrum to generate a HD wallet, you can no longer use this wallet to import private keys, since theys imported keys could not be derived from the wallet's xprv.

But, if you generate a new wallet in which you restore the wallet from a private key, the resulting wallet won't be HD. Since the wallet isn't HD, you can import extra private keys.

Long story short: if you want to import private keys into electrum, make sure you generate a wallet that isn't generated from a seed, but from a private key... Once you have a wallet that is generated using a private key, you can add extra private keys to it.

[Kprawn]

Some more misconceptions...

First:
It has been stated before: bitcoins aren't a physical thing... You cannot hold a bitcoin.
Bitcoins exist as a number of unspent inputs, records into a decentralised database that say that address x has x BTC worth of unspent inputs.
The person holding the private key for address x can also generate a valid record that can potentially be added to the same decentralised database, that transfers the unspent inputs of address x to address y. In that case, the person holding the private key for address y can use the new, unspent inputs.
If you want to know more, i suggest using google to find more info on how bitcoins work exactly. There are tons of sites dedicated to this topic.

Second:
blockchain.info => a company that owns a block explorer and an online wallet provider
the blockchain => the ledger (database) consisting of physical files stored on hundreds of computers... The database of each and every transaction ever made.
Your transactions are stored on The Blockchain, offcourse, the node(s) of blockchain.info also downloaded The blockchain, so they also store your transaction, but they're just a company running a couple of nodes, they do not own the blockchain itself.
I know, it's confusing that a company chose a name that is the same as the technology they're using, but that's just the way it is...

Thank you for your reply. I have readed your reply carefully.
From your reply I am assuming that, no one can hold bitcoin. We can use our paper wallet bitcoin if Blockchain.info not working properly OR completely stopped. Right ?

You not getting the full picture.  Imagine the database/ledger of the banks were public, but you can create a bank account with a password,

without the bank knowing any of this information. You write the bank account numbers down and also the password {private key} and you keep

it safe on this piece of paper. You give out the account number for people, and they can deposit money into that account/address. These changes

to your account/bitcoin address runs on a Blockchain that runs on 1000's of people's computers. {not the bank}

That is what a paper wallet is... only a piece of paper.. showing your address and the private key {password} for you to access it. 

Blockchain.info runs a website that makes it easier for people to access their coins and to sweep these coins, it is not the Blockchain. 

[amacar2]

You can create bitcoin paper wallet even in your computer without any internet access.
Visit bitaddress.org, move your mouse all over the computer screen to add randomness on your bitcoin address. Then you will have a bitcoin address and private key pairs which will not be stored anywhere online. Just balance in that bitcoin address will be recorded in blockchain database.

I think you have to search for how bitcoin network works and how paper wallet is generated.

[Catmony]

Bitcoin Paper wallet have any database ?
How it storing as offline ?
How transations working without a database ? (Sending & Recieving)
How it storing ?
Where it storing ?

I also dont know about checking Bitcoin Paper wallet Balance.

- No bitcoin address and private key is generated randomly and not taken out from any database.
- Actually record of bitcoin in any bitcoin address is stored in bitcoin blockchain (ledger) but the one who have private key can only move out that bitcoin.

- Paper wallet only contains private key which is key to take out bitcoin from that bitcoin address so you need to import that bitcoin address/private key to web wallet before you can send bitcoin out of that bitcoin address but to receive bitcoin you don't need to import it.