Short question - Short answer [Official Thread]

[lockept93]

These kind of thread are usefull in many other big boards, so why not do it on bct?

The rules are simple - instead of open a new thread for a short and simple question, post here and you will get a fast answer.

This will bring some more organization and overview.

 

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[yooper]

  If I am secure with my passphrase is there a need to also secure a copy of wallet.dat?

I'm a noob, just reading up on all this for the past several days.
Created a coinbase account and a bitcoin wallet on my android phone.
Sent coin to the phone.
No clue where to locate wallet.dat.
I read somewhere that your phrase IS your coin.... don't understand why I'd need the .dat file.

[HabBear]

The rules are simple - instead of open a new thread for a short and simple question,

Interesting idea, the only concern I have is getting short answers...you'll notice on this forum that you'll get 20 answers, several repeating what's already been said.

If I am secure with my passphrase is there a need to also secure a copy of wallet.dat?

I'm a noob, just reading up on all this for the past several days.
Created a coinbase account and a bitcoin wallet on my android phone.
Sent coin to the phone.
No clue where to locate wallet.dat.
I read somewhere that your phrase IS your coin.... don't understand why I'd need the .dat file.

If you have a wallet.dat file, YES you need to back it up...in multiple locations with independent security. Anyone taking that file will have taken the bitcoin with in it.

If you're using Coinbase you won't get or need a wallet.dat file. Coinbase doesn't give you your private keys. Coinbase is a bank, you have an account, they have the bitcoin wallet, and they keep record of how much they owe you. There are convenience benefits to Coinbase and theoretical security disadvantages,

[yooper]

If I am secure with my passphrase is there a need to also secure a copy of wallet.dat?

I'm a noob, just reading up on all this for the past several days.
Created a coinbase account and a bitcoin wallet on my android phone.
Sent coin to the phone.
No clue where to locate wallet.dat.
I read somewhere that your phrase IS your coin.... don't understand why I'd need the .dat file.

If you have a wallet.dat file, YES you need to back it up...in multiple locations with independent security. Anyone taking that file will have taken the bitcoin with in it.

If you're using Coinbase you won't get or need a wallet.dat file. Coinbase doesn't give you your private keys. Coinbase is a bank, you have an account, they have the bitcoin wallet, and they keep record of how much they owe you. There are convenience benefits to Coinbase and theoretical security disadvantages,

I understand Coinbase, would not keep coin there.

If I have a wallet.dat file?  more confusion, I can't find one on my phone.  There is a backup option in settings in the bitcoin android app, but no clue where this backup is stored, although I've seen some info suggesting it is on the SD Card in a format not compatible with other wallet.dat files. I am running Android 7.0 and can encrypt the phone ... but don't know if that applies to the SD card. I can remove and copy the sd card but don't know it that would work to insert in a new phone....

There is also an export function in settings, I can set a password and create a text file to email to myself, an email doesn't seem like a good idea...  but the only option I can see at this time.

Regarding the pass phrase... that alone is not sufficient to somehow restore/import coin into a new wallet? My main concern is if the phone is lost or damaged, while I can remotely wipe the phone I'd need to restore the coin somewhere....

What I am starting to understand is why it will likely be a long time before this technology will be understood well enough to gain widespread consumer confidence.

[mlethbridge]

1st question - I'm new to bitcoin.

I initiated a transfer, from bread, b75,000 ($260) but the network fee was b155,463 ($540) = $801.

The fee was essentially the same whether I attempted to pay the vendor directly or transfer to coinbase.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks, in advance

[Randywag]

I understand Coinbase, would not keep coin there.

If I have a wallet.dat file?  more confusion, I can't find one on my phone.  There is a backup option in settings in the bitcoin android app, but no clue where this backup is stored, although I've seen some info suggesting it is on the SD Card in a format not compatible with other wallet.dat files. I am running Android 7.0 and can encrypt the phone ... but don't know if that applies to the SD card. I can remove and copy the sd card but don't know it that would work to insert in a new phone....

There is also an export function in settings, I can set a password and create a text file to email to myself, an email doesn't seem like a good idea...  but the only option I can see at this time.

Regarding the pass phrase... that alone is not sufficient to somehow restore/import coin into a new wallet? My main concern is if the phone is lost or damaged, while I can remotely wipe the phone I'd need to restore the coin somewhere....

What I am starting to understand is why it will likely be a long time before this technology will be understood well enough to gain widespread consumer confidence.

Yes, do not keep coins anywhere online. It is always possible to become the next mt gox attack. If you back up your wallet on your phone, it is a big possibility that it is stored either on your google drive or sd card. I stored mine on my google drive. This way it is always accessible on new phones or anywhere else I get a wallet. Thats just me though, I am somewhat new to this and really only cloud mine. I only have a little coin.

[Gleb Gamow]

What's the maximum lenght allowed for short questions on this thread? Same question for the answers.

[lockept93]

What's the maximum lenght allowed for short questions on this thread? Same question for the answers.

I wouldnt give any limit. If its a half book its better to open an own thread for that.

[yooper]

I've only seen 12 word pass phrases  mentioned in what I've read so far, but as a noob I am less than a week into this .... new hobby I guess.
Today I installed the coinami wallet app on an andriod phone, it created an 18 word phrase ....  how significant is that? I assume if makes the crypto even stronger but maybe beyond necessity?  Also since most other wallets only use 12 words wouldn't there be a compatibility issue if you wanted to change wallets?

[Eric Cartman]

I've only seen 12 word pass phrases  mentioned in what I've read so far, but as a noob I am less than a week into this .... new hobby I guess.
Today I installed the coinami wallet app on an andriod phone, it created an 18 word phrase ....  how significant is that? I assume if makes the crypto even stronger but maybe beyond necessity?  Also since most other wallets only use 12 words wouldn't there be a compatibility issue if you wanted to change wallets?

of course each wallet has its own ways of recovery words, since recovery words aren't implemented with the blockchain technology

[Muhammed Zakir]

I've only seen 12 word pass phrases  mentioned in what I've read so far, but as a noob I am less than a week into this .... new hobby I guess.

12,13,18 and 24 are used frequently, though there is no rule. It comes to implementation as to length of a passphrase. For example, Monero uses 25-word passphrase.

Today I installed the coinami wallet app on an andriod phone, it created an 18 word phrase ....  how significant is that? I assume if makes the crypto even stronger but maybe beyond necessity?

Technically, I can't answer to that.

Simply put, when we recover our wallet, we have to enter seed. Some(most?) wallets ask words in random order. If you have, say 24-word passphrase, over 12, then even if your words are tracked by keyloggers, they will have harder time in deriving your wallet.

Also since most other wallets only use 12 words wouldn't there be a compatibility issue if you wanted to change wallets?

For compatibility, different wallets implement different seed formats. For example, Electrum uses their own seed format, Mycelium uses BIP39 and Coinomi uses BIP44. Thus, when you try to swap between clients, you need to first check seed format. You can import your whole "wallet" to another client by importing all your private keys, but it is going to be a pain in the neck.

HD wallets compatibility matrix: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1000544.0

P.S. Do note that when you import private keys to a client, it *won't* be related to your seed unless you send your bitcoins to any of the addresses generated by your seed.

[yooper]

HD wallets compatibility matrix: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1000544.0

P.S. Do note that when you import private keys to a client, it *won't* be related to your seed unless you send your bitcoins to any of the addresses generated by your seed.

Ok, thanks!  I just need to settle on what wallet I want to stay with and forget the rest. I have 3 at the moment but all are empty now, converted to fiat on coinbase. The fiat wallet on coinbase is FDIC insured same as a bank account.   I'm looking for an android wallet that has multiple coin wallets and allows buy/sell from the app.

[Muhammed Zakir]

{...} I'm looking for an android wallet that has multiple coin wallets and allows buy/sell from the app.

There isn't any afaik.

[yooper]

{...} I'm looking for an android wallet that has multiple coin wallets and allows buy/sell from the app.

There isn't any afaik.

I do believe you are correct.
I am curious why, surely time will expose the reason.

[simik]

1st question - I'm new to bitcoin.

I initiated a transfer, from bread, b75,000 ($260) but the network fee was b155,463 ($540) = $801.

The fee was essentially the same whether I attempted to pay the vendor directly or transfer to coinbase.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks, in advance

You probably received a lot of very small amounts of bitcoin to your wallet. As a result transaction fee which are determined by the size of the transaction (which in your case tries to send a ton of those small inputs), is also high. Although $540 seems unusually excessive, unless your transaction has like a thousand inputs.

[Real_Person]

Best current online micro-wallet for small BTC transactions without high fees? 

[pooya87]

Best current online micro-wallet for small BTC transactions without high fees? 

if you are the receiver, nothing really. you should ask the person paying you to let it accumulate to a bigger amount then do the payment. the only other option i can think of (not good option though) is using an exchange wallet if you are a trader. there are some of them that have not yet increased their fees. and if you are a trader that is two birds with one stone.

if you are the sender then pay all in batches. like paying 20 people in one transaction. that way the total fee is going to be smaller than paying 20 people in 20 transactions.

[uslfd]

Hello! Absolutely new to the game.

Wondering where is cheapest to buy a Trezor or something like that?

Thanks!

[minerpeak]

I am really curious about what are the differences between a currency and asset?

[Muhammed Zakir]

Hello! Absolutely new to the game.

Wondering where is cheapest to buy a Trezor or something like that?

Thanks!

Buy official Trezor with cheapest price @ https://shop.trezor.io.

Edit:

I am really curious about what are the differences between a currency and asset?

https://medium.com/money-games/asset-vs-currency-5d13ed2819ef
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-differences-between-a-currency-and-a-commodity
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-an-asset-and-a-commodity

You can see many other articles of "currency vs assets" by searching in Google(or other provider).