Ledger Nano S and Private Keys

[bitfudge]

Hi! I have two questions:

Ledger Nano S
I just received the Ledger Nano S and to my surprise there is no Desktop app, is the only way to access the wallet via Chrome app? I don't like chrome, I run safari. Do I have to install chrome just so I can use the ledger? I run mac. Also is there a iOS app so I can have the coins with me on my phone?

Private Key
So the private key is like the key to my coins right? And the public key is how people can send my coins etc?

If I buy coins off of Kraken, how do I then send them to my wallet (Ledger or Exodus)? Will I receive a private or public key with my purchase, I really don't understand. Or is the private and public key saved within the Wallet itself? And what do people mean by importing or exporting private keys?

[TryNinja]

I just received the Ledger Nano S and to my surprise there is no Desktop app, is the only way to access the wallet via Chrome app?

Not really. Read my answer bellow.

Do I have to install chrome just so I can use the ledger? I run mac. Also is there a iOS app so I can have the coins with me on my phone?

If you want to use the official wallet from Ledger, you will need Chrome. But you can use Ledger with other supported wallets like:

Electrum[1] for Windows.
Mycelium[2] for Android/IOS.

And AFAIK there is no standalone wallets that support Ledger for MAC.

So the private key is like the key to my coins right? And the public key is how people can send my coins etc?

Yes. Send your public key (address) to people so they can send you coins and keep your private key safe.

If I buy coins off of Kraken, how do I then send them to my wallet (Ledger or Exodus)? Will I receive a private or public key with my purchase, I really don't understand. Or is the private and public key saved within the Wallet itself? And what do people mean by importing or exporting private keys?

Request a withdraw from Kraken and put your public key (address). Your coins will be sent to your wallet. The private key is the one that you can't show to anyone or they will be able to spend your coins. Exporting/Importing keys are used to use your private key that contains all your coins in other wallet softwares.

[1] https://electrum.org/
[2] https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mycelium-bitcoin-wallet/id943912290?mt=8

[bitfudge]

Thanks man!

[bitfudge]

Just so I understand 100%: When I request a withdraw I use my Public key, that's from the Wallet I'm using, in Kraken and the coins will be sent to that wallet. Then I save the Private keys in a safe place so whenever I lose my wallet or my Mac doesn't work anymore, I can still download the wallet on another PC and use the Private key as an authenticator for my coins and all my coins will be in the new wallet?

And exporting the private key is a way of saving the key in a safe place in case something happens. And importing private keys is used when I wanna recover my coins on a different wallet?

[bitfudge]

bump

[TryNinja]

When I request a withdraw I use my Public key, that's from the Wallet I'm using, in Kraken and the coins will be sent to that wallet. Then I save the Private keys in a safe place so whenever I lose my wallet or my Mac doesn't work anymore, I can still download the wallet on another PC and use the Private key as an authenticator for my coins and all my coins will be in the new wallet?

Yes. This is the case if you have a wallet with an unique address. But be careful because if you setup a HD wallet (that generates a new address after every transaction), you would need to backup the seed phrase given by the wallet to restore all your addresses, and not only a private key.

I believe that Ledger Nano S generates a HD wallet, and will give you a 12 word phrase that you need to keep it safe in case you need to restore your wallet in a new device.

And exporting the private key is a way of saving the key in a safe place in case something happens. And importing private keys is used when I wanna recover my coins on a different wallet?

Yes. The same applies to a HD wallet and its seed phrase.

[barryian]

btw - The ledger nano s has 24 seed words and if you like added protection, a passphrase. I keep my 24 seeds in crypto steel on both my ledger and trezor but one thing you can't lose aside from the 24 seeds is the passphrase. Lose it, you lose your cypto ....

[nathanN2017]

Does anyone know how to gain access to our bitcoin if our Ledger Nano S fails and we do not have another Nano S and we cannot wait for one to be delivered?   Is there a way to use the 24 word seed to access bitcoins on a software app like Exodus or Electrum?

[cupic]

Beware ordering Ledger Nano S and other wallets from eBay...Someone could easily store your private key then access it later on...I'd stick to official sellers...

[soonhy]

For ledger nano S, make sure to keep your passphrase (24 words) safe.
You can recover your funds, as long as you keep it safe somewhere, not in online cloud or in very obvious visible physical spot.

To send funds to your ledger nano S, you just need your public key (address) for your type of cryptocurrency.
and yes, Ledger nano S use Chrome App.  You can use Firefox, firefox can support Chrome Extensions and App.

[HCP]

Does anyone know how to gain access to our bitcoin if our Ledger Nano S fails and we do not have another Nano S and we cannot wait for one to be delivered?   Is there a way to use the 24 word seed to access bitcoins on a software app like Exodus or Electrum?

In a word... Yes. Ledger even wrote a guide on it: https://ledger.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005297709-On-which-wallet-can-I-restore-my-wallet-if-I-lose-my-Ledger-device-

[TheReverseTrader]

Can I access my private key on ledger nano or they give me only the 12 words seed? I need the private key to get the forked coins and this is quite complicate to extract the private key from the 12 words seed (bip 39).

[TryNinja]

Can I access my private key on ledger nano or they give me only the 12 words seed? I need the private key to get the forked coins and this is quite complicate to extract the private key from the 12 words seed (bip 39).

You can't. But what is the problem in extracting your private keys from the seed? Just paste it in the "BIP39 Mnemonic" field of this tool and get the private key from the address you want.

[TheReverseTrader]

Can I access my private key on ledger nano or they give me only the 12 words seed? I need the private key to get the forked coins and this is quite complicate to extract the private key from the 12 words seed (bip 39).

You can't. But what is the problem in extracting your private keys from the seed? Just paste it in the "BIP39 Mnemonic" field of this tool and get the private key from the address you want.

You mean this tool here, right? https://github.com/iancoleman/bip39

I just not feel safe doing this...

[HCP]

Which fork? Ledger has created apps for BCH and BTG so you can get your coins using the Ledger wallet.

There is no need to export private keys.

[bob123]

~snip~
You mean this tool here, right? https://github.com/iancoleman/bip39
I just not feel safe doing this...

This is the only way to extract your private keys out of your seed.
The tool itself is used quite often. No complaints so far.
Of course you should boot from a linux-bootabel device and use this tool offline.
If your still not feeling safe (which is quite reasonable, since a HW wallet is designed to never expose private keys) you can create a new wallet,
send your coins onto that and then export your private keys to fork your (probably worthless) altcoins.

Which fork? Ledger has created apps for BCH and BTG so you can get your coins using the Ledger wallet.

There is no need to export private keys.

He is probably trying to get the unknown (and worthless) forked coins like btc diamond, etc..