Claiming BCC - BCH - Bitcoin Cash With Electron Wallet

[Perditor1633]

HI all, this is my first post here - I'm hoping you can steer me away from disaster before I bumble into something I don't fully understand. I've been searching through the boards but haven't found a really convincing and reliable post about claiming/retrieving BCC for someone in my situation. I had found a good topic on this site somewhere that had recommended Electrum, and then the link on that thread led me to a bad URL and the downloaded wallet had some trojans in it, so I'm extra wary. One good thing about the post is it at least helped me to figure out what my BCC seed is.

I've got some BTC on an old computer I rarely use, backed up on a couple of external hardware devices, and I've got my seed and keys written down in a safe spot. I'd rather not load by BTC to Electron Cash wallet, and just keep it in this kind of cold storage for now, but I want to start using my BCC.

To start with, I downloaded the Electron-Cash wallet from electroncash dot org (linked from the official bitcoincash dot org site) in order to make sure that I got the proper, non-malicious software. I'm running this operation on a Mac just as an FYI.

Once the Electron-Cash wallet is downloaded, I have the options to create "standard wallet", "multi-signature wallet" or "import bitcoin address or private keys."

Which of these options would work for my purposes? I'm assuming it's the 3rd option to "import", but I wanted to see what the community advised. Also, if anyone else has any warnings, cautions, suggestions, I'd appreciate them. Thanks!

[ranochigo]

The third option to import is to import individual addresses and private keys; not for you.

What did you use to generate the seed? Some hardware wallets could be using differing standards/derivation paths to generate your addresses and that could be a problem. If you've generated it using Electrum, choose Standard Wallet and I already have a seed after that.

[Lucius]

What would be advisable to do before you claim BCH with ElectronCash wallet is to move your BTC from wallet where it is now.If you wonder why to do this answer is pretty simple.When you import your seed/private keys in any other wallet we can consider that it is no longer 100% safe.Some users download fake ElectronCash wallets and they lose BTC&BCH,it is better to ensure that this does not happen.

So to be 100% sure&safe,if you use Electrum(you should upgrade to 3.0.5 or above) you can create new wallet with File - New/Restore - Standard Wallet.Then from your old wallet send BTC to address in new wallet.When transaction is done and confirmed your BTC is safe and you can use your old seed/private keys to claim BCH or any other forked coin.

Use only these two links:

https://electrum.org/#home for Electrum

https://www.electroncash.org/ for ElectronCash

[jerry0]

i have a thread on this as well.  Are you planning to download electroncash on same computer as electrum or not?


I play to claim my bcc from electron cash.  I also plan to use another old computer to do this.  I already moved my btc from electrum to nano ledger s.


Do you guys suggest i download electrum in my old computer, type in my 12 word seed to restore my wallet which contain 0 btc.  Then i download electroncash and then import my private keys.  Then get my bcc and send it to nano ledger s?


OR


Just download electron cash on old computer, then type in the 12 word seed since i cannot import private keys?   Then get my bcc and send it to nano ledger s

[Rickorick]

The later should work for you.

[Lucius]

i have a thread on this as well.  Are you planning to download electroncash on same computer as electrum or not?


I play to claim my bcc from electron cash.  I also plan to use another old computer to do this.  I already moved my btc from electrum to nano ledger s.


Do you guys suggest i download electrum in my old computer, type in my 12 word seed to restore my wallet which contain 0 btc.  Then i download electroncash and then import my private keys.  Then get my bcc and send it to nano ledger s?


OR


Just download electron cash on old computer, then type in the 12 word seed since i cannot import private keys?   Then get my bcc and send it to nano ledger s

Since you already moved your BTC to Ledger Nano S only thing you need to do is to download ElectronCash and import you seed,you will get BCH and then you can do whatever you want(send to Ledger Nano S/But to BCH wallet).

You seem to be a little confused,why you think to download Electrum again?There's no point in it,you move BTC to Ledger and you have seed from Electrum.No need to even download ElectronCash to other PC,it will work just fine in your present computer.

[jerry0]

Hi there.  Well the reason is because since i have access to another computer, i rather just do it on another computer and not my current computer.  I know people say its fine on same computer but since i have the other computer, i rather do it there.


So if im using on other account, you suggest i just download electroncash and then type in my 12 word seed myself right? 


The other option would be download electrum in another computer.  Type 12 word seed.  Download electroncash and then import keys from electrum.


In the end, i send bcc to nano ledger s.


So which method is better?  I will be using another computer to do this.

[ranochigo]

Hi there.  Well the reason is because since i have access to another computer, i rather just do it on another computer and not my current computer.  I know people say its fine on same computer but since i have the other computer, i rather do it there.


So if im using on other account, you suggest i just download electroncash and then type in my 12 word seed myself right? 


The other option would be download electrum in another computer.  Type 12 word seed.  Download electroncash and then import keys from electrum.


In the end, i send bcc to nano ledger s.


So which method is better?  I will be using another computer to do this.

Just download and import your seeds into electroncash directly. There is no point downloading Electrum first. You should ensure that the addresses doesn't have any Bitcoins and never to use that set of seeds ever again. I wouldn't consider it secure after using it on something else other than Electrum.

[Perditor1633]

The third option to import is to import individual addresses and private keys; not for you.

What did you use to generate the seed? Some hardware wallets could be using differing standards/derivation paths to generate your addresses and that could be a problem. If you've generated it using Electrum, choose Standard Wallet and I already have a seed after that.

I have the original Bitcoin Core.

I thought that BCH has a separate address thats related to its forked BTC address, is that not true?

Since the fork I've only sent a small amount of BTC once - that's not going to mess with my attempts to claim the BCH, right?

[TryNinja]

I have the original Bitcoin Core.

I thought that BCH has a separate address thats related to its forked BTC address, is that not true?

No. Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash addresses/private-keys/seeds are the same.

Just empty your Bitcoin wallet by sending your coins to a new wallet (optional if you want to be safer), import your old seed in Electron Cash and spend your BCH.

Since the fork I've only sent a small amount of BTC once - that's not going to mess with my attempts to claim the BCH, right?

No.

If you had 1 BTC before the fork, you also received 1 BCH in the same address. So you should have 1 BTC and 1 BCH in the same wallet.
Now let's imagine that later you receive 0.5 BTC. Now you have 1.5 BTC and 1 BCH in the same wallet.

[Perditor1633]

What would be advisable to do before you claim BCH with ElectronCash wallet is to move your BTC from wallet where it is now.If you wonder why to do this answer is pretty simple.When you import your seed/private keys in any other wallet we can consider that it is no longer 100% safe.Some users download fake ElectronCash wallets and they lose BTC&BCH,it is better to ensure that this does not happen.

So to be 100% sure&safe,if you use Electrum(you should upgrade to 3.0.5 or above) you can create new wallet with File - New/Restore - Standard Wallet.Then from your old wallet send BTC to address in new wallet.When transaction is done and confirmed your BTC is safe and you can use your old seed/private keys to claim BCH or any other forked coin.

Use only these two links:

https://electrum.org/#home for Electrum

https://www.electroncash.org/ for ElectronCash

So my situation is this - my old computer can barely function. As mentioned previously, I have my .dat files backed up, and my addresses/seeds written down on paper. I was hoping to use my new Mac to use the BCH for fun/trading, and HODL my BTC 'til moon or bust. If I understand correctly, I should consider  doing this:
- Download Electrum onto my Mac, create a new "standard wallet", send all my BTC to it from the old computer, then erase my Bitcoin Core from the old computer. Then go about getting my BCH into Electron Cash using option #3 that I mentioned before.

[Perditor1633]

I have the original Bitcoin Core.

I thought that BCH has a separate address thats related to its forked BTC address, is that not true?

No. Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash addresses/private-keys/seeds are the same.

Just empty your Bitcoin wallet by sending your coins to a new wallet (optional if you want to be safer), import your old seed in Electron Cash and spend your BCH.

Since the fork I've only sent a small amount of BTC once - that's not going to mess with my attempts to claim the BCH, right?

No.

If you had 1 BTC before the fork, you also received 1 BCH in the same address. So you should have 1 BTC and 1 BCH in the same wallet.
Now let's imagine that later you receive 0.5 BTC. Now you have 1.5 BTC and 1 BCH in the same wallet.

Thanks, that's very clear and straightforward.

Do you think I should I be running Electrum and Electron Cash on the same machine that I'm using for every day life? Or should I immediately get the keys and addresses for my new BTC and then delete Electrum?

[TryNinja]

Thanks, that's very clear and straightforward.

Do you think I should I be running Electrum and Electron Cash on the same machine that I'm using for every day life? Or should I immediately get the keys and addresses for my new BTC and then delete Electrum?

Personally, I'm using both on the same computer without any issues. But if you are a paranoid man, you can do whatever you think its better. Maybe even run a temporary virtual machine to claim the BCH.

[HCP]

If your BTC was on Bitcoin Core, you won't have any "seeds"... you'll have private keys in WIF format. As you already have your private keys "exported", my personal suggestion for how to tidy all this up is:

1. Create a new BTC wallet in Electrum (https://electrum.org/#download) using the "Standard wallet -> Create a new seed" option - Write down your Seed Mnemonic and keep it safe!!
2. Send ALL your BTC from Bitcoin Core to address in new Electrum wallet (or use "Wallet -> Private Keys -> Sweep" function in Electrum)
3. Create a new BCH wallet (use "Standard wallet -> Create a new seed" option) in ElectronCash (https://electroncash.org/#download) - Write down this Seed Mnemonic as well and keep it safe!!
4. Use "Wallet -> Private Keys -> Sweep" function in your new ElectronCash wallet to move all the BCH from your Bitcoin Core private keys into your new BCH wallet.

The end result of this will be that all your BTC will be in a new Electrum wallet, backed up by the Seed Mnemonic (aka "12 words")... and you'll have access to the BCH via ElectronCash (again, backed up with different "12 words") and you can do whatever you like with it (HODL, send to exchange, trade with people etc).

Also, now is a VERY good time to move your BTC, as fees are super low... I've had "next block" confirmations with fees as low as 1 sat/byte recently

[Perditor1633]

If your BTC was on Bitcoin Core, you won't have any "seeds"... you'll have private keys in WIF format. As you already have your private keys "exported", my personal suggestion for how to tidy all this up is:

1. Create a new BTC wallet in Electrum (https://electrum.org/#download) using the "Standard wallet -> Create a new seed" option - Write down your Seed Mnemonic and keep it safe!!
2. Send ALL your BTC from Bitcoin Core to address in new Electrum wallet (or use "Wallet -> Private Keys -> Sweep" function in Electrum)
3. Create a new BCH wallet (use "Standard wallet -> Create a new seed" option) in ElectronCash (https://electroncash.org/#download) - Write down this Seed Mnemonic as well and keep it safe!!
4. Use "Wallet -> Private Keys -> Sweep" function in your new ElectronCash wallet to move all the BCH from your Bitcoin Core private keys into your new BCH wallet.

The end result of this will be that all your BTC will be in a new Electrum wallet, backed up by the Seed Mnemonic (aka "12 words")... and you'll have access to the BCH via ElectronCash (again, backed up with different "12 words") and you can do whatever you like with it (HODL, send to exchange, trade with people etc).

Also, now is a VERY good time to move your BTC, as fees are super low... I've had "next block" confirmations with fees as low as 1 sat/byte recently

Well... I did well until I got to step 4 and I tried all of the private keys that I thought would work. I'm not sure exactly what I did wrong. I understand that I need to bring up the console within Bitcoin Core application and sign in with my passphrase. I went to transaction history and found the original address for the wallet that I had sent to from the exchange I purchased from originally. Then I pasted into the console the address that I initially had received my BTC (which was well before the fork) within the dumpprivkey "address " This gives me the private key of that address, which is what I'm then supposed to enter into wallet>private keys>sweep. However, when I do that, it responds with "No Inputs Found!" Where did I go wrong, and what do I have to do to figure this out?

[HCP]

If you created any transactions using Bitcoin Core AFTER sending your BTC from the Exchange to Bitcoin Core and BEFORE the fork block (block 478558 - August 1st, 2017 about 13:16 UTC)... It is highly likely that your coins were moved to a "change" address within Bitcoin Core.

You would need to try and figure out which address your coins were on at the time of the fork... dump the private key for that address and then sweep that key.

To do this, get a list of all your "used" BTC addresses (use the "listaddressgroupings" command on the Bitcoin Core debug console) and then check each address on a BCH explorer like https://www.blockdozer.com/ or https://blockchair.com/bitcoin-cash/blocks to figure out which addresses from your Bitcoin Core wallet actually have some BCH balance.

You can then dump the private key(s) for the appropriate address(es) and then "sweep" the key(s).


Alternatively, you could just dump ALL the private keys from Bitcoin Core and try and import ALL of them into a temporary Electron Cash wallet ("File -> New\Restore -> Import Bitcoin Addresses or Private keys"), then simply send ALL the BCH you see to an address in the Electron Cash wallet that you created with the "seed" from Step 3. in the previous post.

[clever1one]

Here is my situation:

I created a Cold Storage Electrum-wallet in March 2017 and received 1 BTC.
Today, I wanted to claim the BCH and BTG. But the offline machine crashed and I don't have the private key of my wallet.
I only have the password and seed (...and access to the watching-only version of my wallet).

How do I get back my BTC and claim the BCH, BTG?


Thanks in advance
clever1one

[TryNinja]

Here is my situation:

I created a Cold Storage Electrum-wallet in March 2017 and received 1 BTC.
Today, I wanted to claim the BCH and BTG. But the offline machine crashed and I don't have the private key of my wallet.
I only have the password and seed (...and access to the watching-only version of my wallet).

How do I get back my BTC and claim the BCH, BTG?

Use your backup seed to restore the wallet and spend the coins.

That's what I would do:

1. Restore your cold storage wallet with the seed [Standard Wallet -> I already have a seed -> Write the seed -> Next];
2. For maximum security, create a new cold storage wallet and move all your Bitcoins there; Now you have your old wallet with BCH and BTG, and a new one with only BTC;
3. Download Electron Cash (Electrum fork for BCH), open your old cold storage wallet with it and spend your BCH;
4.a. Download ElectrumG (Electrum fork for BTG created by the BTG team - source), open your old cold storage wallet with it and spend your BTG;
4.b. Or if you have an Android phone, follow this guide to claim the BCH by using Coinomi's android wallet.