MBTC in my wallet

[HomeWorker2000]

Hi,
 I've just signed up to electrum and created a new wallet importing a bitcoin private key from a paper wallet (it was a gift). I have the private bitcoin address and have checked the balance online, it gives 0.028 bitcoins, but when I've imported into electrum I see 20.818 mBTC, whats the mbtc? If I wanted to later convert this into BitCoins or sell/use it, how would I do that?

Thanks

[1715248635]

1715248635

[1715248635]

1715248635

[bob123]

mBTC stands for milli-BTC. So 1 mBTC = 1/1000 BTC or 1 BTC = 1000 mBTC.
You can change the unit by going to 'Tools' -> 'Preferences' -> 'Appearance' -> Change Base unit from mBTC to BTC.

This is simply just the deciption of your balance inside electrum.


Since you have 'just' imported the private key, you might consider creating a new HD wallet (which gives you a 12 word seed phrase as a backup) and send your funds over there (sweeping).
This way your old private key will be worthless, and your new wallet (backed up by 12 words) will hold your balance.

[Heisenberg_Hunter]

mBtc is nothing but a denomination of expressing the bitcoin in smaller terms something like we express, data in kb and mb.

1 mbtc = 1 milli bitcoin = 0.001 BTC
Here you have 20.818 mbtc = 20.818*0.001 = 0.0208 BTC

Electrum wallet by default displays your btc in mbtc denomination. You can change them to BTC by going through the Tools > Preferences > Appearance and changing the base unit to btc

[LoyceV]

it gives 0.028 bitcoins, but when I've imported into electrum I see 20.818 mBTC

Is there a typo somewhere? I assume it's either 0.028018 Bitcoin, or 28.18 mBTC.

If you want to sell your Bitcoins, your options depend on the country you live in. Some are easier than others.

Since you have 'just' imported the private key, you might consider creating a new HD wallet (which gives you a 12 word seed phrase as a backup) and send your funds over there (sweeping).
This way your old private key will be worthless, and your new wallet (backed up by 12 words) will hold your balance.

Doing this also makes you the only owner of the private key. As it was a gift, the previous owner may still have a copy.
If the wallet was created before August 2017, you'll also own just over $10 in Forkcoins, so don't throw your paper wallet away yet after transfering your Bitcoins.

mBTC stands for milli-BTC. So 1 mBTC = 1/1000 BTC or 1 BTC = 1000 mBTC.

I'm always surprised how many people don't know metric prefixes. I guess that's the result of using Imperial units.

[bob123]

mBTC stands for milli-BTC. So 1 mBTC = 1/1000 BTC or 1 BTC = 1000 mBTC.

I'm always surprised how many people don't know metric prefixes. I guess that's the result of using Imperial units.

It is probably not only due to the imperial units, but also because hundreds of forks appeared.

20+ coins do either have 'btc' or 'bitcoin' in their name. It is definitely imaginable that someone might get confused by seeing MBTC in their wallet, especially after hearing about countless scam bicoin forks.
Even though it is shown as mBTC, which should make it clear that this is a milli. But i guess for newbies this definitely can be irritating.


@OP
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[HomeWorker2000]

Thanks for the information guys - sorry should have realised the m stood for Milli!

"Since you have 'just' imported the private key, you might consider creating a new HD wallet (which gives you a 12 word seed phrase as a backup) and send your funds over there (sweeping).
This way your old private key will be worthless, and your new wallet (backed up by 12 words) will hold your balance."

 So I created a new wallet using the same seed key and I've tried to send the funds over I set the amount to "0.028" to transfer the entire amount, but I get a message about insufficient funds in the account.

Also, I get a message about "should this transaction be replaceable?" - not sure what that means

Thanks in advance!
 

[Rath_]

So I created a new wallet using the same seed key and I've tried to send the funds over I set the amount to "0.028" to transfer the entire amount, but I get a message about insufficient funds in the account.

You have to pay the transaction fee therefore you can't send your entire balance.  Instead of typing in 0.028, click "Max" and adjust the fee slider.

Also, I get a message about "should this transaction be replaceable?" - not sure what that means

RBF (Replace-by-Fee) transaction can be replaced with another one that pays higher fee only if it is still unconfirmed. It's quite useful especially if you set your transaction fee too low.

[pooya87]

So I created a new wallet using the same seed key and I've tried to send the funds over I set the amount to "0.028" to transfer the entire amount, but I get a message about insufficient funds in the account.

sending a bitcoin transaction normally costs fees. and depending on the size of your transaction in bytes it can vary. it starts from a little less than 200 satoshi (0.00000200BTC) and goes up depending on the size and network status. right now smallest transaction would require around 1000 satoshi.
so if you have exactly 0.02800000BTC then you will have to send at least 0.02799000 to cover the fees and have a high priority transaction. let your wallet decide how much fee is required though.

Also, I get a message about "should this transaction be replaceable?" - not sure what that means

i have never seen Electrum ask you about it in a message! but "Replaceable" is an option in bitcoin that allows you to replace transactions that are marked with RBF with a new transaction with a higher fee if your initial fee was lower and you needed to increase it for any reason.

[bob123]

created a new wallet importing a bitcoin private key from a paper wallet (it was a gift).

So I created a new wallet using the same seed key

When creating a new HD wallet (to send the funds to from your paper wallet) you are supposed to generate a new seed (backed up by 12 word mnemonic code).
Anyone with access to these words has access to your BTC. So keep it safe and secure.

Did you receive a private key (on a paper wallet) as a gift ? Or is there are mnemnoic code (12/18/24 words) on the paper wallet (which would be quite unusual and should not be used as a wallet) ?
What does 'the same seed key' refer to ?

[HomeWorker2000]

Cheers,
 Funds transferred from the wallet into which I imported the private key from the paper wallet to a new wallet setup with the same seed keys as the Electrum default wallet. Just waiting for transaction to be confirmed...

[Abdussamad]

there is no such thing as an electrum default wallet. where did you download electrum from? check your browser history and tell us.

[Rath_]

there is no such thing as an electrum default wallet. where did you download electrum from? check your browser history and tell us.

What he meant was that he swept the coins which were associated with the paper wallet's private key to his newly generated wallet in Electrum. The first wallet file is always called "default_wallet".