Forbidden character 48 for base 58 Can not send Funds

[Bri8t]

Just updated to the new 3.3.6 wallet.

When I try to send funds I get this response and the transaction does not proceed.

Forbidden character 48 for base 58


I tried to restore wallet but my seed is a long list of random characters and not 12 words.

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks

[1714147549]

1714147549

[1714147549]

1714147549

[1714147549]

1714147549

[1714147549]

1714147549

[1714147549]

1714147549

[TryNinja]

To which address are you trying to send your coins to?

Also, where did you get this (supposedly) seed? Didn’t you write down 12 words when creating the wallet?

[Bri8t]

I tried to send to a Wasabi and also a bitpay address without luck.

The wallet is unlocked and the seed is exposed by clicking on the little seed picture.

using a mac computer if that is relevant.

[pooya87]

Char 48 is the number `0` and that is an invalid character to have in your base58 encoded address which is most probably why you are getting that error

I tried to restore wallet but my seed is a long list of random characters and not 12 words.

NEVER share your seed with anyone, just tell us what type of encoding it uses. for example is it hexadecimal (0-9;a-f) does it start with the word "xprv"? does it have both lower and upper case? does it have symbols such as "=", "/" in it?

[Bri8t]

Carefully checked the receiving address and no 0

but I still get the same failure.

[pooya87]

Carefully checked the receiving address and no 0

but I still get the same failure.

can you share the address, if you don't want to post it online you can describe it. like what is its first 3 characters, how long is it and what kind of characters does it have?

[Bri8t]

bc1qf2p9vnhfgy3ewl62tk5trx9rgxd68y8uusqer7

[pooya87]

bc1qf2p9vnhfgy3ewl62tk5trx9rgxd68y8uusqer7

there is no problem with this address. it is perfectly valid.
https://btc.com/bc1qf2p9vnhfgy3ewl62tk5trx9rgxd68y8uusqer7
this is a bech32 format which is new and Electrum 3.3.6 (which you said you have updated to) should recognize this.
tested with 3.3.4 (since i haven't had the time to upgrade yet) and it accepts this address without a problem.
edit: tested with 3.3.6 and there is no problem there either.

[Bri8t]

I tried another wallet......Exodus and had the same issue again.

It confirms the amount and the transaction fee but then fails.

Do you have any suggestions for restoring a wallet based on a long string of characters.......numbers letters and / + =
that I am shown when I click the seed icon?

Thanks

[pooya87]

I tried another wallet......Exodus and had the same issue again.

i am not familiar with Exodus but if it rejects the address then you must be entering it wrong. i can't think of anything else.

Do you have any suggestions for restoring a wallet based on a long string of characters.......numbers letters and / + =
that I am shown when I click the seed icon?

this should not happen! because when you click the seed icon the wallet retrieves your seed (the actual words) and shows it to you. if it is encrypted, then the wallet will ask for your password to decrypt it and show the words again. it should not show you anything else.
if the string contains letters+chars+(/ + =) then it must be base64 which is the common encoding when the data is encrypted. but as i said the GUI (when clicking on seed icon) should NOT show you the encrypted seed.

[Bri8t]

Guess we have found a bug.
Wallet opened and showed receive address without password input.
Funds show as received......two transactions confirmed.
wallet shows as unlocked.
Seed appears to be encrypted string and is displayed without asking for password.
Can not send funds to any wallet tested.

[HCP]

Wallet opened and showed receive address without password input.
Funds show as received......two transactions confirmed.
wallet shows as unlocked.
Seed appears to be encrypted string and is displayed without asking for password.
Can not send funds to any wallet tested.

All of this leads me to believe that you have a "fake" version of Electrum installed.

Where did you download this 3.3.6 version of Electrum from? Check the actual URL it was downloaded from in your browser history...

Also, did you verify the digital signature of the downloaded file? Instructions on how to verify the downloaded Electrum file are shown here: https://bitzuma.com/posts/how-to-verify-an-electrum-download-on-mac/

[Bri8t]

Highly doubt that this is a fake version.

Had an old version that notified me there was an update.

Updated at Electrum.org

Checked size.

Installed.


I should say that I have seen this seed behavior before and never had a problem sending funds.

This is the first time I got the "Forbidden character 48 for base 58"

Wallet contains 0.015 btc and address still shows it on the explorer

Also ran Malwarebytes with no results.

[Abdussamad]

phishing messages in old versions are how the malware is spread. i suggest you check your browser history and tell us where you downloaded this software.

also you haven't answered pooya's question above about what characters your seed starts with. if you go to wallet menu > seed what are the first few characters of your seed given there?

finally just to clarify you are trying to send money to that bc1... address you posted above right?

[Bri8t]

So I found an old seed and restored the wallet.
I was able to move the funds to Wasabi without issue.

Seed begins with 597Wg3L and ends with jE5Z1+Q=


I believe what happened was that the wallet file was an Electon cash default wallet that was opened by Electrum.

I am not really sure how to keep the two separate other than adding some info to the wallet titles.

Thanks for all the help.

[Abdussamad]

you can open a different wallet file via file > open or file  > recently open. you can also specify a specific wallet file via the -w command line switch so if you modify your electrum shortcut and incorporate that in there you won't ever mistakenly open the wrong wallet file. for example:

Code:

c:\programfiles\blah\blah\electrum.exe -w c:\path\to\wallet\file

You can save the wallet file to a specific location via file > save copy or reference it in its default location: http://docs.electrum.org/en/latest/faq.html#where-is-my-wallet-file-located