What would be, if Electrum doesn`t exist anymore?

[Mankov]

Hello,

yes, this is very unlikely..

but how could I get access to my coins on the electrumwallet,
if electrum would shut down their services?

Thank`s.

[OmegaStarScream]

Electrum is not centralized. You're connecting to servers owned by people and I don't see everyone shutting their servers just like that, and If they do, you can run your own.

If for some reason the wallet stop working in the future (due to changes in the bitcoin network for example) and the developers never update it, you could always export your private keys and import them somewhere else.

[TryNinja]

The above.

Also, that’s the reason why YOU NEED to write down your backup seed and keep it safe. With your seed, you will ALWAYS be able to recover your coins in one way or another.

[Lucius]

As long as you have seed (12 words), you do not need to fear for your funds because there will always be a way to recover your wallet. Electrum is HD wallet and users should only backup seed words, but it is also possible to see / export private key for each generated address. That would be somehow a safer solution because private keys do not have compatibility issue.

It is important that every backup is properly stored, which means that users should not save seed / private keys on e-mail, any online service, or in unencrypted text files on PC.

[Mankov]

Thanks for your help.

Is it ok to store pv-keys and seeds on a usb-stick,
and before you use the stick just disconnect from the internet?

[o_e_l_e_o]

Is it ok to store pv-keys and seeds on a usb-stick,
and before you use the stick just disconnect from the internet?

Absolutely not. Your private key (in plain text) and your mnemonic phrase should never touch an electronic device. There is plenty of malware out there which can capture your screen, your keyboard entries, your clipboard, entire files, etc. and hold on to them, and then transmit them to a third party once internet access is re-established. Even having them stored on a device which is permanently air-gapped (i.e. with no internet connection ever) isn't 100% safe if you use USB sticks or other methods to transfer data on to and off of the device.

You should write down your mnemonic phrase by hand on paper, and then store that paper securely.

[Mankov]

Good to know that.
Thank you.

[Mankov]

Would you recommend Linux for Hot-Wallets, is it safer?

[TryNinja]

Would you recommend Linux for Hot-Wallets, is it safer?

Yes. At the end of the day it all comes down to the user (if he downloads random files, falls for a phishing scam, etc). But Linux is considered way safer than Windows for several reasons.

Also, most hackers target Windows because of its number of users (mainly non tech-savvy).

[Mankov]

Thank you.
I`ll switch to linux ubuntu.

[Mankov]

I see, that seeds are no guarantee to restore a wallet in lightning.

https://youtu.be/7D83IpdiF-U?t=203

[TryNinja]

I see, that seeds are no guarantee to restore a wallet in lightning.

https://youtu.be/7D83IpdiF-U?t=203

The Lightning Network is still in development. Your wallet itself and your lightning channels and states are different things. There is no way to dynamically save them in an static seed without a intermediate server (or manually save) right now.

[Mankov]

Ok, and what should electrum users do, to save ther bitcoins, when lightning goes online?