[Howto] Give Bitcoin as a gift

[aundroid]

Since I plan to give away some mBTC in the near future (birthdays etc.), I have now simply created a step-by-step tutorial on 'how to give away BTC'.

>> The Bitcoin should be given away as Paper Wallet (see pictures below) <<



And this is how the finished Paper Wallet looks like:


(don't bother, there are no btc on the wallet   )



PART 1: Create offline (!) paper wallet and 'fill it' with BTC

I used the offline version of bitcoinpaperwallet for this tutorial: https://github.com/cantonbecker/bitcoinpaperwallet
As an alternative you can also use the offline version of bitaddress.org: https://github.com/pointbiz/bitaddress.org



1. click on Clone or download

2. Then click Download Zip

Now the downloaded zip file can be extracted.



3. Open START-HERE.html

Now the following window opens in the browser:



4. Click on Open generate-wallet.html

Important: You do NOT need an Internet connection!



5. Now move the mouse pointer for a while to ensure the randomness of the private key.



If you want you can now change
6. the design and
7. the language



8. and 10. can be used to print the front and back of the wallet.



9. In addition, you could encrypt the Paper Wallet with BIP38 - I do not(!) recommend this for this tutorial because many Bitcoin Wallet applications cannot import BIP38 password-protected private keys directly(!)


>> Now you can send the desired amount of BTC to the public address of the newly created paper wallet <<




PART 2: Import Paper Wallet

How does the presentee now get access to his/her Bitcoins?

In this tutorial I use Jaxx as an Android application to give the recipient the possibility to get access to his/her Bitcoin on the spot. (Of course there are also other applications available that allow you to import a paper wallet)



1. Install Jaxx



2. Create new wallet



3. Navigate to Settings



4. Navigate to Tools



5. Now you can select Paper Wallet import



6. Select the desired cryptocurrency, in our case Bitcoin



7. Now simply scan the QR- code of the private key and then we are already finished 

Info: A transaction is executed here. The Paper Wallet is now empty! The Bitcoin are now exclusively in/accessed through the Jaxx Wallet!


!! Don't forget to create a backup of the Jaxx Wallet !!


Spread the BTC Message

[1714048423]

1714048423

[1714048423]

1714048423

[1714048423]

1714048423

[1714048423]

1714048423

[1714048423]

1714048423

[1714048423]

1714048423

[mk4]

1. Since you're not using an air-gapped device to generate the paper wallet(hence the private keys could potentially be exposed), I suggest giving the paper wallet to the person as soon as possible after you've sent some BTC to the wallet. Or better yet, if you're going to give the BTC in person anyway, let them install the wallet on the spot then send over the funds. Letting them have their first transaction immediately is a good plus in my opinion.

2. Don't let them use Jaxx[1]. They have a bad reputation of ignoring vulnerabilities in the past. Let them use something bitcoin-only that has segwit support like Mycelium, as I think it's better for you to not overexpose them to other cryptocurrencies so early on as Bitcoin itself could be pretty difficult to grasp for other people in the first place.

+1 Decent guide nonetheless.

[1] https://www.ccn.com/users-report-losing-400000-due-to-jaxx-wallet-vulnerability

[Lucius]

A good guide for anyone who wants to give BTC as a gift, the paper is cheap, and the process is not too complicated. Although I personally have never used Jaxx wallet, I remember they have some problems in the past as mjglqw mentioned. But I don't think that's a reason to avoid using it for smaller amounts of few mBTC.

Only problem I see is in fact that mobile wallets should not be used for long-term storage, due to various security risks who have recently posted on this forum as well. Apple with its smartphone operating system as well as Android shows too many security flaws, and repairing them takes too long or is not possible at all.

So I would add another step, which is to introduce new owners to secure storage options such as cold wallets or hardware wallets. It would be an ideal gift if we can give BTC on a hardware wallet, but I guess the price is still a limiting factor for that.

[o_e_l_e_o]

bitcoinpaperwallet have a page on the security precautions you should be taking when generating a paper wallet here: https://bitcoinpaperwallet.com/#security. It would be worth linking to them somewhere in your guide. The most important ones that you have missed from your guide are to running the wallet generator on a permanently airgapped machine, or at the very least, with your internet connection turned off (although I would not recommend this), and using a dumb printer to print the wallet, since smart printers both store copies of what they have printed on internal memory and are more prone to being hacked.

It would be an ideal gift if we can give BTC on a hardware wallet, but I guess the price is still a limiting factor for that.

I wouldn't gift someone a pre-initialized hardware wallet with bitcoin already loaded on to it. Even if that other person fully trusts that I'm not still holding a copy of their seed, it's teaching them bad security practices. Better to gift them a hardware wallet, let them set it up themselves, and then send them some BTC.

[Velkro]

Or better yet, if you're going to give the BTC in person anyway, let them install the wallet on the spot then send over the funds. Letting them have their first transaction immediately is a good plus in my opinion.

Best learning curve here, best solution but giving fancy paper wallet is good idea for gift. Its quire two separate things.
If you giving someone BTC gift he should have basic knowledge already how to use it, if not, you need to train him anyway after such gift because otherwise this gift have no sense at all.
I use other site to paper wallets, guide is very narrowed to solutions like how to import to one site and how to create to 2 sites. Could be expanded here.

[mk4]

Or better yet, if you're going to give the BTC in person anyway, let them install the wallet on the spot then send over the funds. Letting them have their first transaction immediately is a good plus in my opinion.

Best learning curve here, best solution but giving fancy paper wallet is good idea for gift. Its quire two separate things.

Yea, giving out paper wallets in contrast to just sending funds to his/her wallet is definitely not bad, and is definitely cool also, but it just might give them an impression that there's such thing as "physical bitcoin", like the paper wallet you've given, hence it's another new thing you would need to explain after the person learns that bitcoin is 100% non-physical(how the paper wallet was generated, etc). Just my 2 sats.

[MichaelX]

If the receiver uses an Android phone, I would recommend either the Bitcoin Wallet for Android, or Electrum Wallet for Android, both of which can be found on the Google Play Store.

They allow you to control your own private keys or seed word list, they both support segregated witness, and both are "light" wallets, the Bitcoin one uses SPV or Simple Payment Verification.

Additionally, you can use the same seed for your mobile device as well as on a desktop or laptop, if you use Electrum.

[Mahanton]

Or better yet, if you're going to give the BTC in person anyway, let them install the wallet on the spot then send over the funds. Letting them have their first transaction immediately is a good plus in my opinion.

Best learning curve here, best solution but giving fancy paper wallet is good idea for gift. Its quire two separate things.

Yea, giving out paper wallets in contrast to just sending funds to his/her wallet is definitely not bad, and is definitely cool also, but it just might give them an impression that there's such thing as "physical bitcoin", like the paper wallet you've given, hence it's another new thing you would need to explain after the person learns that bitcoin is 100% non-physical(how the paper wallet was generated, etc). Just my 2 sats.

Yes its just the same in general sense if we do compare on typical sending out a fiat money but this kind of way where sending out paper wallets can give out curiosity to someone who had received those paper.Speaking of adoption then this way is simple but it isnt really that bad either.

Further explanation will really be needed if someone will ask it out because its impossible not to think that they wont really have questions in mind from the time they do receive out these gifts.

For OP, this guide is helpful for those people who do plan to sent out these kind of gifts.

[aundroid]

1. Since you're not using an air-gapped device to generate the paper wallet(hence the private keys could potentially be exposed), I suggest giving the paper wallet to the person as soon as possible after you've sent some BTC to the wallet. Or better yet, if you're going to give the BTC in person anyway, let them install the wallet on the spot then send over the funds. Letting them have their first transaction immediately is a good plus in my opinion.

That's exactly what I do and also wrote in the tutorial: "to give the recipient the possibility to get access to his/her Bitcoin on the spot."
I just was giving out some this weekend and the recipient was supposed to import the Paper Wallet right away. Besides, I explained everything.

2. Don't let them use Jaxx[1]. They have a bad reputation of ignoring vulnerabilities in the past. Let them use something bitcoin-only that has segwit support like Mycelium, as I think it's better for you to not overexpose them to other cryptocurrencies so early on as Bitcoin itself could be pretty difficult to grasp for other people in the first place.

Jaxx is perhaps a little more beginner friendly in handling.
Here the full amount of the paper wallet is sweeped automatically during import.
Some wallets only import the private key, so there is no transaction taking place and you would have access via both wallets.

I don't know how Mycelium actually handles it.

+1 Decent guide nonetheless.

thanks

bitcoinpaperwallet have a page on the security precautions you should be taking when generating a paper wallet here: https://bitcoinpaperwallet.com/#security. It would be worth linking to them somewhere in your guide. The most important ones that you have missed from your guide are to running the wallet generator on a permanently airgapped machine, or at the very least, with your internet connection turned off (although I would not recommend this), and using a dumb printer to print the wallet, since smart printers both store copies of what they have printed on internal memory and are more prone to being hacked.

The footnote of the security precautions you have linked explains my intentions here very nicely.  

There's no need to follow all of these precautions. If you're just generating some give-away wallets for fun or to store small amounts of bitcoin, relax. Just use the online wallet generator on a trusted computer over a secure Internet connection. For storing larger amounts, follow as many of these security precautions as you can.

I am of course aware that using a device that has never been connected to a network before is more secure.
For my purposes here it is enough to use the offline version and disconnect from the internet.

After sweeping the paper wallet with the respective wallet application (in my case Jaxx) it is empty anyway.

If the receiver uses an Android phone, I would recommend either the Bitcoin Wallet for Android, or Electrum Wallet for Android, both of which can be found on the Google Play Store.

As I was afraid that everyone would immediately give their personal wallet recommendation, I had noted the following in the tutorial:  

(Of course there are also other applications available that allow you to import a paper wallet)

[Juggy777]

Since I plan to give away some mBTC in the near future (birthdays etc.), I have now simply created a step-by-step tutorial on 'how to give away BTC'.

>> The Bitcoin should be given away as Paper Wallet (see pictures below) <<



And this is how the finished Paper Wallet looks like:


(don't bother, there are no btc on the wallet   )



PART 1: Create offline (!) paper wallet and 'fill it' with BTC

I used the offline version of bitcoinpaperwallet for this tutorial: https://github.com/cantonbecker/bitcoinpaperwallet
As an alternative you can also use the offline version of bitaddress.org: https://github.com/pointbiz/bitaddress.org



1. click on Clone or download

2. Then click Download Zip

Now the downloaded zip file can be extracted.



3. Open START-HERE.html

Now the following window opens in the browser:



4. Click on Open generate-wallet.html

Important: You do NOT need an Internet connection!



5. Now move the mouse pointer for a while to ensure the randomness of the private key.



If you want you can now change
6. the design and
7. the language



8. and 10. can be used to print the front and back of the wallet.



9. In addition, you could encrypt the Paper Wallet with BIP38 - I do not(!) recommend this for this tutorial because many Bitcoin Wallet applications cannot import BIP38 password-protected private keys directly(!)


>> Now you can send the desired amount of BTC to the public address of the newly created paper wallet <<




PART 2: Import Paper Wallet

How does the presentee now get access to his/her Bitcoins?

In this tutorial I use Jaxx as an Android application to give the recipient the possibility to get access to his/her Bitcoin on the spot. (Of course there are also other applications available that allow you to import a paper wallet)



1. Install Jaxx



2. Create new wallet



3. Navigate to Settings



4. Navigate to Tools



5. Now you can select Paper Wallet import



6. Select the desired cryptocurrency, in our case Bitcoin



7. Now simply scan the QR- code of the private key and then we are already finished 

Info: A transaction is executed here. The Paper Wallet is now empty! The Bitcoin are now exclusively in/accessed through the Jaxx Wallet!


!! Don't forget to create a backup of the Jaxx Wallet !!


Spread the BTC Message

@aundroid while your intentions are good I have a question why would you choose to go through so many steps to give someone a gift, why not ask him to download Electrum wallet and send him his coins there?. This way he doesn’t need to carry the paper wallet around, and can spend his coins whenever and wherever he wishes too. In my initial days I too had used paper wallets, and as a newbie I didn’t like it at all hence I maybe biased towards using paper wallets.

[Lucius]

I wouldn't gift someone a pre-initialized hardware wallet with bitcoin already loaded on to it. Even if that other person fully trusts that I'm not still holding a copy of their seed, it's teaching them bad security practices. Better to gift them a hardware wallet, let them set it up themselves, and then send them some BTC.

I was actually thinking of gift hardware wallet and then send some BTC to that wallet, it really wouldn't make sense for me to own someone's seed. We saw what can happen when friends share the same wallet, such things should be completely avoided.

@aundroid while your intentions are good I have a question why would you choose to go through so many steps to give someone a gift, why not ask him to download Electrum wallet and send him his coins there?. This way he doesn’t need to carry the paper wallet around, and can spend his coins whenever and wherever he wishes too.

Maybe because in the case of cryptocurrency paper wallet is actually something we can give to someone as a physical gift, which from the aspect of giving gifts has its full meaning. Asking someone to download some program, and then you will send him something, can be a little tricky and complicated, and probably dangerous because of the possibility of downloading a fake wallet.

[bitcoworld]

Great Topic thanks for that. You inspired me now to create some paper wallets as a gift for some of my friends. 

[aundroid]

@aundroid while your intentions are good I have a question why would you choose to go through so many steps to give someone a gift, why not ask him to download Electrum wallet and send him his coins there?. This way he doesn’t need to carry the paper wallet around, and can spend his coins whenever and wherever he wishes too. In my initial days I too had used paper wallets, and as a newbie I didn’t like it at all hence I maybe biased towards using paper wallets.

Because it is supposed to be a gift and I want to hand over the Paper Wallet in a birthday card or something similar.
And in the future please do not quote a complete tutorial. 

Great Topic thanks for that. You inspired me now to create some paper wallets as a gift for some of my friends. 

Thanks for the positive feedback.
I have already gifted a few Paper Wallets myself and they have been warmly received.

On this occasion I always give a superficial crash course regarding Bitcoin, Blockchain & co. 

[GreatArkansas]

I also saw this:

I don't know it this is safe, but it seems legit because I already this before using by anyone.
How it works?
Just enter the recipient's email address, you make some noyr about the gift, fund the bitcoin address they provided and they will e-mail some information on how to claim the gift from you.
They are partnered with blockchain.com and coinbase so it is like they are using third party bitcoin wallet provider to process the gift..
Read more:  https://biterica.com/

[Docnaster]

1. Since you're not using an air-gapped device to generate the paper wallet(hence the private keys could potentially be exposed), I suggest giving the paper wallet to the person as soon as possible after you've sent some BTC to the wallet. Or better yet, if you're going to give the BTC in person anyway, let them install the wallet on the spot then send over the funds. Letting them have their first transaction immediately is a good plus in my opinion.

2. Don't let them use Jaxx[1]. They have a bad reputation of ignoring vulnerabilities in the past. Let them use something bitcoin-only that has segwit support like Mycelium, as I think it's better for you to not overexpose them to other cryptocurrencies so early on as Bitcoin itself could be pretty difficult to grasp for other people in the first place.

+1 Decent guide nonetheless.

[1] https://www.ccn.com/users-report-losing-400000-due-to-jaxx-wallet-vulnerability

I agree.
I've never use Jaxx since they held my coins for days for no reasons whatsoever and the support was unavailable for tha entire duration. They eventually replied to me and cleared my funds but they are too unprofessional for anyone to suggest them as the first wallet of anybody.

[Saint-loup]

1. Since you're not using an air-gapped device to generate the paper wallet(hence the private keys could potentially be exposed), I suggest giving the paper wallet to the person as soon as possible after you've sent some BTC to the wallet. Or better yet, if you're going to give the BTC in person anyway, let them install the wallet on the spot then send over the funds. Letting them have their first transaction immediately is a good plus in my opinion.

That's exactly what I do and also wrote in the tutorial: "to give the recipient the possibility to get access to his/her Bitcoin on the spot."
I just was giving out some this weekend and the recipient was supposed to import the Paper Wallet right away. Besides, I explained everything.

2. Don't let them use Jaxx[1]. They have a bad reputation of ignoring vulnerabilities in the past. Let them use something bitcoin-only that has segwit support like Mycelium, as I think it's better for you to not overexpose them to other cryptocurrencies so early on as Bitcoin itself could be pretty difficult to grasp for other people in the first place.

Jaxx is perhaps a little more beginner friendly in handling.
Here the full amount of the paper wallet is sweeped automatically during import.
Some wallets only import the private key, so there is no transaction taking place and you would have access via both wallets.

I don't know how Mycelium actually handles it.

+1 Decent guide nonetheless.

thanks

bitcoinpaperwallet have a page on the security precautions you should be taking when generating a paper wallet here: https://bitcoinpaperwallet.com/#security. It would be worth linking to them somewhere in your guide. The most important ones that you have missed from your guide are to running the wallet generator on a permanently airgapped machine, or at the very least, with your internet connection turned off (although I would not recommend this), and using a dumb printer to print the wallet, since smart printers both store copies of what they have printed on internal memory and are more prone to being hacked.

The footnote of the security precautions you have linked explains my intentions here very nicely.  

There's no need to follow all of these precautions. If you're just generating some give-away wallets for fun or to store small amounts of bitcoin, relax. Just use the online wallet generator on a trusted computer over a secure Internet connection. For storing larger amounts, follow as many of these security precautions as you can.

I am of course aware that using a device that has never been connected to a network before is more secure.
For my purposes here it is enough to use the offline version and disconnect from the internet.

After sweeping the paper wallet with the respective wallet application (in my case Jaxx) it is empty anyway.

If the receiver uses an Android phone, I would recommend either the Bitcoin Wallet for Android, or Electrum Wallet for Android, both of which can be found on the Google Play Store.

As I was afraid that everyone would immediately give their personal wallet recommendation, I had noted the following in the tutorial:  

(Of course there are also other applications available that allow you to import a paper wallet)

This is not an import, it's a sweep of a wallet, with a transaction on the blockchain and fees paid. Jaxx (and you) should avoid using unsuitable terms. It confuses beginners and let them be scammed more easily.
Beginners should be taught the right terms for the right features since their very first steps IMO.

[aundroid]

This is not an import, it's a sweep of a wallet, with a transaction on the blockchain and fees paid. Jaxx (and you) should avoid using unsuitable terms. It confuses beginners and let them be scammed more easily.
Beginners should be taught the right terms for the right features since their very first steps IMO.

I have absolutely no idea what part of the quote you're referring to.
Did you even read anything before you expressed your criticism?

Here the full amount of the paper wallet is sweeped automatically during import.
Some wallets only import the private key, so there is no transaction taking place and you would have access via both wallets.

After sweeping the paper wallet with the respective wallet application (in my case Jaxx) it is empty anyway.

and even in the tutorial I noted:

Info: A transaction is executed here. The Paper Wallet is now empty! The Bitcoin are now exclusively in/accessed through the Jaxx Wallet!

So I can't really figure out where the problem is for you here.

[Saint-loup]

This is not an import, it's a sweep of a wallet, with a transaction on the blockchain and fees paid. Jaxx (and you) should avoid using unsuitable terms. It confuses beginners and let them be scammed more easily.
Beginners should be taught the right terms for the right features since their very first steps IMO.

I have absolutely no idea what part of the quote you're referring to.
Did you even read anything before you expressed your criticism?

Here the full amount of the paper wallet is sweeped automatically during import.
Some wallets only import the private key, so there is no transaction taking place and you would have access via both wallets.

After sweeping the paper wallet with the respective wallet application (in my case Jaxx) it is empty anyway.

and even in the tutorial I noted:

Info: A transaction is executed here. The Paper Wallet is now empty! The Bitcoin are now exclusively in/accessed through the Jaxx Wallet!

So I can't really figure out where the problem is for you here.

LOL don't worry I won't quote the seven or eight times you've said "import" in this thread. I'm not here for that.
But you should read more carefully the comments yourself before "expressing criticism" on them, as you say  
I was mainly talking about Jaxx and only incidentally about your topic, if I'm talking about that it's because I had bad experiences with some wallets where you can't understand if they'll sweep or just import the key before trying it, and it had been very confusing for me the first times I had to use these features because it was just not clear.
BTW there are still hoaxes saying paper wallets are some kind of special addresses that can only be swept...

[1miau]

I like the idea very much, maybe someone will be inspired to do that for christmas later this year.

Personally, I would use Electrum for importing / sweeping, I've never used Jaxx so I can't really judge here but there are way better alternatives in my opinion.
And choose bitaddress, I like their design much more.  


In addition, there's also an opportunity to create a customized vanity address where one can define the prefix and make it customized according to the receiver, like

1BobUKHNwb15kfcbWAaN8bSzdhy6QXzGfd
1AliceUKHNwb15kfcbWAaN8bSzdhy6QXzGfd

Vanitygen or VanitySearch are useful tools to create them:

Vanitygen
VanitySearch

VanitySearch is also offering SegWit Addresses (nested SegWit (starting with 3...))/ native SegWit (bech32, starting with bc1q)).

Could be a nice additional feature.  

I have absolutely no idea what part of the quote you're referring to.
Did you even read anything before you expressed your criticism?

LOL don't worry I won't quote the seven or eight times you've said "import" in this thread. I'm not here for that.
But you should read more carefully the comments yourself before "expressing criticism" on them, as you say  
I was mainly talking about Jaxx and only incidentally about your topic, if I'm talking about that it's because I had bad experiences with some wallets where you can't understand if they'll sweep or just import the key before trying it, and it had been very confusing for me the first times I had to use these features because it was just not clear.
BTW there are still hoaxes saying paper wallets are some kind of special addresses that can only be swept...

I think it's Jaxx who's to blame if they don't use the term "sweep" instead of "import" and when the function is called "import" on Jaxx (even if they want to say sweep) we have to refer to the button "import" (like step 5 in the guide), so that users will find it.
However, the discussion is very much pointless from here on, because of that I recommend using Electrum where users can decide wether they sweep or import.

As I was afraid that everyone would immediately give their personal wallet recommendation, I had noted the following in the tutorial:  

(Of course there are also other applications available that allow you to import a paper wallet)

Sorry  
Unfortunately I'm not getting paid from Electrum for recommending it as my favorite wallet. (It's a very good wallet!)  

[100bitcoin]

IMHO, Bitcoin collectibles are better option than Bitcoin paper wallets.