BTC nube, old Multibit wallet, how to access/migrate?

[cwoern]

Hi all,

I searched within this forum but all Multibit threads are quite old and didn't give me the answer I need.

I recently attempted to look into my old Multibit wallet again, which was installed on an old PC that is long gone. I am absolutely inexperienced when it comes to BTC and wallets. I used to use Multibit (well  "using" is a stretch, I provided my key to receive my millibitcoin back in 2014, that's it. I never spent any BTC).

Before I wiped the old computer, I seem to have copied the Multibit folder onto a memory stick, I also believe I must have generated/exported a "multibit.key" which was/is on the stick as well. An old transaction CSV file also shows the key which I seem to have used to receive mBTC back in 2014 (as part of short mining activity on a server in Hong Kong).

Sorry for this probably dumb question, is the public address and the personal key, in general, all I need to spend or receive BTs (plus a wallet of course)?

I installed Electrum and tried to use the key of "multibit.key" by entering it into "Sweep private keys/Enter private keys" believing that is needed to be able to fully use that wallet (spend and receive BTC).
However, the key code I found in the old "multibit.key" is not accepted (it is 53 characters long). Am I doing something wrong here?

In an attempt to install the long discontinued Multibit, I found an old installer that I attempted to use on my Win10 (64 bit) PC. It asks right away for Java, which I subsequently installed. However, after installing Java, the Multibit installer still claims no Java is installed and I am therefore unable to complete the Multibit installation.

Can someone point me in the right direction on what to do? If I can't install Multibit, what other wallets could I use accepting my key(s)?
I read somewhere that I may have to try another wallet that accepts the code/key of my old "multibit.key" and then transfer to Electrum?!?

My questions in short:

a) The key I used to receive BTC and the key within the "Multibit.key" should be in theory all I need to access/spend my BTCs (which I mined in 2014)?
b) Assuming those 2 keys is all I need, what wallet do you suggest (since Multibit is discontinued) to "migrate" using these two keys?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Regards, CH

[1714168270]

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[1714168270]

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[ranochigo]

Sorry for this probably dumb question, is the public address and the personal key, in general, all I need to spend or receive BTs (plus a wallet of course)?

Private key, yes.

I installed Electrum and tried to use the key of "multibit.key" by entering it into "Sweep private keys/Enter private keys" believing that is needed to be able to fully use that wallet (spend and receive BTC).
However, the key code I found in the old "multibit.key" is not accepted (it is 53 characters long). Am I doing something wrong here?

Should have 51 or 52 characters, does it start with a 5, L or K?

In an attempt to install the long discontinued Multibit, I found an old installer that I attempted to use on my Win10 (64 bit) PC. It asks right away for Java, which I subsequently installed. However, after installing Java, the Multibit installer still claims no Java is installed and I am therefore unable to complete the Multibit installation.

Can someone point me in the right direction on what to do? If I can't install Multibit, what other wallets could I use accepting my key(s)?
I read somewhere that I may have to try another wallet that accepts the code/key of my old "multibit.key" and then transfer to Electrum?!?

You shouldn't. The older Multibit wallets likely won't allow you to transfer the funds.

a) The key I used to receive BTC and the key within the "Multibit.key" should be in theory all I need to access/spend my BTCs (which I mined in 2014)?

Yes. You should be able to extract is relatively easily if it's unencrypted. The format should have your addresses listed in one column and the private keys in the other, assuming multibit classic.

b) Assuming those 2 keys is all I need, what wallet do you suggest (since Multibit is discontinued) to "migrate" using these two keys?

Electrum. You only need your private keys.

[cwoern]

Thanks for answering so quickly! Much appreciated!

Private key, yes.

Sorry, meant to say private key

I installed Electrum and tried to use the key of "multibit.key" by entering it into "Sweep private keys/Enter private keys" believing that is needed to be able to fully use that wallet (spend and receive BTC).

However, the key code I found in the old "multibit.key" is not accepted (it is 53 characters long). Am I doing something wrong here?

Should have 51 or 52 characters, does it start with a 5, L or K?

I just noticed that "Multibit.key" had/has two lines and the second is actually 52 characters long (I miscounted before, not sure why I 'missed" the first line before). The first line has 76 characters.

It looks like this (I x'ed out several characters):

U2FsXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXTMMp7aMoHkdguZZVn7CPoyrwprwtfV95  (<--- doesn't look at all like the public address "1BRiwhJ2Av1PtB5XXXXXXXXXXEufDDedjd")
5Q1NKVXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXD5dlSO

The entire code isn't accepted, nor the first or second line individually entered (screenshot with several blanked out characters below)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uh4vVMm_0mTC3C4zNk86qSgxQ-26j2Jy/view?usp=sharing

In an attempt to install the long discontinued Multibit, I found an old installer that I attempted to use on my Win10 (64 bit) PC. It asks right away for Java, which I subsequently installed. However, after installing Java, the Multibit installer still claims no Java is installed and I am therefore unable to complete the Multibit installation.

Can someone point me in the right direction on what to do? If I can't install Multibit, what other wallets could I use accepting my key(s)?
I read somewhere that I may have to try another wallet that accepts the code/key of my old "multibit.key" and then transfer to Electrum?!?

You shouldn't. The older Multibit wallets likely won't allow you to transfer the funds.

OK, won't try that path any further.

a) The key I used to receive BTC and the key within the "Multibit.key" should be in theory all I need to access/spend my BTCs (which I mined in 2014)?

Yes. You should be able to extract is relatively easily if it's unencrypted. The format should have your addresses listed in one column and the private keys in the other, assuming multibit classic.

b) Assuming those 2 keys is all I need, what wallet do you suggest (since Multibit is discontinued) to "migrate" using these two keys?

You mean it should look like the above? Which of those two would be the private key, the second line? And what is the other one for?

Electrum. You only need your private keys.

[/quote]

I had entered the public one which allowed me to see the old transactions (see screenshot - link above).


Question: Do these codes (two lines) look like valid personal keys? And which one - if not both - would I have to enter in which way into Electrum to extend the current "watching only" mode to a mode that allows me to access the funds to send BTC?


Regards, CH

[LoyceV]

5Q1NKVXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXD5dlSO

This looks like a private key: import it into a new Electrum wallet (select: "Import Bitcoin ~ private keys").

(<--- doesn't look at all like the public address "1BRiwhJ2Av1PtB5XXXXXXXXXXEufDDedjd")

Blanking out part of the address doesn't stop people from finding the full address. It looks like you found back 1.8 BTC!

And don't forget you own about $900 worth of Forkcoins. Don't bother about them before securely sending out your Bitcoins, but don't forget about them either when you're done. I do offer a Fork claiming guide and service.

[HCP]

I just noticed that "Multibit.key" had/has two lines and the second is actually 52 characters long (I miscounted before, not sure why I 'missed" the first line before). The first line has 76 characters.

It looks like this (I x'ed out several characters):

U2FsXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXTMMp7aMoHkdguZZVn7CPoyrwprwtfV95  (<--- doesn't look at all like the public address "1BRiwhJ2Av1PtB5XXXXXXXXXXEufDDedjd")
5Q1NKVXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXD5dlSO

The entire code isn't accepted, nor the first or second line individually entered (screenshot with several blanked out characters below)

multibit.key files were usually encrypted by default... the fact that the file starts "U2F" would indicate that is indeed the case.

I suspect the fact that your 2nd line starts with a "5" is just a coincidence... and while it is 52 chars long, it is NOT a private key... the "l" and "O" at the end are a giveaway, as they are excluded characters in the Base58check encoding system used by Bitcoin.

It's possible to decode that file and extract the private key, but you'd need to know what password was used to encrypt it in the first place when the export was made...

Before I wiped the old computer, I seem to have copied the Multibit folder onto a memory stick, I also believe I must have generated/exported a "multibit.key" which was/is on the stick as well.

What is in the "multibit" folder that is on your memory stick? is there a .wallet file? That will more than likely be easier to recover your private keys from than the .key file...

[cwoern]

I just noticed that "Multibit.key" had/has two lines and the second is actually 52 characters long (I miscounted before, not sure why I 'missed" the first line before). The first line has 76 characters.

It looks like this (I x'ed out several characters):

U2FsXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXTMMp7aMoHkdguZZVn7CPoyrwprwtfV95  (<--- doesn't look at all like the public address "1BRiwhJ2Av1PtB5XXXXXXXXXXEufDDedjd")
5Q1NKVXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXD5dlSO

The entire code isn't accepted, nor the first or second line individually entered (screenshot with several blanked out characters below)

multibit.key files were usually encrypted by default... the fact that the file starts "U2F" would indicate that is indeed the case.

I really can't remember how that file was generated, but I strongly assume by using a function within Multibit.

I suspect the fact that your 2nd line starts with a "5" is just a coincidence... and while it is 52 chars long, it is NOT a private key... the "l" and "O" at the end are a giveaway, as they are excluded characters in the Base58check encoding system used by Bitcoin.

It's possible to decode that file and extract the private key, but you'd need to know what password was used to encrypt it in the first place when the export was made...

If that "Multibit.key" was created by using a function of the program itself (what I really believe I'd have done) and it is encrypted (I am not a PC expert but it looks like an ASCII file to me which I can open with Notepad) using any password, then I'd think it would be one used to login to Multibit?! I probably could try if a Multibit installation would be possible on my machine and would ask for a password (which I likely remember).

Before I wiped the old computer, I seem to have copied the Multibit folder onto a memory stick, I also believe I must have generated/exported a "multibit.key" which was/is on the stick as well.

What is in the "multibit" folder that is on your memory stick? is there a .wallet file? That will more than likely be easier to recover your private keys from than the .key file...

I am not sure what I had copied and I even don't remember if "Multibit" was a portable program or something which required an installation. This is what I found on my stick (and it may have been just the installer rather than an assumed portable version):

MultiBit-0.5.18\MultiBit-0.5.18\release_notes.txt
MultiBit-0.5.18\MultiBit-0.5.18\Uninstaller
MultiBit-0.5.18\MultiBit-0.5.18\.installationinformation
MultiBit-0.5.18\MultiBit-0.5.18\authors.txt
MultiBit-0.5.18\MultiBit-0.5.18\configuration.md
MultiBit-0.5.18\MultiBit-0.5.18\COPYING
MultiBit-0.5.18\MultiBit-0.5.18\multibit.checkpoints
MultiBit-0.5.18\MultiBit-0.5.18\multibit.exe
MultiBit-0.5.18\MultiBit-0.5.18\multibit.ico
MultiBit-0.5.18\MultiBit-0.5.18\readme.txt

I google'ed my problem and came across this site: https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/66913/import-multibit-multibit-key-into-electrum.

Some blokes suggest that "Multibit had generated an invalid key due to a bug in the software". That doesn't really help me as I assume I would have to install Multibit (If I could), use the "corrupt" key and transfer the money to my Electrum wallet?!
The link I used to download the installer of Multibit: https://web.archive.org/web/20150317095524/https://multibit.org/index.html

Or is there any other way to get access?

Regards, CH

[ranochigo]

I google'ed my problem and came across this site: https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/66913/import-multibit-multibit-key-into-electrum.

Some blokes suggest that "Multibit had generated an invalid key due to a bug in the software". That doesn't really help me as I assume I would have to install Multibit (If I could), use the "corrupt" key and transfer the money to my Electrum wallet?!
The link I used to download the installer of Multibit: https://web.archive.org/web/20150317095524/https://multibit.org/index.html

Or is there any other way to get access?

Regards, CH

Unencrypted format is in
5XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX DATETIME
LXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX DATETIME
KXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX DATETIME

You likely have it encrypted and I thought the format was different since it's an uncompressed key and I've only dealt with compressed ones. I can't find any reliable tool to decrypt the file without installing MultiBit. You can try using BTCRecover[1] since it does support MultiBit Classic files if you know the password to the wallet file. It's definitely more complicated than using MultiBit Classic but it's a good way to try.


[1] https://github.com/3rdIteration/btcrecover/blob/master/TUTORIAL.md#running-btcrecover

[HCP]

The link I used to download the installer of Multibit: https://web.archive.org/web/20150317095524/https://multibit.org/index.html

Seems that they finally took down the multibit website that actually had all the installers hosted on it... and the github only has the source code... so you'd need to clone/download the multibit wallet source code from the github and compile it...

Failing that... I could upload a copy of the 0.5.19 windows installer, but then you'd have to trust that my copy wasn't "fake" or malware.

Or is there any other way to get access?

If you know the password... you can decrypt the .key files using openssl... the trick is that they changed a setting in openssl a few years back, and there is an extra commandline argument that you may need to include.

The explanation of the .key file format is here: https://github.com/Multibit-Legacy/multibit/wiki/Export%20and%20limited%20import%20of%20private%20keys

The recommended command line usually doesn't work:

Code:

openssl enc -d -p -aes-256-cbc -a -in <encrypted.key file> -out <plaintext file>

and you'll get something like the following "bad decrypt" error, even if the password is 100% correct!!?! :

Code:

...
bad decrypt
139987437556160:error:06065064:digital envelope routines:EVP_DecryptFinal_ex:bad decrypt:../crypto/evp/evp_enc.c:537:

But, by adding "-md md5" to the commandline, it should work as intended:

Code:

openssl enc -d -p -aes-256-cbc -md md5 -a -in <encrypted.key file> -out <plaintext file>

If you need/want to practise using openssl on .key files... so you know that it's working OK... you can use this .key file I just created in multibit 0.5.19: https://keybase.pub/hcp/cwoern.key
As you can see, the contents of this .key file is similar to the one you posted earlier:

Code:

U2FsdGVkX18LSYm98B5HRgLWHgx35xMcsSpjjtdC9XG6iEYh9OC+vfyQA1fNmjEKs64cm/bntH7g
/AMeb5NNSEe9hzYAgp/DRvOR+GX9E95pGcl4Gb2AHGMyUfAww7uV

The password (when prompted by openssl) is: abc123

The unencrypted file contents should be:

Code:

L2pUS76P4M1mPN98CRdHb64p2fVLzQuWQ44XadnsCospkiPjpweb 2020-11-29T16:15:26Z

NOTE: OpenSSL isn't included in Windows by default... but there are links to various binary downloads here: https://wiki.openssl.org/index.php/Binaries

I have personally downloaded/used the OpenSSL 1.1.1i 64bit binary from the "curl for win" page: https://curl.se/windows/ (source: https://github.com/curl/curl-for-win#binary-package-downloads) and successfully tested it with the cwoern.key and password from above.

[cwoern]

With the help from HCP I could install a working (old) version of Multibit. The import of the old key (generated by an even older Multibit version) worked. I exported the key again from the freshly/newly installed (old - but still newer than "my" version) Multibit again and it looked different.
However, I hadn't tried to remove the date stamp and the import into Electrum didn't work.
Anyway, although the Multibit wallet was sooo old, it started to sync after a while and my BTC appeared. A test transfer of a tiny amount to my new Electrum wallet worked, I transferred the rest shortly after. I am very glad that it worked (and if I would have removed the timestamp I could have probably done the straight import rather then spending some transaction fees).

In a couple of days, I need to look into the fork coins. LoyceV had written a "manual" (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2836875.0) which I will "digest" in the new year.

Thanks again to ranochigo, HCP and LoyceV for helping to recover an amount I had almost written off. Maybe a warning to "dumb users" like me who mined years back 1 or 2 bitcoins (or even more) and didn't take it seriously to adequately store the keys, wallets or update to newer wallets. 

 


Regards, CH

[NooiT]

Hello, ben trying to get access to these wallts for a while now, on and off with no luck, aint much in em but should still be worth something..

Had same problem as OP and the openssl decrytion method worked great.


Thank!

[NewEarthRising]

The link I used to download the installer of Multibit: https://web.archive.org/web/20150317095524/https://multibit.org/index.html

Seems that they finally took down the multibit website that actually had all the installers hosted on it... and the github only has the source code... so you'd need to clone/download the multibit wallet source code from the github and compile it...

Failing that... I could upload a copy of the 0.5.19 windows installer, but then you'd have to trust that my copy wasn't "fake" or malware.

...

HI

If I get it correctly, are you able to share an exe file that I can use to install multibit classic in order to export the keys?

same thing here have an encrypted multibit wallet.

OpenSSL looks super complicated but if nothing else I'll use that.

will be super grateful if the exe file is available

Blessings

[HCP]

I have hosted a copy of the multibit classic 0.5.19.exe on my keybase.io file repo here: https://keybase.pub/hcp/multibit-classic-windows-0.5.19.exe

I feel like I should put a disclaimer in here that I make no representations that this file is virus/malware free. It was simply an old copy that I found on one my backup drives and I put it up to try to assist other users trying to gain access to their multibit wallets who were not able to use alternative methods (like my multibit-recovery python scripts, the "openssl" method or the "read-multibit-wallet-file" tool created by the MultiBit devs here: https://github.com/Multibit-Legacy/read-multibit-wallet-file etc)

I have in fact used this installer to install 0.5.19 on one of my personal rigs for testing purposes (creating .wallet, .key files, testing password recovery/cracking scripts and key extraction etc)... so it *should* be OK... but no promises. Use at your own risk etc


Alternatively, there are other versions floating around if you google... or you can attempt to download and compile the original source code from here: https://github.com/Multibit-Legacy/multibit/releases/tag/v0.5.19

[delipefavid]

I have hosted a copy of the multibit classic 0.5.19.exe on my keybase.io file repo here: https[Suspicious link removed]

I've just created this account just to say THANK YOU!

With this client, I was able to open my veeery old multibit .wallet file that I found on an old HD backup. Then, I waited untill it syncronizes with the blockchain and BAM, there it was my bitcoin. Not much, but still very welcome in these days.

Then, I exported the private key using this MultiBit client, and then imported it on Electrum, removing the time stamp. Worked like a charm.

Thank you again.