Armory - can't get online - Bitcoin Core Stuck

[VinceV6]

Hello,

I downloaded Armory latest version for Windows 10 and installed it. Then I did a "receive" bitcoin into my Armory wallet without installing Bitcoin Core (which I was NOT aware since I used Exodus in the past, which didn't need any bitcoin core download).

The bitcoin was received by the address (I checked on blockchain and blockchair) but it didn't/doesn't show up in my Armory wallet.

So I attempted to download bitcoin core but the downloading got stuck for the last two days around "4 years and 29 weeks behind" with "progress increase per hour at 0.07%" and "Estimated time left until synced at 6 weeks" and "Last block time at Sun Jun 19, 2016" and "Number of blocks left - 248632".

I read somewhere on this forum that I can import into Electrum wallet with the Armory Seed and access the bitcoin that didn't show up in my Armory wallet.

Armory Node is offline (0 blocks)
"Transactions" tab on Armory client is grayed out.
"Announcements" tab doesn't even display.

Could someone please guide me how to fix this Armory problem and access my bitcoin.

Thanks in advance.

[hosseinimr93]

I read somewhere on this forum that I can import into Electrum wallet with the Armory Seed and access the bitcoin that didn't show up in my Armory wallet.

Armory doesn't support seed phrase. You are probably referring to your root key which is not compatible with other wallets.

The best thing you can do is export your private key and import it into electrum.

To do so:

1. Click on "Wallet properties" in your Armory wallet.



2. Click on "Backup this wallet"




3. Select "See other backup options".




4. Check "Export Key Lists" and click on "Export Key lists" at bottom of the window.



 
The key you see under your bitcoin address and in front of PrivBase58 is your private key.




In electrum, create a new wallet, select "Import Bitcoin addresses or private keys" and enter your private key and click on "Next".

Warning:
Download electrum only from its official website and don't forget to verify your download.

[VinceV6]

Thanks for your help. I think I successfully imported/swept from Armory to Electrum (which I am using for the first time) by using your instructions.

When I try to send the bitcoin from Electrum to Coinbase, it is giving me a "Warning: The fee for this transaction seems unusually high. (25.63% of amount)

Which is ridiculously high by any standards.

ETA is the default fee rate.

Static fee rate is 38.01% of amount
Mempool fee rate is 19.98% of amount

Any idea how to get it down to normal rate or other workarounds?

TIA

[hosseinimr93]

The network is now so congested and that's why electrum is recommending high fees.
You can set the fee to lower amounts. Select "static" and move the slider to the left.
Just note that paying a low fee can cause your transaction to take a long time to be confirmed.

The high fee can be due to receiving multiple payments as well. If you have received the fund in multiple transactions, paying a high fee is inevitable.  

[VinceV6]

Thanks a lot. Appreciate your help.

[bob123]

Any idea how to get it down to normal rate or other workarounds?

You can choose the correct fee rate yourself.

Visit https://core.jochen-hoenicke.de/queue/#0,8h and scroll down to the 3rd graph (Mempool Size in MB). Check the very right (hover over it with your mouse).
You need to choose a fee within 1 MB of the tip at the moment a block is being found/built to get your transaction included.

So, for a confirmation in the next block, a fee of 40 sat/vB would be required.
If you don't need it to be confirmed within a a few blocks, a way lower fee (e.g. a few sat/vB) is absolutely ok and saves you your precious BTC.

[HCP]

When I try to send the bitcoin from Electrum to Coinbase, it is giving me a "Warning: The fee for this transaction seems unusually high. (25.63% of amount)

In Electrum, if you click the "advanced" button after you click "pay"... how many inputs do you see listed? And what is the "Size" listed at the top in "bytes"?

[VinceV6]

I was "experimenting" with Armory wallet and got myself into trouble :-((

I imported from Armory Wallet to Electrum and sent the bitcoin to Coinbase. It appears I selected the "lowest rate" not knowing what I was doing and now the transaction is still "unconfirmed" after 4 days. Here is the bitcoin transaction link.

https://blockchair.com/bitcoin/address/3NUDvcVx1UvWeZMYnSCy5oNXsZUdZoW1BL

This is the info from Electrum:

Amount sent: 1.20678 mBTC
Fee: 0.00222 mBTC  ( 1. sat/byte )
Size: 221 bytes
Replace by fee: True

Is there anyway I can increase the fee now for this transaction OR do I just have to wait to eternity for this transaction to be confirmed? :-))

[hosseinimr93]

Replace by fee: True

As your transaction has been marked as RBF, you can increase the fee.
Right click on your transaction in "history" tab and select "Increase fee". Currently there are many transactions paying low fees and stuck in the mempool. For having a fast confirmation, you need to increase the fee to more than 10 sat/vbyte.
12 sat/vbyte can put your transaction at 1 MB from from the tip.

[bob123]

Is there anyway I can increase the fee now for this transaction OR do I just have to wait to eternity for this transaction to be confirmed? :-))

Since the transaction is marked as replacable (RBF flag is set), you can bump the fee within electrum.
Check the 3rd graph on https://core.jochen-hoenicke.de/queue/#0,2h to see what kind of fee you need to get within the top 1 MB to get a confirmation in the next block(s).

Then use that fee in electrum when increasing the fee as mentioned by hosseinimr93.

[VinceV6]

Replace by fee: True

As your transaction has been marked as RBF, you can increase the fee.
Right click on your transaction in "history" tab and select "Increase fee". Currently there are many transactions paying low fees and stuck in the mempool. For having a fast condition, you need to increase the fee to more than 10 sat/vbyte.
12 sat/vbyte can put your transaction at 1 MB from from the tip.

I increased the fee to 10 Satoshis in Electrum as per your suggestion.

https://blockchair.com/bitcoin/address/3NUDvcVx1UvWeZMYnSCy5oNXsZUdZoW1BL

A few questions:

Why did the balance double to approx $88 from $44.

Can the fee be increased multiple times.

Why is Armory rated as the best wallet in one list and third best in a second list when in reality, Armory is very complicated for newbies to understand and download the entire bitcoin core which consumes so much of disk space.

[HCP]

I increased the fee to 10 Satoshis in Electrum as per your suggestion.

Unfortunately, that isn't enough now... that message suggesting 10 sats/byte was written hours ago... the fees are always constantly changing. This is why you need to check the current state of the network before setting a fee if speed of confirmation is important to you.

Always check here: https://jochen-hoenicke.de/queue/#0,2h
and here: https://mempool.space/

As you can see, as I type this... to be close to 1meg of the tip you need to be using ~20+ sats/byte:


It's constantly changing, by the time you read this it will probably be different.

https://blockchair.com/bitcoin/address/3NUDvcVx1UvWeZMYnSCy5oNXsZUdZoW1BL

You keep linking to the address... not the actual transaction...

Try this: https://blockchair.com/bitcoin/transaction/63c1fbcd718de7cfcb17aca86c6036ba81bbdd8dea871e1d6579f44efc10173a
and this: https://blockchair.com/bitcoin/transaction/fc20da9ca6d90913f8dc0d5b19d0a63b58319def64ad8dab20df803af9324817

Why did the balance double to approx $88 from $44.

It's because of the "double spend" caused by using RBF... when you "bump fee", it creates a 2nd transaction that should get confirmed before the 1st transaction... nodes that support RBF should realise it is an RBF and "drop" the 1st from their mempool, but not all nodes do this...

So, for a period of time... both of your transactions exist... the wallet sees 2 incoming transactions, and it seems like you're going to get paid twice Of course, as soon as either one of the transactions gets confirmed, the other transaction instantly becomes invalid and will "disappear".

EDIT: and now it seems like blockchair has figured out you're doing an RBF ("double spend") and has removed the lower fee transaction... so the balance is showing "correctly"

Can the fee be increased multiple times.

Yes, if you don't mark it as "final" when doing the RBF. If you mark it final, it basically turns RBF "off" and you won't be able to bump the fee any more.

Why is Armory rated as the best wallet in one list and third best in a second list

Which lists? Like a lot of "10 Best XXXXXXX's" type lists, these "ratings" are generally terribly subjective and rated according to whatever criteria the list author decides to use. Their priorities may not align with yours.

It's like movie critics etc... just because they love foreign language films in black and white doesn't mean you will... or should.

[VinceV6]

I increased the fee to 10 Satoshis in Electrum as per your suggestion.

Unfortunately, that isn't enough now... that message suggesting 10 sats/byte was written hours ago... the fees are always constantly changing. This is why you need to check the current state of the network before setting a fee if speed of confirmation is important to you.

Always check here: https://jochen-hoenicke.de/queue/#0,2h
and here: https://mempool.space/

As you can see, as I type this... to be close to 1meg of the tip you need to be using ~20+ sats/byte:
https://i.imgur.com/ux2YW3i.png

It's constantly changing, by the time you read this it will probably be different.

https://blockchair.com/bitcoin/address/3NUDvcVx1UvWeZMYnSCy5oNXsZUdZoW1BL

You keep linking to the address... not the actual transaction...

Try this: https://blockchair.com/bitcoin/transaction/63c1fbcd718de7cfcb17aca86c6036ba81bbdd8dea871e1d6579f44efc10173a
and this: https://blockchair.com/bitcoin/transaction/fc20da9ca6d90913f8dc0d5b19d0a63b58319def64ad8dab20df803af9324817

Why did the balance double to approx $88 from $44.

It's because of the "double spend" caused by using RBF... when you "bump fee", it creates a 2nd transaction that should get confirmed before the 1st transaction... nodes that support RBF should realise it is an RBF and "drop" the 1st from their mempool, but not all nodes do this...

So, for a period of time... both of your transactions exist... the wallet sees 2 incoming transactions, and it seems like you're going to get paid twice Of course, as soon as either one of the transactions gets confirmed, the other transaction instantly becomes invalid and will "disappear".

EDIT: and now it seems like blockchair has figured out you're doing an RBF ("double spend") and has removed the lower fee transaction... so the balance is showing "correctly"

Can the fee be increased multiple times.

Yes, if you don't mark it as "final" when doing the RBF. If you mark it final, it basically turns RBF "off" and you won't be able to bump the fee any more.

Why is Armory rated as the best wallet in one list and third best in a second list

Which lists? Like a lot of "10 Best XXXXXXX's" type lists, these "ratings" are generally terribly subjective and rated according to whatever criteria the list author decides to use. Their priorities may not align with yours.

It's like movie critics etc... just because they love foreign language films in black and white doesn't mean you will... or should.

I increased the fee to 12 Satoshis and transaction was confirmed pretty quickly.

Thanks for the links, which I bookmarked for future reference.

Yup, I fell for those stupid 10 best lists and wasted lot of time in the last week downloading bitcoin core which got stuck thrice.

But the whole experience is "very educational" though.

I appreciate everybody's help on this forum.

[bob123]

Yup, I fell for those stupid 10 best lists and wasted lot of time in the last week downloading bitcoin core which got stuck thrice.

But the whole experience is "very educational" though.

Since you don't really need a full node, you would be better off continue using electrum.
In comparison to exodus, this already is a huge step into the right direction.

If you don't necessarily need to run a full node, stay with a SPV client. It will make your life easier.