Bit of confusion over multiple seeds

[Sumarokov]

1. I started buying and storing XBT with Blockchain back when the seed was 16 words. I still have them in a safe place.

2. I have set up an Electrum wallet, which has given me its own seed (12 words), as I choose the option "create a new seed" (I did not think I could click "I already have a seed", because I was not sure if this meant one from Electrum and if another one would work).

3. Now I want to transfer the XBT which I have on Blockchain (and a small amount on the Kraken exchange) to my new Electrum wallet. Obviously, I will only use a small amount first as a trial.

What is the best way to do this? Just send like normal transactions from both Blockchain and Kraken?

When I set up the Electrum wallet, I was a bit unsure about what role the old seed played. If I transfer to an Electrum wallet which has given me this new seed, am I like a second person, a second owner of my own Bitcoin? Would it not be safer to somehow keep to the old seed? But how is this done if it is 16 words?

[Rath_]

What is the best way to do this? Just send like normal transactions from both Blockchain and Kraken?

Yes, that would be the best way. This will ensure that you will be able to recover your coins with a 12 word seed which was given to you by Electrum.

When I set up the Electrum wallet, I was a bit unsure about what role the old seed played. If I transfer to an Electrum wallet which has given me this new seed, am I like a second person, a second owner of my own Bitcoin? Would it not be safer to somehow keep to the old seed?

Once your transaction has been confirmed, you can safely discard your old 16 word seed if you don't intend to use the blockchain wallet anymore. You won't be able to use that wallet to control those coins once they have been moved to your Electrum wallet.

[Sumarokov]

Thanks for that reply. I read about various options such as going directly from Blockchain to Electrum, but it seemed a bit risky to me to try doing it all at once with all my Bitcoin on Blockchain, in case something went wrong.

If I can just transfer like a normal transaction from one wallet to another, I prefer that, as it means I can do a small amount at first.

[bob123]

Thanks for that reply. I read about various options such as going directly from Blockchain to Electrum, but it seemed a bit risky to me to try doing it all at once with all my Bitcoin on Blockchain, in case something went wrong.

If I can just transfer like a normal transaction from one wallet to another, I prefer that, as it means I can do a small amount at first.

Since you are referring to the web wallet from blockchain.com as "Blockchain", it indeed might be better to simply create a transaction sending your funds to electrum.

Further, the only option to move your funds from Kraken to your own wallet, is to withdraw them. There is no other way.

Btw, did you verify the integrity of the software (electrum) you have downloaded? You might want to do this first.

[o_e_l_e_o]

1. I started buying and storing XBT with Blockchain back when the seed was 16 words. I still have them in a safe place.

These 16 words are almost certainly a Blockchain.com password recovery phrase, as opposed to being a recovery phrase for your wallet itself. I highly doubt you would be able to import them in to any other wallet, and they are only useful if you also have your blockchain.com wallet file backed up somewhere.

What is the best way to do this? Just send like normal transactions from both Blockchain and Kraken?

Not only is this the best way to do it, it is in fact the only way to do it. You cannot extract private keys from Kraken, and you cannot import private keys in to an Electrum wallet created using a seed phrase. Importing private keys from blockchain.com to another wallet doesn't move the coins out of blockchain.com, it just means the coins can be accessed from two wallets at once. Your security would remain low since your private keys would remain part of the blockchain.com web wallet.

Once your transaction has been confirmed, you can safely discard your old 16 word seed if you don't intend to use the blockchain wallet anymore.

There is nothing to be gained by deleting a wallet. Might as well keep a back up just in case:

Sigh... why delete a wallet instead of moving it aside and keeping the old copy just in case?  You should never delete a wallet.

[hosseinimr93]

These 16 words are almost certainly a Blockchain.com password recovery phrase, as opposed to being a recovery phrase for your wallet itself. I highly doubt you would be able to import them in to any other wallet, and they are only useful if you also have your blockchain.com wallet file backed up somewhere.

OP may be able to recover the wallet using those 16 words.
Old blockchain.com wallets (I mean wallets before they started to use BIP39 seeds) can be recovered using the link below.

https://login.blockchain.com/wallet/forgot-password

[o_e_l_e_o]

Old blockchain.com wallets (I mean wallets before they started to use BIP39 seeds) can be recovered using the link below.

As I said, those 16 words are a blockchain.com password recovery phrase. They will let him recover the password to log in to his blockchain.com wallet, but he will still need the blockchain.com wallet .json file backed up to import, since blockchain.com doesn't seem to store old wallet files anymore based on the dozens of users who have been unable to log in to old wallets without their wallet file backed up.

It also won't let him recovery his wallet, only his log in details. Should blockchain.com disappear, his coins are lost forever.

[Sumarokov]

Old blockchain.com wallets (I mean wallets before they started to use BIP39 seeds) can be recovered using the link below.

As I said, those 16 words are a blockchain.com password recovery phrase. They will let him recover the password to log in to his blockchain.com wallet, but he will still need the blockchain.com wallet .json file backed up to import, since blockchain.com doesn't seem to store old wallet files anymore based on the dozens of users who have been unable to log in to old wallets without their wallet file backed up.

It also won't let him recovery his wallet, only his log in details. Should blockchain.com disappear, his coins are lost forever.

When I set up Blockchain originally, they sent me an email, which I still have: "Attached to this email is an AES encrypted wallet backup which contains everything you need to restore your bitcoin balance. You can use it to restore the wallet at anytime at My Wallet or using the 3rd party MultiBit Desktop client."

I have moved my Bitcoins out of my Blockchain wallet, but I am going to keep access to it anyway, just in case.

One thing that confuses me on Blockchain is when I go into "wallets" -- I have a very small amount of XLM -- when I press on the Stellar wallet, the following message comes up:

View Your Private Keys.
Warning
Do not share your private keys with anyone. We will never ask for them. Sharing your keys may result in a loss of funds.
Show

Why should this message be coming up, when it never did with my Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash (the only other cryptos I once had there)? I have never clicked on "show", because I know my private key anyway myself. Is this innocent? I would like to move my XLM out of Blockchain (although it is only a tiny amount).

[o_e_l_e_o]

When I set up Blockchain originally, they sent me an email, which I still have: "Attached to this email is an AES encrypted wallet backup which contains everything you need to restore your bitcoin balance.

I would download the attached aes.json file and keep it safe, along with your password recovery phrase, even if you plan on never using that wallet again. There have been plenty of users who have accidentally sent coins to an old address or received a payment or withdrawal to an old address and then discovered they deleted the relevant wallet and can no longer access their coins.

Why should this message be coming up, when it never did with my Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash (the only other cryptos I once had there)?

I'm not sure. If you want to move your coins out of the wallet though, then you shouldn't need to view the private keys. Just make a transaction to your new wallet instead. As I explained in an earlier post, exporting and importing private keys doesn't move your coins, and they would still be accessible from the blockchain.com wallet.