Help Moving Old BTC from Bitcoin Core to new Ledger Nano

[btcphreak]

Bitcoin Client Software and Version Number: Bitcoin Core v0.19.1 (64-bit)

Operating System: Yosemite 10.10.5

System Hardware Specs: 2009 Macbook Pro. ~30GB hard drive space free. 8GB RAM

Description of Problem: Trying to transfer a small amount of BTC I received in 2011 to my new Ledger Nano. I have confirmed the coin amount is still in the wallet. I started to let Bitcoin Core sync, but I don't have enough space to transfer the entire thing. I tried 2 test transfers, but cancelled after days of them being stuck. The first transaction had way too low a transfer fee (my mistake) and the 2nd I thought I had an accurate transfer rate (0.00103 BTC/kilobyte - a few days ago) but it was still stuck for several days before I cancelled the transaction.

Summary Questions:
        - What is the best method for me to transfer this old BTC to my new cold storage wallet/address?
        - Do I need to sync all of the blockchain before sending a transaction?
        - If yes to the above, can I "switch" the blockchain download/sync to an external SSD? or "switch" to make it start syncing in pruned mode?

Any specific steps would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

[1714823695]

1714823695

[ranochigo]

Thanks for using the correct format.

What is the best method for me to transfer this old BTC to my new cold storage wallet/address?

I don't recommend anyone trying to export and trying to download another program just to transfer Bitcoins. What you're doing right now would probably be the best for you without the need for additional complexity from exporting your keys and downloading a lightweight client.

Do I need to sync all of the blockchain before sending a transaction?

No.

However, you won't be able to see the transactions after the date that you've synchronized, if any. Since I presume that you're able to see the transaction on the blockexplorer, I assume that you've already made a valid transaction. That leaves the only problem if any funds present in your addresses after that point cannot be seen. Since you're unable to see the floating fees recommended by Bitcoin Core, I'll advise you to take a look at https://mempool.space/ and see the recommended fees. 1sat/vbyte = 0.00001BTC/vMB; that is the unit used in Bitcoin Core.

If yes to the above, can I "switch" the blockchain download/sync to an external SSD? or "switch" to make it start syncing in pruned mode?

Yes. You can just change the pruning settings in your preferences.

Move your data directory to your desired location, right click on your Bitcoin Core shortcut and edit the target accordingly:


After opening Bitcoin Core, it will ask you to specify the new directory. Specify and go back to your shortcut and delete the -choosedatadir that you've added.

[BitMaxz]

I think the best way for this to transfer your Bitcoin from your old Bitcoin core wallet is by sweeping it with Electrum but first set up your Electrum with your ledger nano.

You can follow the guide from this link below on how to set up ledger nano with Electrum
- https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005161925-Set-up-and-use-Electrum

After you set up, Electrum now dump private keys from your old Bitcoin core wallet.

You can use this command below in the Bitcoin core debug console it will dump all of your private keys from your old bitcoin core wallet

Code:

dumpwallet "filename"

Once you have all private keys you can sweep the private key to your new wallet Electrum with ledger nano

Follow this guide below on how to sweep them to Electrum
- https://bitcoinelectrum.com/sweeping-your-private-keys-into-electrum/


And I'm sure it has some fork coins like Bitcoin cash to claim the fork coins do the same as what you do in Electrum but this time you will need Electron cash wallet to claim the forked coin.
Use this link below how to set up Electron cash with Ledger nano
- https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/360009676633-Set-up-and-use-Electron-Cash


It seems that you have an old version of macOS so Electrum will not work. The only solution is by using "prune mode" as ranochigo said above.
Since you have 30gb hard drive space I think it's enough to download the new blocks because the minimum size for prune mode is 550MB you can increase it to 2000MB(2gb). It requires to download the new blocks so you will need to delete the old blocks from your system before you run the prune mode.

If you don't know how to prune mode you can edit bitcoin.conf to force your bitcoin core to prune mode just add this text below

Code:

prune=2000

But before you do that make sure that you already deleted to old blocks.

[btcphreak]

Thank you both so much for your time and suggestions.

BitMaxZ: I think I will try another transfer as you suggested. Just because I find this fee part a little confusing to calculate, I wanted to make sure I had the right idea.
Here's my screenshot example: https://www.dropbox.com/s/dye3scegp67o6iz/example.png?dl=0

To summarize in text: if https://mempool.space was showing 49 sat/vB as "medium priority", I can enter in a fee of "0.00004900" BTC per Kilobyte in Bitcoin core? Is that correct? The other options are: mBTC, uBTC, Satoshi. I'm a little confused between how sat/vB translates to one of the available unit options.

Many thanks

[ranochigo]

To summarize in text: if https://mempool.space was showing 49 sat/vB as "medium priority", I can enter in a fee of "0.00004900" BTC per Kilobyte in Bitcoin core? Is that correct? The other options are: mBTC, uBTC, Satoshi. I'm a little confused between how sat/vB translates to one of the available unit options.

Many thanks

It'll be 0.00049BTC per Kilobytes or 49000 Satoshis per Kilobytes. The units displayed in mempool.space is in terms of bytes and the conversion is multiplying the value by 10^3.

If you don't know how to prune mode you can edit bitcoin.conf to force your bitcoin core to prune mode just add this text below

Code:

prune=2000

But before you do that make sure that you already deleted to old blocks.

Can be done through the UI. You don't have to delete the blocks manually, can be dangerous if you're unsure what you're deleting.

[BitMaxz]

To summarize in text: if https://mempool.space was showing 49 sat/vB as "medium priority", I can enter in a fee of "0.00004900" BTC per Kilobyte in Bitcoin core? Is that correct? The other options are: mBTC, uBTC, Satoshi. I'm a little confused between how sat/vB translates to one of the available unit options.

Many thanks

Mempool.space is a little bit delay I suggest you use this instead https://jochen-hoenicke.de/queue/#BTC,24h,weight

The current suggested fee is 12sat/byte under 1mb since the bitcoin core is asking for kilobyte it should times to 1000 as ranochigo pointing above. So 12x1000= 12,000sat/KB or around 0.00012BTC.

And I suggest you if you are planning to transfer those coins always use Segwit address so that you can get a lesser fee compared to legacy addresses.

[ranochigo]

Mempool.space is a little bit delay I suggest you use this instead https://jochen-hoenicke.de/queue/#BTC,24h,weight

How long is the delay? If it isn't more than a few minutes, then it should be fine. Blocks are mined (avg) every 10 minutes anyways and the fees wouldn't dip that much just after a single block is mined.

The reason I don't usually recommend people to use jochen's fees is that it is much less obvious for the not-so experienced and would probably cause some confusion as there will be small dips in between blocks and give user a somewhat misleading idea that the fees has suddenly dropped. Mempool.space is much clearer by comparison as it has far clearer details.

[HCP]

... the 2nd I thought I had an accurate transfer rate (0.00103 BTC/kilobyte - a few days ago) but it was still stuck for several days before I cancelled the transaction.

That transaction fee looks like it should have been OK... that was effectively 103 sats/vByte... and for the past week, transaction fees have been at or below that level for the vast majority of the time... there is no reason that a valid transaction with that fee should not have confirmed.

Did you actually check the transaction on a block explorer like blockchain.com, blockcypher.com, btc.com, blockstream.com etc?

Given that your Bitcoin Core is not synced, you would not be able to see whether or not the transaction was confirmed anyway... so it would show as unconfirmed until your node finished syncing.

        - What is the best method for me to transfer this old BTC to my new cold storage wallet/address?

If you do not have any time constraints on your transaction (ie. you're not trying to pay a vendor), then I would recommend you simply set the node to "pruned" mode (See below)... and then let it sync fully... once syncing is complete, try and resend your transaction.

        - Do I need to sync all of the blockchain before sending a transaction?

It is generally better to make sure your node is fully synced before attempting to send transactions. This ensures that the wallet is properly updated and the funds that you are attempting to spend are actually available.

        - If yes to the above, can I "switch" the blockchain download/sync to an external SSD? or "switch" to make it start syncing in pruned mode?

For "Pruned" mode... "Settings -> Options -> Main"... the 2nd tickbox will allow you to turn pruning mode on and specify the max size to prune to.

[btcphreak]

Success!

Just following up to:

1) Thank everyone above for their time & input.

2) Let anyone else know in this conundrum that I did seemingly have to sync the entire blockchain after all before sending BTC out of Bitcoin Core. To save disk space, as advised, I went to Bitcoin Core > Preferences > checked the box for "Prune Block Storage to ____ GB" and arbitrarily chose 8GB. After about 4 days of syncing/downloading my transaction went through, and I can now send other transactions through as expected.

[LoyceV]

Success!

Great! Don't forget about the Forkcoins you still own. There's currently about $1000 per Bitcoin you owned before 2017 to claim.