Bitcoin Core wallet spends BTC 0.07!! USD 4000!! to make two small dust sendings

[tothemoon10]

This all is so strange.

I have now tried one transaction on another different old wallet.

Same thing happens, a massive extra charge is deducted from the wallet when I send.

But if I then go and Abandon transaction right away then the wallet balance comes right back to where it was.


Am I paying too little to have the transaction send somehow? Is there a way to pay more?


Sorry for being a bit repetitive but I just did one more try.


My accounts starts at Balance Btc 0.170826

I make one small send of Btc 0.000226. I say to have the fees included. I use the default transactions fees of 6 blocks and the suggested fee.

Then I get the confirmation box. I confirm.
(Question: In the confirmation box the Transaction fee is written IN RED. Does that mean there is something wrong? That the amount is too small or similar?)

When I then go to the account Balance now says Btc 0.007597.
So that MORE THAN Btc 0.17 has been mysteriously pulled out of the account to make this small transaction! Crazy.

So I then go to the que and I Abort this send.
Then when I go back to Balance. It is back to the original Balance of Btc 0.170826 again.

Why is the Bitcoin Core almost entirely emptying my wallet every time I try to do a simple send.
And this happens over 3 different wallet.dat files.
So strange. And it seems to be different amounts pulled out every time.

As said,
This happens on 3 different wallet.dat files.
On two different MacBooks two different fresh installs of the latest BitcoinCore.
One MacBook is completely new fresh for this specific purpose, nothing mysterious on it.

Very very strange.


Here are the screenshots of this latest attempt:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1grCt_eeFdtlkiBSJZZeLrlMPTBXWXqzJFNyVGPv-ENI/edit?usp=sharing

[1713569581]

1713569581

[LoyceV]

I get the feeling something's messed up in your wallet, and getting the addresses might be a good first step. Can you try the listaddressgroupings command tlistaddressgroupings command (click Window > Console)?
This should show all addresses in that wallet, which you can then check on https://blockchair.com/ to get their balance (if you're willing to reduce your privacy by sharing your addresses online).

[tothemoon10]

I am now trying to send some BTC to the wallet.dat that was created when I sat up the latest Bitcoin Core on the brand new clean MacBook Air.

Once hopefully this Bitcoin reached this account I will try to make a send.



LoyceV
I have a lot of confidence in you. Would it be possible to share the public addresses just with you privately, and not on the public forum.

[LoyceV]

I am now trying to send some BTC to the wallet.dat that was created when I sat up the latest Bitcoin Core on the brand new clean MacBook Air.

Once hopefully this Bitcoin reached this account I will try to make a send.

I expect this to work fine, assuming the problem is with your old wallet.

LoyceV
I have a lot of confidence in you. Would it be possible to share the public addresses just with you privately, and not on the public forum.

Feel free to PM me. Or just check the addresses on Blockchair.com instead of posting addresses.

[tothemoon10]

I just did the listaddressgroupings

I got 5 addresses
4 are empty
One with the same Balance as the Bitcoin Core says Balance.  Currently Btc 0.48


LoyceV I just sent you a PM with the results, the 5 addresses.

I have tried to look at Blockchain Explorer but cant figure this out.

Please note that I am working on 3 different wallet.dat files with various contents. And in the posts above they are used several of them.


This is strange:

Running listaddressgroupings gives 5 addresses:

Blockchain explorer says about these 5 addresses:

1 address with Btc 1.00
1 with Btc 0.2262   The current value of this address is 0.22626603 BTC
1 address with 0.11000000 BTC
One empty
One empty

So blockchain explorer says Btc 1.3362

BUT:
Bitcoin Core says the Balance is Btc 0.48   (and it became 0.48 after I Aborted some transactions earlier. It started at 0.07)


I have now run listaddressgroupings on all my 3 accounts. And checked all addresses against Blockhain Explorer.

And there are discrepancies on all 3 accounts.

So it seems likely this is the problem.

Question is then I assume how to repair these acccounts/wallets/wallet.rar files.


I now see that at least ONE address with bitcoin is present in at least two of the three wallets.

Need to go over this carefully.

[LoyceV]

Running listaddressgroupings gives 5 addresses:

Blockchain explorer says about these 5 addresses:

1 address with Btc 1.00
1 with Btc 0.2262   The current value of this address is 0.22626603 BTC
1 address with 0.11000000 BTC
One empty
One empty

I found the same results for the addresses you sent me. For transparency, I'll quote myself here:

For privacy, I used my own list of addresses instead of Blockchair. This is what I get:

~list of addresses~

The gray ones are empty, the other balances are in satoshi. I don't know what happened to your wallet file, but if this is correct, you should try to get the private keys out.

I would try this in Console (starting with the lowest balance, just in case):
dumpprivkey <address>
DO NOT share the private key!

If there's a password on your wallet, enter this first:
walletpassphrase "passphrase" timeout

Examples:

Unlock the wallet for 60 seconds
> bitcoin-cli walletpassphrase "my pass phrase" 60

If you can get the private key, there are several options from there. If you can't get the private key, I'm not sure what's next to try.

[nc50lc]

17:32:00

bad-txns-inputs-missingorspent (code -25)

Just what I expected, for some reason that transaction is trying to spend an invalid input.
It could mean that one or all of your wallet's input(s) is already spent or not available in the blockchain.
It could be all/few of the '?' transactions are actually valid but Bitcoin Core still haven't scanned them.

Next,

I bought a brand new MacBook Air.
Set up Bitcoin Core.
This took about 8-10 days.

Tried replacing the wallet.dat file with the 3 old wallet.dat files I have.
-snip-
So next step.
I did not make any changes to the default Bitcoin Core options.

If you didn't changed any setting including the first launch set-up, then your Bitcoin Core must be pruned,
yet you just replaced the wallet.dat and not opened them using the menu "File->Open Wallet".
That may have caused the wallet to keep the old status and not properly scanned.
In order for things to go smoothly, you'll need to disable pruning to be able to scan/rescan those wallets.

Double-check if prune is enabled in the settings: "Settings->Options...->Prune block storage to"
If it's 'checked', your blockchain is set to prune and you can't just replace wallet files.

To be able to load different wallet files at all times, I'd suggest you to disable it (that will require you to re-sync from scratch and lots of free disk space).
After that, you can now swap, open wallet.dat files whenever you want.
But do not just replace the wallet.dat while Bitcoin Core is running, please use the 'open wallet' menu.
But if your Bitcoin Core isn't pruned (the prune setting is unchecked),
try to use rescanblockchain in the console while the correct wallet is selected in the drop-down menu of the console.
That will take a few hours to complete and after that, the correct transactions should appear and marked checked in the 'Transactions' tab.

[LoyceV]

If you didn't changed any setting including the first launch set-up, then your Bitcoin Core must be pruned

I didn't know this is the current default, but I can now indeed confirm it. That's a weird choice!

That may have caused the wallet to keep the old status and not properly scanned.

I would expect Bitcoin Core to notify the user the wallet is further behind than the pruned blocks.

@tothemoon10: if you have to redownload the entire blockchain without pruning, you may want to increase Bitcoin Core's dbcache first. Assuming 16 GB RAM, change dbcache (click Settings > Options > database cache) to 4096. This should speed up the syncing process.

[tothemoon10]

Thanks.

LoyceV Yes I am able to get the private keys dumped. Got private key dump from two addresses now.
(A bit paranoid as to how to temporary store this private key. Once dumped on screen I probably should consider things compromised and work hard to secure this promptly.)

My new MacBook Air only has 256 GB disk so I have ordered a new WD SSD 1TB hard disk that I will pick up later today. So I might do the entire new download on that disk, this will take a few days again to do this.

It seems maybe trying something with the private keys might be a better option.
How do we suggest to go about it to restore with the private key.

I am familiar with the Exodus app on MacBook desktop, seems there is a way there to import private key there.

My end goal is to move all holdings of Bitcoin to my Ledger Nano S hardware wallet.
I assume I will have to make at least one send transaction for this.
(As I have been working on these 3-10+ different wallet.dat files now for some 1-2-3 weeks using various different hardware (old disks, disk readers, 3 Macs) I probably should consider all of that compromised and get all off to hardware wallet.)

[LoyceV]

It seems maybe trying something with the private keys might be a better option.
How do we suggest to go about it to restore with the private key.

I am familiar with the Exodus app on MacBook desktop, seems there is a way there to import private key there.

My end goal is to move all holdings of Bitcoin to my Ledger Nano S hardware wallet.

I don't know Exocus, I can only give you instructions or Electrum. It's safest to do it offline:

Online:
Install Electrum on your PC.
Import your address to create a watch-only wallet.
Preview the transaction, Copy the unsigned transaction. Put it on a USB stick.

Offline and running without hard drive storage:
Get a Linux LIVE DVD. Use Knoppix or Tails for instance, or any other distribution that comes with Electrum pre-installed.
Unplug your internet cable. Close the curtains. Reboot your computer and start up from that DVD. Don't enter any wireless connection password. Keep it offline.
Start Electrum. Import your private key.
Copy your unsigned transaction from the USB stick, load it into Electrum.
CHECK the transaction in Electrum. Check the fees, check the amount, check all destination addresses (character by character).
If all is okay, sign the transaction. Copy it back to your USB stick.
Turn off the computer. That wipes the Live LINUX from memory and all traces are gone.

Online:
Use your normal online Electrum to (check again and) broadcast the transaction.

Bonus:
After moving all your Bitcoin, and once the transaction confirmed, check if you own Forkcoins.

But since you have your private keys on an online computer already, you might as well just import it into Electrum. Note that there are many fake and compromised Electrum wallets out there, make sure to use the real site: https://electrum.org
It's as easy as this: New Wallet > Import Bitcoin addresses or private keys > make transaction to your Ledger. I'd say start with the smallest fund, send it all (click Max), and pay about $0.10 in transaction fees.

You should make sure you have your Ledger seed words safely stored first, and you should thoroughly check the address (character by character) on your Ledger screen before making the transaction.

[PawGo]

If you have your private keys, why do you want to waste your time on Bitcoin Core and downloading the blockchain? Buying new disk etc... Ridiculous.
Just import keys you have into Electrum (or other client), which is much more user-friendly. Your life will be easier...

And yes, you may pair your Ledger with Electrum. Then use option Wallet->Private keys->Sweep, it will prepare transaction which empty given address (key exported) into address in wallet opened (paired with Ledger in your case).

Doc how to use Ledger & Electrum
https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005161925-Set-up-and-use-Electrum?docs=true


Edit:
Ah Loyce, you type so fast ;-)

[LoyceV]

And yes, you may pair your Ledger with Electrum. Then use option Wallet->Private keys->Sweep, it will prepare transaction which empty given address (key exported) into address in wallet opened (paired with Ledger in your case).

Sweeping is actually a good way too, maybe even easier than mine

Warning: DO NOT ever enter your Ledger seed words into Electrum (or websites, email or cloud storage)! Only use those words on the hardware wallet itself.

[tothemoon10]

Good good.

I think I consider all my wallet.dat files compromised.

I will try this now. Downloading Electrum from electrum.org

Will let you know.

[tothemoon10]

I am very happy to tell you it looks like this works. Importing the private keys to Electrum.

I started Electrum and set up with private keys (did not set up a new wallet on Electrum. So I guess this WAS a sweep.)

And was able to send that balance off to my Ledger.

Very nice.

Question,
Should I wait with doing the next bitcoin adddress until Electrum has confirmed the transactions, the send of the bitcoin out of the wallet before I close it and do the next?

When I do the next address. Should I delete Electrum and reinstall Electrum each time (to avoid the same problem that I had with BitcoinCore).

[PawGo]

Electrum checks the latest state of your address, it does not need to download the full blockchain - so no, you do not need uninstall and install again later (of course remember about keeping Electrum updated to the latest release).

If you imported address into Electrum and then just send to address known from Ledger - it was a normal transaction, your private key was (is?) kept in Electrum.
The idea was to connect Ledger to Electrum (create a new Electrum walled based on your hardware wallet) so Electrum would know your public keys, but not private (each operation, transaction would require confirmation using Ledger device). And then you may use "Sweep" option to transfer from 3rd party address (your exported keys) into existing wallet (connected to Ledger). Anyway, even if you did not do that and just emptied your old Bitcoin Core address, all is fine.

If transaction is sent to mempool, there is nothing more you must wait for. You may close computer and go to sleep (and just wait for transaction to be processed). Right now mempool is almost empty so if you used fee like 5 sat or more, then your transaction is probably already confirmed.

[LoyceV]

I started Electrum and set up with private keys (did not set up a new wallet on Electrum. So I guess this WAS a sweep.)

Importing a private key is not considered sweeping.

And was able to send that balance off to my Ledger.

That's sweeping

Should I wait with doing the next bitcoin adddress until Electrum has confirmed the transactions, the send of the bitcoin out of the wallet before I close it and do the next?

It doesn't matter, but it doesn't hurt to wait either. After so many weeks, being thorough is good
I'd say confirm the balance in Ledger Live before you continue.

When I do the next address. Should I delete Electrum and reinstall Electrum each time (to avoid the same problem that I had with BitcoinCore).

No, you can just create a New wallet each time.

[Pmalek]

Since we are talking about a relatively big amount of coins, have you checked your Ledger seed to be 100% sure that it's correct and there are no mistakes in it? There are a few ways you can do that. You can restore your device to factory settings, delete your Ledger Live portfolio in the app, re-enter your seed to recover your accounts, and see if it will recover and find the correct address you just funded and its balance.

Another way to check your seed is using the Recovery Check app > https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/360007223753-Recovery-Check?docs=true

[nc50lc]

-snip-
When I do the next address. Should I delete Electrum and reinstall Electrum each time (to avoid the same problem that I had with BitcoinCore).

The root of the problem you had with Bitcoin Core is the "pruning" setting which avoids you to swap wallet.dat files entirely.
Plus replacing the file without shutting down Core will result with that seemingly successful (but improper) import of wallet.dat.

Electrum on the other hand is an "SPV" (Simplified Payment Verification) wallet which doesn't rely on a local copy of the blockchain.
Your wallet will only connect to the public servers for balance checking,
so you can add keys and get the correct balance without waiting for days/hours nor will encounter the same issue.

[tothemoon10]

Final update on this issue.

It seems everything has gone well on this issue.

I was able to extract the private key for all the relevant accounts in Bitcoin Core, import those privat keys into Electrum, see the actual-real-balance and then send off the bitcoin to the Ledger account.
Great!

Some issues;
It turned out that what I though was different Balances was actually partly the same account counted in several Balances in several different wallet.dat files
So in all it was much less Btc than I hoped, but what was actually there corresponds with what I looked over in my notes from back in 2014 when I saw it last.

How my various wallet.dat files got mixed up I do not know. I feel there is a security issue here somehow. Its up to the technical guys to evaluate that.


The Btc balance I was able to recover in the Bitcoin Core by witdrawing/cancel transactions from 2014 did not actually work. The balance was not affected as those funds were never withdrawn in the first place.

I have not yet done the job of getting the Forkecoins, but I will do that and have gotten good advice on how to.

ALL in all very good, I was able to recover some old stuff. Big thank you to community.

[LoyceV]

How my various wallet.dat files got mixed up I do not know.

My guess is you made a backup, then another backup and another backup. That creates 3 different wallets, partially with the same addresses. If you ever changed the password of the wallet, new addresses in that wallet were not in your old backup.

ALL in all very good, I was able to recover some old stuff. Big thank you to community.

Congrats! Forgetting about your wallets for 7 years is a great way of HODLing