Invalid private key error

[Tofee]

I am a novice as far as bitcoin is concerned. I lost my priv keys few years back and recently found while going through old lap top. However, I am unsuccessful as When trying to import private key in Bitcoin core v0.23.0 I'm getting:Invalid private key encoding (code -5). Private key starts with 5 and has total 51 digits.

I have created blank wallet in bitcoin-qt and encrypted with passphrase. I request your help. Thanks

[1715529842]

1715529842

[1715529842]

1715529842

[Charles-Tim]

If the private key starts from 5, it supposed to be 51 characters, the characters are correct, but I do not know if the private key is valid, it can be invalid from typing error.

Maybe you do not get the right format of importing it. Read this: https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/5941/how-do-i-import-a-private-key-into-bitcoin-core.

If not solved, Bitcoin Core users would be able help.

[Tofee]

Thanks for your reply. I have strictly followed all the points mentioned in that post but still I am getting the error. I don’t have a clue. Let me know if I am missing any other points. Thanks

[Edwardard]

Thanks for your reply. I have strictly followed all the points mentioned in that post but still I am getting the error. I don’t have a clue. Let me know if I am missing any other points. Thanks

First check the validity of your priv. key on bitaddress.org . On the website go to wallet details tab and import the key in a plain text format. If it returns a valid bitcoin address, your key is correct otherwise some letters might be wrong. The error code you just mentioned usually occurs when one or more letters in the priv. key is invalid, might be a human error from your side.

[NeuroticFish]

First check the validity of your priv. key on bitaddress.org . On the website go to wallet details tab and import the key in a plain text format. If it returns a valid bitcoin address, your key is correct otherwise some letters might be wrong. The error code you just mentioned usually occurs when one or more letters in the priv. key is invalid, might be a human error from your side.

OP, beware and make sure you don't enter the private key anywhere online. That's the recipe for disaster (ie getting your keys stolen).
If you want to make this kind of tests, learn to get the source and open it in an offline (and safe) environment.

My guess is also that you've probably mistyped something or confused some letters.

[ABCbits]

Few suggestion,
1. Check whether all character on your private key is in Base58 symbol chart, https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Base58Check_encoding#Base58_symbol_chart.
2. If you copy the private key, be careful you may copy invisible character which cause the error.

On a side note, which software did you use to generate private key? Very old or unpopular wallet software may have implementation bug (such as wrong checksum calculation when generating WIF).

[Tofee]

Thanks to all who replied. I appreciate your help and concern.

This key was received on purchase of bitcoins via PayPal about a decade back. Then, there was very little knowledge sources available online.
 I presume more than 400 attempts has been made to hack my bitcoins.

Since the privkey has not been activated for many years, is there any possibility of keys invalidity?

Also, can anybody suggest me what needs to do if few of the digits in privkey are not in base 58 table. I shall check Base 58 table and retry.

Thanks to all.

[NeuroticFish]

This key was received on purchase of bitcoins via PayPal about a decade back. Then, there was very little knowledge sources available online.

This sounds like a scam to me.
Only you should know the private key, since that's the only "thing" that allows spending coins.
If the seller also knew the private key then:
* there's a high probability he gave you from start a bad/invalid key
* if by chance the key was good, there's a good chance that meanwhile the seller has checked back and spend those coins/sent them to his own wallet.

When you buy bitcoin you should get your own wallet (if you are not knowledgeable about this and it's a meaningful amount of bitcoin then you should use hardware wallet) and give the seller an address of yours where he will send the coins. The coins are really yours only if they (are confirmed and) show up in a wallet only you can spend from = only you have the private keys.

Since the privkey has not been activated for many years, is there any possibility of keys invalidity?

Sorry, that's not how bitcoin works.

[NotATether]

Thanks to all who replied. I appreciate your help and concern.

This key was received on purchase of bitcoins via PayPal about a decade back. Then, there was very little knowledge sources available online.
 I presume more than 400 attempts has been made to hack my bitcoins.

Any particular reason you purchased a private key with bitcoins inside it instead of the bitcoins themselves? At least that's what I understand how you bought it.

You shouldn't buy private keys from anyone, that is an unsafe method of transfer.

[2double0]

Why buy private keys when you can get one with a wallet?
Is it like you bought it from some dark web source to get an 'advantage' of some Bitcoins in it as advertised by some dark web seller? Don't go for such deals if that's the case.
And if you are skeptical about your wallet being a part of a possible hack, why not move your coins to a different wallet?

[Tofee]

Thanks to all who replied. I appreciate your help and concern.

This key was received on purchase of bitcoins via PayPal about a decade back. Then, there was very little knowledge sources available online.
 I presume more than 400 attempts has been made to hack my bitcoins.

Any particular reason you purchased a private key with bitcoins inside it instead of the bitcoins themselves? At least that's what I understand how you bought it.

You shouldn't buy private keys from anyone, that is an unsafe method of transfer.

I was reading yahoo finance about bitcoin white paper and felt that this maybe the future. Then I searched google how to buy bitcoins and those days it was a link which directed me to coinpal with PayPal link. I never knew anything of bitcoin address and bitcoin wallets. I proceeded with PayPal payment link and purchased with credit card. Little did I know anything at all except reading the white paper. After payment process, I received an email which stated to store the private keys in a safe location and to destroy the email. All the above happened more than a decade ago. So I thought that having private key is the confirmation and final step of the purchase. I was not aware that I need to have a wallet address and confirm the delivery. My fault is my loss. Thanks for reply.

Thanks to all who replied. I appreciate your help and concern.

This key was received on purchase of bitcoins via PayPal about a decade back. Then, there was very little knowledge sources available online.
 I presume more than 400 attempts has been made to hack my bitcoins.

Any particular reason you purchased a private key with bitcoins inside it instead of the bitcoins themselves? At least that's what I understand how you bought it.

You shouldn't buy private keys from anyone, that is an unsafe method of transfer.

Please refer https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2555.msg49611#msg49611.

Please read the above referenced link to understand how I fell for it. My fault.

[moderator's note: consecutive posts merged]

[NotATether]

I was reading yahoo finance about bitcoin white paper and felt that this maybe the future. Then I searched google how to buy bitcoins and those days it was a link which directed me to coinpal with PayPal link. I never knew anything of bitcoin address and bitcoin wallets. I proceeded with PayPal payment link and purchased with credit card. Little did I know anything at all except reading the white paper. After payment process, I received an email which stated to store the private keys in a safe location and to destroy the email. All the above happened more than a decade ago. So I thought that having private key is the confirmation and final step of the purchase. I was not aware that I need to have a wallet address and confirm the delivery. My fault is my loss. Thanks for reply.

Yeah, times have changed now. Nobody's going to send you private keys in an email anymore when you buy Bitcoins. Instead they will usually keep it in an "exchange account" for you and you have to withdraw it to your own wallet software.

[Tofee]

I was reading yahoo finance about bitcoin white paper and felt that this maybe the future. Then I searched google how to buy bitcoins and those days it was a link which directed me to coinpal with PayPal link. I never knew anything of bitcoin address and bitcoin wallets. I proceeded with PayPal payment link and purchased with credit card. Little did I know anything at all except reading the white paper. After payment process, I received an email which stated to store the private keys in a safe location and to destroy the email. All the above happened more than a decade ago. So I thought that having private key is the confirmation and final step of the purchase. I was not aware that I need to have a wallet address and confirm the delivery. My fault is my loss. Thanks for reply.

Yeah, times have changed now. Nobody's going to send you private keys in an email anymore when you buy Bitcoins. Instead they will usually keep it in an "exchange account" for you and you have to withdraw it to your own wallet software.

Those days there was an exchange called MTGox. But, I didn’t know how to trade hence did not take interest in it.

[2double0]

Those days there was an exchange called MTGox. But, I didn’t know how to trade hence did not take interest in it.

Back then, some users were also transacting here P2P but with escrow, and risks were ridiculously less then because of no value of Bitcoin at that time. There also emerged an exchange named Magic, and then in 2011, we got VirWoX that allowed its users to exchange Linden (Second Life) Dollars for Bitcoins. Your case also belongs to 2011, right?

[Tofee]

Those days there was an exchange called MTGox. But, I didn’t know how to trade hence did not take interest in it.

Back then, some users were also transacting here P2P but with escrow, and risks were ridiculously less then because of no value of Bitcoin at that time. There also emerged an exchange named Magic, and then in 2011, we got VirWoX that allowed its users to exchange Linden (Second Life) Dollars for Bitcoins. Your case also belongs to 2011, right?

Yes, you are right. Bitcoins was not worth even Pennie’s in those days. More over since the internet speed was in kb, hardly mining was worth. My case was in earliear days when people never gave any value to bitcoins. News spread about people loosing their assets only after MTGox was hacked.

[Tofee]

Few suggestion,
1. Check whether all character on your private key is in Base58 symbol chart, https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Base58Check_encoding#Base58_symbol_chart.
2. If you copy the private key, be careful you may copy invisible character which cause the error.

On a side note, which software did you use to generate private key? Very old or unpopular wallet software may have implementation bug (such as wrong checksum calculation when generating WIF).

Thanks for reply. Is there any possibility of finding the date of modification of the Base58 symbol chart omitting certain characters exclusive for use of bitcoin private keys and the corresponding version of the bitcoin core to that effect, as few characters in the keys not existing in the chart.

[BlackHatCoiner]

Then I searched google how to buy bitcoins and those days it was a link which directed me to coinpal with PayPal link.

Your story sounds very strange, and you must have been victim of fraud. First of all, CoinPal didn't give private keys. No legitimate business does. CoinPal, as far as I've read, was a service which asked you to submit a Bitcoin address, pay the Paypal invoice, and have the bitcoin received. Secondly, there's no way a legitimate business told you to "destroy the email". Emails from large email-corps don't get deleted either way, they sit on the email server's just in case.

Have you deleted those emails? There's a chance you used a fake CoinPal site.

[Bitarock]

 Hi, i see that you may need extra assistance you can contact me here: Superbit1@protonmail.com

[nc50lc]

Also, can anybody suggest me what needs to do if few of the digits in privkey are not in base 58 table. I shall check Base 58 table and retry.

You can try FinderOuter tool by Coding-Enthusiast: https://github.com/Coding-Enthusiast/FinderOuter

Follow these steps to use it to find the possible correct characters:

• Open FinderOuter and go to "Missing Base58" tab.
• Select the options at the right-hand side - "*", "Private Key" and "AddrUnComp".
• On the left-hand side, paste your private key in "Base-58 encoded string" and replace the characters that aren't Base58 with *
  for example: 5J1F7GH*dZG3s*CKHCwg8Jvys9xUbFsj*nGec4H1**Ny1V9n*6V
• In the text box under it, paste your address.
• Then Click "Find!" and it will start to fix your WIF private key; it will use most of your machine's CPU process while working.
• Results will be displayed below.
  
  

Of course, it wont display any result if it can't find any valid private key with the characters that you've given.

[Pmalek]

I presume more than 400 attempts has been made to hack my bitcoins.

What makes you think that and how did you come up with that number? Why 400 and not 200 or 500?

Hi, i see that you may need extra assistance you can contact me here: xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Never under any circumstances share any sensitive information with this person or anyone else who contacts you privately. Do not click on any links or believe promises of magical software that will recover your coins just like that. Discuss the problem in public only. This does not apply to the FinderOuter software that nc50lc mentioned. I am only talking about things people could send you in private.

CoinPal was a legit service back in the days, but it didn't work the way you described above. You can take a look at this YouTube video to see how the purchases used to work. The one thing CoinPal used to send to its customers via email is a transaction ID that could be entered into a blockchain explorer to check the transaction data online. But they didn't send private keys.