My old bitcoin wallet

[Zipp_1199]

Hi guys.
I wonder if you can help me. I have turned my old laptop and found out that i have got 5 Bitcoins back in 2010. I have scribbled a privkey and address. Now i have tried to download Bitcoin core wallet to get my coins to action, but for some reason i do not see my coins there. But i can clearly see them in the block explorer. Is it something to do with the fact that i got them before core wallets came in? I can't clearly remember what i did to get these coins back then as it was 13 year ago. Could you help me to figure this out?
The block explorer say:
This address has transacted 7 times on the Bitcoin blockchain. It has received a total of x.xxx BTC $xxx and has sent a total of 0.00000000 BTC $0.00 The current value of this address is x.xxx
It also show that it has a total of 7 transactions in and none of them out. First transaction made in 2010 and others in 2019-2022. When i sync bitcoin full node wallet, i can only see those 6 transactions that happened in 2019-2022, but not the one that has been in 2010
Sorry for i don't disclose the balance and wallet address as it is pure for security reasons.

[1715563615]

1715563615

[1715563615]

1715563615

[1715563615]

1715563615

[LoyceMobile]

Did you import the address or the private key? If you imported the address it could be the first 5 Bitcoin payment was made to your public key.
If you imported the private key: does it show the correct address?

[Zipp_1199]

Did you import the address or the private key? If you imported the address it could be the first 5 Bitcoin payment was made to your public key.
If you imported the private key: does it show the correct address?

I have imported the address and re- synced the wallet. I did not want to import the pvirkey after i saw that the balance does not match, tho the wallet address is correct. I did not import my privkey as i have heard some stories that people lost their bitcoins just because of stupid mistakes they did. So i have to export the public key out of my privkey?

[LoyceMobile]

Do it offline, or get the pub key from a block explorer.

[RickDeckard]

Did you import the address or the private key? If you imported the address it could be the first 5 Bitcoin payment was made to your public key.
If you imported the private key: does it show the correct address?

I have imported the address and re- synced the wallet. I did not want to import the pvirkey after i saw that the balance does not match, tho the wallet address is correct. I did not import my privkey as i have heard some stories that people lost their bitcoins just because of stupid mistakes they did. So i have to export the public key out of my privkey?

Like Loyce mentioned, if you're unsure about importing the private key you should do it offline and in a verified and authentic version of Bitcoin Core. First I would suggest that you check if the installer that you got was from the official Bitcoin Core website[1] which is also linked in the News section of the forum. Afterwards, even if you got it from the previous website, you should verify it by following the procedures applicable to your OS that can be found here[2].

Afterwards I believe you can use the command "importprivkey"[3] in the Console window within Bitcoin Core in order to import your private key. To do so you'll have to:

• With the Bitcoin Core program open go to Window;
• Select "Console";
• Run the following command importprivkey <bitcoinprivkey> ;
• Click "Enter";

If by any chance you get the following message - Rescan is disabled when blocks are pruned (code -4) - you can use the following code to avoid scanning the blockchain for transactions related to the key that you've just imported (and thus avoiding the previous error):

Code:

importprivkey "<key>" "" false

[1]https://bitcoincore.org/
[2]https://bitcoincore.org/en/download/
[3]https://developer.bitcoin.org/reference/rpc/importprivkey.html

[LoyceV]

Now that I'm back at my keyboard, I'll respond a bit more.

Sorry for i don't disclose the balance and wallet address as it is pure for security reasons.

Based on what you said, I think I could find the address (or a few possibilities) if I'd search. This doesn't matter for security of your address, but you should know all block data is public.

I only dealt with "sent to pubkey" coins once. This is how you can safely sign a transaction offline (quote shortened to match your case):

• Install a fresh spare laptop (with VPN of course)
• Download the full client
• Import the pubkey, let it synchronize
• Take it offline
• Import the private key
• Create a raw transaction to a new address
• Copy the transaction to a USB stick
• Broadcast the transaction from another device
• Wipe the laptop (don't let it go online again after you entered the private key!)

Importing addresses into Bitcoin Core is more complicated if you use a descriptor wallet. It's easiest to create a non-descriptor wallet for this.

I have imported the address and re- synced the wallet. I did not want to import the pvirkey after i saw that the balance does not match, tho the wallet address is correct. I did not import my privkey as i have heard some stories that people lost their bitcoins just because of stupid mistakes they did. So i have to export the public key out of my privkey?

Did you manage to import the pubkey yet? If not:

Code:

importpubkey "pubkey" ( "label" rescan )

You can use bitaddress.org to get the pubkey from your private key, but do this offline running from a Linux Live DVD so you're sure the private key will never be online. Wipe the memory by turning it off.

I did not import my privkey as i have heard some stories that people lost their bitcoins just because of stupid mistakes they did.

That's a good precaution. Also: it's good to think about what you're going to do with your 5 Bitcoin once you've recovered it. It's probably safest to setup a hardware wallet, learn how to use it safely, create a backup (or 2), and send all your funds there. If you're going to send only a small part, chances are your coins end up on a change-address in Bitcoin Core, which means you should backup your wallet.dat before doing that.

After you've securely moved all your Bitcoins, it's good to know you also own some Fork coins worth close to $1000. Know that people have lost their Bitcoins trying to claim them with compromised wallets, so don't do anything with them before securing your Bitcoins.

Afterwards I believe you can use the command "importprivkey"[3] in the Console window within Bitcoin Core in order to import your private key.

That's the one thing OP shouldn't do on an online computer.

If by any chance you get the following message - Rescan is disabled when blocks are pruned (code -4) - you can use the following code to avoid scanning the blockchain for transactions related to the key that you've just imported

That's not going to work: OP needs a rescan to import the pubkey. If he has a pruned chain, he'll just have to download the blockchain again.

[nc50lc]

-snip-
It also show that it has a total of 7 transactions in and none of them out. First transaction made in 2010 and others in 2019-2022.
When i sync bitcoin full node wallet, i can only see those 6 transactions that happened in 2019-2022, but not the one that has been in 2010

I have imported the address and re- synced the wallet. -snip-

This must have happened because your coins from 2010 are locked in P2PK (pay-to-public-key) script which doesn't have an address.
So, by importing only the address, you'll only be able to see those new coins in P2PKH (with the address start with '1').
If you want to scan your coins from 2010 properly, import its public key.

You can use Bitcoin Core in offline and online machines to create a cold-storage set-up for safety reasons:
[Offline Machine]

• Open Bitcoin Core, create a New wallet with "File->Create Wallet..."
• Tick the options "Make Blank Wallet", "Descriptor Wallet", (enable encryption if you want) and create the wallet
• Open the console, make sure the wallet's name is selected in the console's "Wallet:" drop-down menu
• Type the command: getdescriptorinfo "pk(YOUR_WIF_PRIVATE_KEY)" and take note of the "checksum" which looks like this "#2ny75tj9".
  Replace "YOUR_WIF_PRIVATE_KEY" with your private key, since it's offline, doing so should be relatively safe.
• Type the command: importdescriptors "[{\"desc\": \"pk(YOUR_WIF_PRIVATE_KEY)#CHECKSUM\",\"timestamp\": 0\"}]"
• After that, the offline machine should now able to sign transactions that you'll create in the online machine.
• Now, to get the public key that you need to set-up the watching-only wallet in your online machine, type: listdescriptors
• Take note of the "pk" descriptor in the result, it should the the same as the one you've imported but has PubKey instead of PrvKey.
  
  

[Online Machine]

• Open Bitcoin Core, create a New wallet with "File->Create Wallet..."
• Tick the options "Disable Private Keys", "Make Blank Wallet", "Descriptor Wallet", (enable encryption if you want) and create the wallet
• Open the console, make sure the wallet's name is selected in the console's "Wallet:" drop-down menu
• Type the command: importdescriptors "[{\"desc\": \"pk(YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY)#CHECKSUM\",\"timestamp\": 0\"}]"
  It's the pk descriptor from "listdescriptors" command in the steps above.
• After it finished rescanning, the funds should now displayed excluding the 6 early dust transactions.

[To Create Transactions]

• Create an Unsigned transaction in the send tab of the watching-only wallet, save it in your flash drive or other methods of offline file transfer.
  Note: you might need to provide a "Custom change address" if you're not sending the entire amount since you don't have one. (or just "Use available balance")
• Import it to the offline machine via "File->Load PSBT from file...", Sign it, export the signed raw transaction just like what you did above.
• Import the Signed raw transaction to Watching only copy and click broadcast to send it.
  
  

For the blockexplorer result:
Most blockexplorers tend to correlate transactions with P2PK outputs to its P2PKH counterparts by deriving an address from that public key.
But it's not the proper way to show them, P2PK outputs should be searched in a blockexplorer by its TXID.

[LoyceV]

For the blockexplorer result:
Most blockexplorers tend to correlate transactions with P2PK outputs to its P2PKH counterparts by deriving an address from that public key.
But it's not the proper way to show them, P2PK outputs should be searched in a blockexplorer by its TXID.

It may not be proper, but it's practical. Otherwise people like OP may overlook the fact that they own a significant amount of Bitcoin.

[Zipp_1199]

Thanks every1 for help. I still did not try to import my privkey as i believe it is not in WIF format as back in 2010 it was a bit different. Am i right with that? I'm scared a.f. to make a mistake there So should i convert my privkey to WIF or it is WIF by standard?

[nc50lc]

I'm scared a.f. to make a mistake there So should i convert my privkey to WIF or it is WIF by standard?

It's easy to determine if it's WIF.
If it starts with '5' and consisting of 51 base58 characters, then it's WIF that's common for older wallets.
If it starts with 'L' or 'K' consisting of 52 base58 characters, then it's also WIF but flagged for compressed public keys which is today's standard.

If it's not, tell us how many characters it has and only the first character.

I'm scared a.f. to make a mistake there

When importing the private key to an offline Bitcoin Core, you're just basically copying it to that offline wallet.dat so it's quite safe.
Mistakes are bad when "sweeping" a private key since it'll directly send all of the associate funds to the new wallet.

[whanau]

If it helps, here is a python script which will allow you to test a raw private key and generate the wif
Do this offline. Do not tell anyone the results.

Code:

from bitcoinaddress import Wallet

# Convert a string with hex digits, colons, and whitespace to a long integer
def hex2int(hexString):
    return int("".join(hexString.replace(":", "").split()), 16)

dA  = hex2int('79be667ef9dcbbac55a06295ce870b07029bfcdb2dce28d959f2815b16f81798')
# put your test key between the ' ' the key above is to demonstrate

dx = str(f'{dA:064x}')
wallet = Wallet(dx)
priv_key = wallet.key.hex
wif = wallet.key.mainnet.wif
publ_key = wallet.address.pubkey
address = wallet.address.mainnet.pubaddr1

print('Private key : ' + str(priv_key) + '\n' +
      'Public key  : ' + str(publ_key) + '\n' +
      'Address     : ' + str(address) + '\n' +
      'WIF         : ' + str(wif) + "\n" )

[Zipp_1199]

Hi guys. I have imported my privkey to a BTCcore and it said Null, however, i can see the "spendable" 0.000 and "watch only" has all balance. Is it something wrong i have done?

Z.

[Bitarock]

Hey, your priv. key should be 51 or 52 characters. Maybe you should try a different wallet. Then you should import it, go to www.electrum.org and download and make new wallet. Then import key there. If it works let me know or message me.

[LoyceV]

Hi guys. I have imported my privkey to a BTCcore and it said Null, however, i can see the "spendable" 0.000 and "watch only" has all balance. Is it something wrong i have done?

It sounds like the Watch-only balance belongs to the address (or pubkey) you imported before, and not to the private key you imported.
I'm not entirely sure how exactly this would work in Bitcoin Core, so bear with me while guessing: you mentioned the private key isn't in the standard Wif format. What format is it? Is it in Hex? Could it be you converted it to Wif, but got the compressed version, while your 2010-transaction uses the uncompressed Wif? If that's the case, get the uncompressed private key (Bitaddress, offline, you know the drill by now) and import that one into Bitcoin Core.

[nc50lc]

Hi guys. I have imported my privkey to a BTCcore and it said Null, however, i can see the "spendable" 0.000 and "watch only" has all balance. Is it something wrong i have done?

Which instruction have you followed?

Because if it's my guide above, the online watching-only wallet will naturally show it as "watch only" since it's that type of wallet.
Your private keys should be in your offline machine that can be used to sign the transactions created by the watching-only wallet.

If you followed it correctly, you can do the final step "[To Create Transactions]" whenever you need to spend your bitcoins.

[panganib999]

Hi guys. I have imported my privkey to a BTCcore and it said Null, however, i can see the "spendable" 0.000 and "watch only" has all balance. Is it something wrong i have done?

Which instruction have you followed?

Because if it's my guide above, the online watching-only wallet will naturally show it as "watch only" since it's that type of wallet.
Your private keys should be in your offline machine that can be used to sign the transactions created by the watching-only wallet.

If you followed it correctly, you can do the final step "[To Create Transactions]" whenever you need to spend your bitcoins.

I got so confused looking at all the guides too cause all of them seem to be the correct guidelines. LoyceV you're one hell of a god for helping the lad get his 5 bitcoins. Anyways, going back to OP's request.

I assume LoyceV is right with the watch only balance being connected to the Public Key address, otherwise there's no reason for it to show on block explorer but not on your private wallet. Follow his steps and give us an update so we can properly help you if in any case something happens.

Hi guys. I have imported my privkey to a BTCcore and it said Null, however, i can see the "spendable" 0.000 and "watch only" has all balance. Is it something wrong i have done?

It sounds like the Watch-only balance belongs to the address (or pubkey) you imported before, and not to the private key you imported.
I'm not entirely sure how exactly this would work in Bitcoin Core, so bear with me while guessing: you mentioned the private key isn't in the standard Wif format. What format is it? Is it in Hex? Could it be you converted it to Wif, but got the compressed version, while your 2010-transaction uses the uncompressed Wif? If that's the case, get the uncompressed private key (Bitaddress, offline, you know the drill by now) and import that one into Bitcoin Core.

Follow this guide in particular OP, and if possible might as well throw in a few censored screenshots here so we can accurately give info. It's a little hard guessing and pinning the donkey's tail here lmao.