Importing Sparrow Wallet into a Cold Wallet

[hawer357]

Hello,

from time to time I'm buying some Bitcoins and store them on my Sparrow Wallet. I've no other intention than saving and holding it for long term.
I've ordered a Coldcard in order to add a bit more security to these saving. I know that I can either import the existing seed words into the new hardware wallet or I could create a new wallet on the hardware and have the Bitcoins transferred from my Sparrow Wallet to the Coldcard. Since the latter would cost my transfer fees I'm unsure if importing the seed would come with any security issues.

If this questions wasn't asked here, I would be thankful if you could help me making the right decision. And if this questions was already answered I would be happy to get a reference to it.

Thank you

[Charles-Tim]

It is better you send the coins to an address that you generated on Coldcard. Online wallets are not as safe as cold wallet. If you import Sparrow seed phrase, it means the seed phrase was generated online and not safe like the one you generated offline.

[Zaguru12]

First, it is a good thing that you want to go for offline wallet as you use look towards long term holding. The idea of importing the wallet into the new wallet is bad because the wallet was created as said above on a hot wallet and you don’t know which malware or anything that it had been exposed to already. Importing it into a cold wallet wouldn’t protect it if at all it had been compromised before. Best thing is to go for new wallet on the coldcard and make a transfer from the current existing wallet to the new one. Yes it will cost you transaction fee but when you compare the risk you know the transaction fee amount is a minimal in terms of risk

[hawer357]

Thank you very much for your answers. I'll create a new wallet on the Coldcard and transfer the coins to it.

I've just seen that it is also a good moment to consolidate the small UTXOs and transfer them in one piece to the new wallet.

Do you think there is a problem with using a read only wallet like the Bluewallet on a smartphone with the public key in order to have a sort of notification if something moves from that wallet?

[satscraper]

Hello,

from time to time I'm buying some Bitcoins and store them on my Sparrow Wallet. I've no other intention than saving and holding it for long term.
I've ordered a Coldcard in order to add a bit more security to these saving. I know that I can either import the existing seed words into the new hardware wallet or I could create a new wallet on the hardware and have the Bitcoins transferred from my Sparrow Wallet to the Coldcard. Since the latter would cost my transfer fees I'm unsure if importing the seed would come with any security issues.

If this questions wasn't asked here, I would be thankful if you could help me making the right decision. And if this questions was already answered I would be happy to get a reference to it.

Thank you

I would advocate new SEED   on ColdCard (wich has robust source of entropy), pairing ColdCard and Sparrow and transferring you stash to newly created wallet relevant to ColdCard.

BTW, Sparrow has the nice feature namely fake ConJoin (in fact it mimics batch transaction)   that could improve (a bit)  privacy of transferred fund. Sure, it involves some extra transactions to be made after all your fund is allocated in ColdCard, thus such procedure seems to be feasible at low fee rate.

[hawer357]

Thank you very much. What I now did was selecting the UTXOs and transferring them to my Coldcard wallet, which arrived as one single UTXO. If I'm not mistaken this is called "consolidation".

I did read your post regarding ConJoin, which I will try next time or even play in "Testnet" (although I'm not sure how I could get initial coins for the Testnet). Thank you.

I see that may have the setup I'm aiming for by using a cold wallet. But how do you guys monitor these wallets? Is exporting the public key to a watch only wallet like Bluewallet considered as secure, or do you use other services?

[SFR10]

I've no other intention than saving and holding it for long term.

I'll create a new wallet on the Coldcard and transfer the coins to it.

What I now did was selecting the UTXOs and transferring them to my Coldcard wallet,

Considering that you'll be using it to hodl for a long time, you might want to pay attention to the following option: BIP-39 Passphrase
^{Note: Only use this option if you fully understand the risks that come with it!}

Do you think there is a problem with using a read only wallet like the Bluewallet on a smartphone with the public key in order to have a sort of notification if something moves from that wallet?

But how do you guys monitor these wallets? Is exporting the public key to a watch only wallet like Bluewallet considered as secure, or do you use other services?

The main issue with this kind of setup is having little to no privacy ^{[assuming that you'd not be using it with your own node]}!

even play in "Testnet" (although I'm not sure how I could get initial coins for the Testnet). Thank you.

The following testnet faucets will come in handy:

• #1
• #2

[hawer357]

Considering that you'll be using it to hodl for a long time, you might want to pay attention to the following option: BIP-39 Passphrase
^{Note: Only use this option if you fully understand the risks that come with it!}

I did go through the documentation. Seems to add an extra security level to a wallet, but than I would have to exactly know which Passphrase I used in order to open the right wallet. If it can be added in a later point, I would consider this after increasing my know-how here.

The main issue with this kind of setup is having little to no privacy ^{[assuming that you'd not be using it with your own node]}!

I did come across the topic "running an own node" very often. This seems to be something people do for privacy reasons and to help the network running. If it is just running a VM or a Raspberry Pi I could consider this, but I'm not sure yet. Do you guys run your own nodes at home? I learned that if I would own a node, it would help keeping my transactions private, but what happens if I can't run the node anymore?

The following testnet faucets will come in handy:

• #1
• #2

Wonderful, thank you very much, I didn't know of this, while wondering how to get coins into the Testnet.

Thank you very much to all of you - this is really helpful!

[SFR10]

If it can be added in a later point, I would consider this after increasing my know-how here.

Yes, you can use the passphrase feature at any point in the future, but it's worth mentioning that it's not going to add another layer of protection to your existing standard wallet ^{[e.g. the passphrase-protected wallet will lead to a different set of addresses]}.

If it is just running a VM or a Raspberry Pi I could consider this, but I'm not sure yet. Do you guys run your own nodes at home? I learned that if I would own a node, it would help keeping my transactions private, but what happens if I can't run the node anymore?

If they meet the requirements, you can use it with those... I was running a node with a not-so-powerful laptop for a few months at home, but due to its limited storage, I had to stop ^{[I could've run it in pruned mode, but I didn't want to]}. Regarding the latter part, if you were thinking something bad might happen to your assets ^{[apart from reducing your privacy]}, then the answer is no.

Wonderful, thank you very much, I didn't know of this, while wondering how to get coins into the Testnet.

You're very welcome

[satscraper]

I did come across the topic "running an own node" very often. This seems to be something people do for privacy reasons and to help the network running. If it is just running a VM or a Raspberry Pi I could consider this, but I'm not sure yet. Do you guys run your own nodes at home? I learned that if I would own a node, it would help keeping my transactions private, but what happens if I can't run the node anymore?

Yeah, your assumption is correct - the main reason  that urges people to  connect  Sparrow to their own node  (rather than to public ones) is the improved privacy.

I run node based on Bitcoin Core with  connected  Sparrow paired with my Passport 2 and very pleased with such setup because I'm sure that my addresses  remain to be  hidden to the  surveillant agencies that run many of those public nodes.

[hawer357]

Yeah, your assumption is correct - the main reason  that urges people to  connect  Sparrow to their own node  (rather than to public ones) is the improved privacy.

I run node based on Bitcoin Core with  connected  Sparrow paired with my Passport 2 and very pleased with such setup because I'm sure that my addresses  remain to be  hidden to the  surveillant agencies that run many of those public nodes.

Thank you for your comment. Would you mind sharing some more technical information on the node you are running? Are you just running Bitcoin Core, or is that wrapped by an operating system that includes Bitcoin Core? I've seen that there are several distributions that include node software like Umbrel.

What hardware do you use? Also, do you have to manage backup service for your node? What happens if you loose your node?

[satscraper]

What hardware do you use?

Also, do you have to manage backup service for your node? What happens if you loose your node?

In fact I have two   old notebooks, one of them, run by Ubuntu, was bought in  2010, while the other one (run by Windows 10) - in 2017. Windows 10 machine alternates with Ubuntu one  as the node.

 I have two copies of blockchain, each of them is on its own SSD. One copy (on 1 TB SSD)  is connected to running node while the other one (on 2 TB SSD) is served as backup for the case of unexpected emergency. Having such setup I don't afraid to lose working node. But if it would happen I just could start from the scratch.

[hawer357]

In fact I have two   old notebooks, one of them, run by Ubuntu, was bought in  2010, while the other one (run by Windows 10) - in 2017. Windows 10 machine alternates with Ubuntu one  as the node.

 I have two copies of blockchain, each of them is on its own SSD. One copy (on 1 TB SSD)  is connected to running node while the other one (on 2 TB SSD) is served as backup for the case of unexpected emergency. Having such setup I don't afraid to lose working node. But if it would happen I just could start from the scratch.

I'm curious, if I would lose my node, is it just a matter of setting a new device up and downloading the blockchain again, or would I lose any data, which I wouldn't be able to restore anymore?

[satscraper]

In fact I have two   old notebooks, one of them, run by Ubuntu, was bought in  2010, while the other one (run by Windows 10) - in 2017. Windows 10 machine alternates with Ubuntu one  as the node.

 I have two copies of blockchain, each of them is on its own SSD. One copy (on 1 TB SSD)  is connected to running node while the other one (on 2 TB SSD) is served as backup for the case of unexpected emergency. Having such setup I don't afraid to lose working node. But if it would happen I just could start from the scratch.

I'm curious, if I would lose my node, is it just a matter of setting a new device up and downloading the blockchain again, or would I lose any data, which I wouldn't be able to restore anymore?

Your stash doesn't depends on the state of node and is safe if and as long as  your wallet (in your case SEED phrase) is safe.

If your lose your node for any reason (let's say due to the faulty hardware) you may set the new one, connect to this new node your wallet and shazam, enjoy to the full again seeing all your balance and the history of transactions, sure your new node will  rescan blockchain first to reveal them for you.

[hawer357]

In fact I have two   old notebooks, one of them, run by Ubuntu, was bought in  2010, while the other one (run by Windows 10) - in 2017. Windows 10 machine alternates with Ubuntu one  as the node.

 I have two copies of blockchain, each of them is on its own SSD. One copy (on 1 TB SSD)  is connected to running node while the other one (on 2 TB SSD) is served as backup for the case of unexpected emergency. Having such setup I don't afraid to lose working node. But if it would happen I just could start from the scratch.

I'm curious, if I would lose my node, is it just a matter of setting a new device up and downloading the blockchain again, or would I lose any data, which I wouldn't be able to restore anymore?

Your stash doesn't depends on the state of node and is safe if and as long as  your wallet (in your case SEED phrase) is safe.

If your lose your node on any reason (let's say due to the faulty hardware) you may set the new one, connect to this new node your wallet and shazam, enjoy to the full again seeing all your balance and the history of transactions, sure your new node will  rescan blockchain first to reveal them for you.

Thank's!

[Bitcoins101]

Importing a single signature software wallet seed into a hardware wallet generates essentially no more security than the original software wallet. Probably less actually, since you now have to trust two environments.

[Charles-Tim]

Importing a single signature software wallet seed into a hardware wallet generates essentially no more security than the original software wallet. Probably less actually, since you now have to trust two environments.

It is not safe not because you now have to trust two environments. It is not safe because you import the seed phrase of an online wallet into a cold wallet. It has to be generated on the cold wallet to make sure that the seed phrase is completely offline and not online in any way. But if the cold wallet is truly cold wallet and not connected online but in a way that it is offline and the seed phrase and the keys it generated does not leave the cold wallets.

[Pmalek]

<Snip>

What Bitcoins101 said isn't incorrect. You are basically saying the same thing but in different ways. A seed generated on a hot wallet always remains hot regardless of what you do with it afterwards. Its origins will never change. Bitcoins101 is also correct when he says that importing such a seed into a hardware wallet can potentially decrease your security. Each time you replicate your seed across multiple software, you increase the attack vector. You now have two pieces of software that hold your seed instead of just one. Open-source or not, you now have to trust two companies or groups of developers that they did a good job with securing their products so your seed doesn't leak and end up in someone else's hand. Import the same seed into a third software and this number increases to three, and so forth.

[hawer357]

Thank you very much for all of the comments. I think I've understood the relevancy of how to handle the seed for a wallet. Keeping it isolated and not using it on multiple instances.

I've created a new seed on my cold wallet and transferred the coins to the new one. Now, the biggest question is where to safely store/hide the seed.

[SFR10]

I've created a new seed on my cold wallet and transferred the coins to the new one. Now, the biggest question is where to safely store/hide the seed.

None of us can accurately answer that for you, but ideally, you should pick a place that's not easily accessible to other people ^{[e.g. a robber]} or a location that generally doesn't attract any attention.
^{Note: Make sure it's offline and you have multiple backups (I've lost a few in the past due to my bad memory) and the manner in which you make those backups is important too (e.g. metal backups).}