Multiple BTC wallets for security?

[bitcoinrocks]

Is it a good idea to have multiple BTC wallets and keep your main stash in one that you don't spend directly from?  If so, I guess the idea is to avoid becoming a target when you send someone BTC because they can see how much BTC you have and at that point they possibly know a little bit about you?

[yatsey87]

Yes it's better to have a couple of wallets. Try using an online one like blockchain.info for a daily use wallet and have an offline one for your main stash. Send money to different addresses if you dont want people knowing how much money you have in that particular wallet.

[Taters]

I keep my main stash in 4 different addresses, mainly for the following reasons; (paper wallets)

- If my private key is compromised then I don't loose all my funds!
- Privacy, it's like telling someone your bank balance.

I also have a Blockchain.info account with a couple hundred or so bucks in just for everyday spending.

[bryant.coleman]

Better to have two wallets. One offline wallet and one online wallet. Use the online wallet to send funds to others, while keep most of your coins in the offline wallet (in USB stick.etc)

[Alley]

I've got 4 paper wallets in a safety deposit box. Then a small amount on coinbase I use for spending by sending to my android wallet.

[byt411]

I've got 4 paper wallets in a safety deposit box. Then a small amount on coinbase I use for spending by sending to my android wallet.

It would be even better if you kept the paper wallets in different places.

[alexrossi]

The better thing that you can do for maximum privacy is to use an address for every transaction that you will make. With a deterministic wallet isn't hard to recovery the whole bunch of used/unused address

[bitcoinrocks]

Do multiple wallets really provide any extra security or privacy though, given that someone can easily analyze the blockchain to see that one larger wallet is feeding the smaller wallet?

[byt411]

Do multiple wallets really provide any extra security or privacy though, given that someone can easily analyze the blockchain to see that one larger wallet is feeding the smaller wallet?

Simply don't reuse addresses for privacy, or mix your coins if you're really that concerned. Mixed coins are untraceable, or use Dark Wallet's DarkSend.

[bitcoinrocks]

I'm not so concerned, I'm just trying not to be stupid.  I'm wondering if going through the effort of setting up multiple wallets or using multiple addresses is worth it.  I'm wondering if it actually provides anything at all.

[keithers]

I think you should by default be keeping BTC in separate wallets. Obviously you never go into this planning to be scammed or hacked. If it does happen though for whatever reason, you will not lose your entire holdings if you have it partitioned in separate wallets.

[byt411]

I'm not so concerned, I'm just trying not to be stupid.  I'm wondering if going through the effort of setting up multiple wallets or using multiple addresses is worth it.  I'm wondering if it actually provides anything at all.

Well, if you are paranoid about all your wealth getting tracked, then you should use multiple addresses.
If not, then you don't need to at all.

[acs267]

I would do this:

1. Get a few online wallets from Blockchain, and then make a main offline wallet. Use the offline wallet via a encrypted and locked USB drive. (85% in my main, the rest in the others.)

2. Also invest in a few of the promising Altcoins like LiteCoin. The wealthy grow their wealth by investing, and their property. Do something similar with Altcoins. Keep them on the USB also.

3. Never let the USB out of my sight.

4. Invest in gold or silver, and miners.

[Meuh6879]

Is it a good idea to have multiple BTC wallets

Yes.

Every x BTC stored in BTC Wallet, store this file in secure way ... and then, create a new.

for me, every 10 BTC, i change the wallet ... more secure if you have a problem (like multiples account on multiples banks).

[keithers]

I would suggest having at least 3-4 wallets depending on how much BTC you are holding.   It should be spread across both online and offline wallets.   It can be mainly held offline if you are using BTC as a long term investment.   If you are using it as a currency, then you can obviously leave it online for convenience. 

[DeathAndTaxes]

Is it a good idea to have multiple BTC wallets and keep your main stash in one that you don't spend directly from?  If so, I guess the idea is to avoid becoming a target when you send someone BTC because they can see how much BTC you have and at that point they possibly know a little bit about you?

If you use Bitcoin "properly", that is don't reuse addresses (including always sending change to a new address) it is rather difficulty potentially impossible for someone to determine how many coins you control.   That being said having a second wallet (either digital or paper) for offline storage of coins makes sense.   I think of my daily wallet as walking around money and it is a reasonable substitute for petty cash, credit cards, checking account balance, etc.   Most people don't keep their entire fiat networth available for instant access.  Warren Buffet doesn't walk around with $40 billion in walking around money.

Personally I like the simplicity of encrypted paper wallet for offline storage.  Print multiple copies and store them in safe locations.  If my house burned down today or by safety deposit box was seized I would still be confident that I wouldn't lose my offline coins.

[bitcoinrocks]

Is it a good idea to have multiple BTC wallets and keep your main stash in one that you don't spend directly from?  If so, I guess the idea is to avoid becoming a target when you send someone BTC because they can see how much BTC you have and at that point they possibly know a little bit about you?

If you use Bitcoin "properly", that is don't reuse addresses (including always sending change to a new address) it is rather difficulty potentially impossible for someone to determine how many coins you control.   That being said having a second wallet (either digital or paper) for offline storage of coins makes sense.   I think of my daily wallet as walking around money and it is a reasonable substitute for petty cash, credit cards, checking account balance, etc.   Most people don't keep their entire fiat networth available for instant access.  Warren Buffet doesn't walk around with $40 billion in walking around money.

Personally I like the simplicity of encrypted paper wallet for offline storage.  Print multiple copies and store them in safe locations.  If my house burned down today or by safety deposit box was seized I would still be confident that I wouldn't lose my offline coins.

Can I have one private key associated with multiple addresses?  Ideally I would only have to back up one private key.  Is multibit still generally the client of choice?

[odolvlobo]

Can I have one private key associated with multiple addresses?  Ideally I would only have to back up one private key.  Is multibit still generally the client of choice?

A "deterministic" wallet uses a single value (the seed) to generate all the private keys. If you back up the seed, you can recover all the private keys. Electrum is a example of a deterministic wallet.

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Deterministic_wallet

[bitcoinrocks]

I read something about Electrum that I didn't like.  Something about it being centralized in some way?

[byt411]

I read something about Electrum that I didn't like.  Something about it being centralized in some way?

What do you mean it is "centralized"? It does rely on specific servers, since it does not download the entire blockchain.