How to sign a message?!

[mjammer]

Basically, you would need to create a completely new wallet... with a completely new seed.

"File -> New\Restore -> Standard Wallet -> Create a new seed"

You can choose "SegWit" or "Legacy" during setup:
https://i.imgur.com/Yy4gGGU.png

Be aware that using Native SegWit (aka Bech32 aka "bc1") addresses *may* cause issues (as noted on the dialog) with some services and wallets (block explorers, exchanges, gambling sites etc) that do NOT as yet support "bc1" addresses

Using "Legacy" addresses means you won't have any compatibility issues, but can result in slightly "larger" transactions that may mean you pay more in transaction fees.

I've read a little about SegWit, so you're saying it's still kinda new and those addresses (Bech32 & bc1) may not be supported at certain cites, Legacy is the standard, but might result in higher transaction fees? Which one would you recommend?

I've planned on using "Replace By Fee" RBF option, so as to not have transactions get stuck or unconfirmed. I've also seen now that Electrum has a "mempool" option. Would it be better to use one or both of these in conjunction with SegWit or Legacy?

So when I create a new Electrum wallet, will I be able to transfer my bitcoin from the old one to the new one and then delete the old one, without issues? Sorry for all the noob questions, just trying to figure this thing out. I'm just kinda concerned if I download a new Electrum wallet, will it conflict or replace the old one?

Thanks again for your kind help.

[HCP]

I've read a little about SegWit, so you're saying it's still kinda new and those addresses (Bech32 & bc1) may not be supported at certain cites, Legacy is the standard, but might result in higher transaction fees? Which one would you recommend?

Personally, I'm using a "nested" SegWit (another type of "3" address) wallet... it's backwards compatible, so no issues with services saying "invalid address" etc and has most of the same SegWit benefits as "bc1"... but that doesn't help with the "signing" a message thing.

Luckily, I have an "old" wallet with Legacy addresses available... and I staked one of those. You realise there is no reason that you can't simply use a new legacy or bc1 address for anything other than simply signing a message to stake the address right? You don't HAVE to actually use it to send/receive coins... You just need to make sure that you retain the appropriate private keys (backup wallet file or seed mnemonic etc) so you can re-sign later to prove "ownership" etc. [see below]

I've planned on using "Replace By Fee" RBF option, so as to not have transactions get stuck or unconfirmed. I've also seen now that Electrum has a "mempool" option. Would it be better to use one or both of these in conjunction with SegWit or Legacy?

My advice, is always use RBF regardless of the address type... Legacy, Nested or Native SegWit... it'll save you one day when you get caught out by a massive spike in fee rates and you need to get your transaction pushed through. TBH, I don't pay much attention to the mempool/ETA thing in Electrum... as, I set fees manually after checking what is happening with fees on:
https://jochen-hoenicke.de/queue/#0,24h
and
https://btc.com/stats/unconfirmed-tx

So when I create a new Electrum wallet, will I be able to transfer my bitcoin from the old one to the new one and then delete the old one, without issues? Sorry for all the noob questions, just trying to figure this thing out. I'm just kinda concerned if I download a new Electrum wallet, will it conflict or replace the old one?

Electrum allows you to have multiple different wallet files... you can even have them all open at the same time... so you don't need to re-download or replace anything... And I certainly wouldn't delete anything.

Simply use the following menu option: "File -> New\Restore"

You'll be able to create another wallet (different name)... and you can do this as many times as you like. You just want to make sure you give each wallet a meaningful name, so you know which wallet is which... and be very careful that when copying a "receive" address, that you copy it from the correct wallet!


Ok... so having said all that, in your instance, I'd simply create a new "Legacy" wallet called something like "StakedAddress"... take the first "receive" address from this wallet, stake it and sign a message with it over in the "staked address" thread.

Then never use that wallet for anything but signing messages as required from your staked address... and you can continue to use your current wallet, until you decide which way you want to go (Legacy or SegWit etc).

[MrFreeRoMan]

-----BEGIN BITCOIN SIGNED MESSAGE-----
This is MrFreeRoMan from bitcointalk.org and today is an amazing day
2019/06/10
-----BEGIN BITCOIN SIGNATURE-----
Version: Bitcoin-qt (1.0)
Address: 1MrFreeSjoKQonYC24p3VRd8A23xKbu6eP

G2k1k2RWLgejhiVe08mEGF4Hj9v95nCtnwSToQ1c+Cg1Bld/k1LrMvDOiJst7dokSEtCY0ErTl0oP7YtM54zH/M=
-----END BITCOIN SIGNATURE-----

[Lucius]

MrFreeRoMan, you sign message from your address and you do it in proper way, but you post it in wrong board / thread. We have thread in Meta (check HCP post above yours) for posting signed message, and this is especially important if you need to prove ownership of your account. To check signed message use this link : http://brainwalletx.github.io/#verify

[HCP]

You can use any address you like... provided you have access to the private key.

Having said that, there is no real "standard" for signing using SegWit addresses at this point in time (even though Electrum will allow you to sign using Native Segwit "bc1" addresses)... so it will be easier for others to verify if you use an old legacy "1"-type address to sign with.

The generally accepted format for posting the signed message is:

Code:

-----BEGIN BITCOIN SIGNED MESSAGE-----
<This is where you put the Message, it should be dated, include your name and the reason for signing>
-----BEGIN BITCOIN SIGNATURE-----
<Address goes here>
<Generated Signature goes here>
-----END BITCOIN SIGNATURE-----

For instance... something like this:

Code:

-----BEGIN BITCOIN SIGNED MESSAGE-----
This is HCP, creating a demo signed message, todays date is 11/06/2019
-----BEGIN BITCOIN SIGNATURE-----
16qkTAUmtCdBYfXXKKGKqD8pAYtL1T5pqV
H+0dFKxjqu9Pbd3vgOKwu2s1zKI6LaTSvQ+4frC0Cg1ROKIDtn8J1Bdj0GKD1nIxvfzAGp9ODL/21nS4/02ghKE=
-----END BITCOIN SIGNATURE-----

Be careful with "newlines" and "spaces"... one extra and the signature verification will fail! If you follow this format, other people can easily verify your message here: https://brainwalletx.github.io/#verify
But it only works with "1"-type addresses. So, if you use Electrum and a "bc1" address, users cannot use brainwalletx to verify... it will only be verifiable using Electrum.


Once you have created your signed message... you should post it in the "stake your address" thread... someone will quote and verify (and possibly archive) it, so that there is a permanent record of it for future reference.

[Quite]

I'm on one of the most useful topics in the forum. Thank you for preparing this topic.

Is it possible to add the guide I prepared for Turkish users who are weak in English to the major topic?

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5156948.0 (Mesaj İmzalama - Hacklenen veya Çalınan Hesapları Kurtarma Süreçleri)

[Pacho Vladigerov]

My address is
3EfqqrABD3EBw1okT3wftjUgTnM2xeWKpx
and i have error when i try to sign message:
"The entered address does not refer to a key. Please check the address and try again"

The address is correct because I already send and receive coins with it.

[dkbit98]

Thank you for very informative topic!

My question is:
In latest updates for Ledger Nano S wallet they changed interface and removed option to sign a message.
Can anyone please tell me is there any way to do it in latest versions of Ledger Nano S  ??

[LTU_btc]

My address is
3EfqqrABD3EBw1okT3wftjUgTnM2xeWKpx
and i have error when i try to sign message:
"The entered address does not refer to a key. Please check the address and try again"

The address is correct because I already send and receive coins with it.

Your address is correct, but you can't sign a message using this address, because as I understand it's from multi-signature wallet.

[Pacho Vladigerov]

My address is
3EfqqrABD3EBw1okT3wftjUgTnM2xeWKpx
and i have error when i try to sign message:
"The entered address does not refer to a key. Please check the address and try again"

The address is correct because I already send and receive coins with it.

Your address is correct, but you can't sign a message using this address, because as I understand it's from multi-signature wallet.

Thank you

[gesrhon7]

This is George coffie and my address is
115YqcsHBZVkqGD88YaoLgSyg3XpmuvB3p
You ask me to send it for you emblem you recover  my hack account thanks very much.

[HCP]

My address is
3EfqqrABD3EBw1okT3wftjUgTnM2xeWKpx
and i have error when i try to sign message:
"The entered address does not refer to a key. Please check the address and try again"

The address is correct because I already send and receive coins with it.

Your address is correct, but you can't sign a message using this address, because as I understand it's from multi-signature wallet.

Not quite correct... it *might* be a Multi-Sig address... but it could also be a nested SegWit address. Addresses that start with a "3" are a "Pay to Script Hash" address... commonly referred to as P2SH.

As these addresses are derived from a "script", there is no private key that is paired directly with that address that can be used to sign the message.

You would need to use a "Legacy" address (starts with a "1") to be able to sign a message.

[Nnuego]

You really tried by taking much of your time to put all this together for better understand and practice. There are many things bitcointalk gat to offer to her community that we don't know about. You've been on this forum since 2013 till now,that's lovely. Thanks for the tutorial

[TheRealAwesome31312]

I have a few questions. I lost a Bitcointalk account to a hacker a while ago. People have suggested I sign a message from an old address to prove ownership, however, I'm wondering if giving away the signature will compromise my wallet's security.

What do I do after I've signed the message? Do I give away the signature, address, and message, then?

[LTU_btc]

I have a few questions. I lost a Bitcointalk account to a hacker a while ago. People have suggested I sign a message from an old address to prove ownership, however, I'm wondering if giving away the signature will compromise my wallet's security.

What do I do after I've signed the message? Do I give away the signature, address, and message, then?

No, it won't compromise your wallet's security. Signed message just will confirm that you have control of that address. Just don't share your private key.
You can read more about recovery of hacked accounts here if you haven't saw it yet:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5089777.0

[skywalker925]

This is simply for staking and marking my ownership of the address below.

Code:

-----BEGIN BITCOIN SIGNED MESSAGE-----
This is skywalker925 from bitcointalk.org and today is 2019.08.14 or as some of you might write it 08/14/2019. Time is 2:07 pm
-----BEGIN BITCOIN SIGNATURE-----
Version: Bitcoin-qt (1.0)
Address: 19EPcSbNqarpTcRYGLR1jCTa5Hh8zrGMM7

ILlfNzKYHN4KyzFOguRLbUqlIWOZR/VzK0+EVjofJLTDdIOyfPkRMSxu1R+OLD6R7XcVutjGoAFW+yuXUAS+sKA=
-----END BITCOIN SIGNATURE----- 

[TheBeardedBaby]

This is simply for staking and marking my ownership of the address below.

Code:

-----BEGIN BITCOIN SIGNED MESSAGE-----
This is skywalker925 from bitcointalk.org and today is 2019.08.14 or as some of you might write it 08/14/2019. Time is 2:07 pm
-----BEGIN BITCOIN SIGNATURE-----
Version: Bitcoin-qt (1.0)
Address: 19EPcSbNqarpTcRYGLR1jCTa5Hh8zrGMM7

ILlfNzKYHN4KyzFOguRLbUqlIWOZR/VzK0+EVjofJLTDdIOyfPkRMSxu1R+OLD6R7XcVutjGoAFW+yuXUAS+sKA=
-----END BITCOIN SIGNATURE----- 

This is a wrong place to stake an address. There is a designated thread for this so better post it here > Stake your Bitcoin address here

[crypto_trader#43xzEXrP]

Just a test verify of the signed message.

[efialtis]

Test:

Code:

-----BEGIN BITCOIN SIGNED MESSAGE-----
<This is efialtis from bitcointalk, creating a demo signed message. Today is 28/08/2019>
-----BEGIN SIGNATURE-----
<33su7w86rwrm2w2iQGCwA242sYyuoVrqde>
<H5lLtm+Oo2dMy+J39JH/PhhJnhM/T3eSItxz5g4Qm4NLBNBDX3qNi20jga4H6/Ybr56KlLtt/1e8GmpwU/87pQQ=>
-----END BITCOIN SIGNED MESSAGE-----

[HCP]

Test:

Code:

-----BEGIN BITCOIN SIGNED MESSAGE-----
<This is efialtis from bitcointalk, creating a demo signed message. Today is 28/08/2019>
-----BEGIN SIGNATURE-----
<33su7w86rwrm2w2iQGCwA242sYyuoVrqde>
<H5lLtm+Oo2dMy+J39JH/PhhJnhM/T3eSItxz5g4Qm4NLBNBDX3qNi20jga4H6/Ybr56KlLtt/1e8GmpwU/87pQQ=>
-----END BITCOIN SIGNED MESSAGE-----

Quoted, but fails to verify... Note that generally, you cannot sign messages from "P2SH" (aka "3"-type) addresses. Also, you shouldn't include the <'s and >'s... it confuses most of the verification systems.

Were you using a Trezor to sign that message? (It's one of the few systems I know of that will sign using a "3"-type address)