Topic: Bitcoin wallet question (Read 957 times)

You can't send without an internet connection, correct. However you can receive funds to an address without being connected to the internet. Later on, you just need to sync your wallet and you'd have all your funds displayed in the client.

Why be such a dick? Even with reading, stuff can still be confusing.  Especially if it is totally new to someone. 

No.  That is the common noob but completely wrong view of how Bitcoin works.  Don't feel back most conventional money systems work that way, but Bitcoin doesn't.


There are no coins in your wallet (there are no coins in my wallet either). "Your bitcoins" are on every single computer which has a copy of the blockchain (>100,000 at last count). But wait you might be thinking if "my coins" are on 100,000 strangers computers what prevents strangers from just spending them?  Transactions have to be SIGNED by the private key of the coins being spent.  Your wallet is really just a keychain, it holds the private keys for your address(es).  The "coins" are in the blockchain but the keys in your wallet are what gives you the exclusive ability to create new transactions "spending" them.  The blockchain is a ledger, by parsing all the transactions all nodes "know" where all the "coins" are at the current time.  When your wallet shows you have 0.25 BTC, what it really means is "parsing the blockchain I find a number of unspent outputs for which I have the private key, and the total value of those unspent outputs is 0.25 BTC". 

So to answer your question, you don't need to be online.  If someone sends Bitcoins to your address, they are signing over bitcoins they control to you.  That action is recorded in the blockchain and a copy is kept by every full node.  Now only "you" (or someone with your private keys) can sign those coins over to someone else.  Now the flip side is that if you LOSE your wallet while it may not contain any coins, it does contain the keys which are the only way those coins can ever be moved/spent.  So the coins remain in the blockchain but they can now never be moved by anyone.

I glossed over a lot of details because "Bitcoin is complicated".  If you are interested in learning how Bitcoin "really works" you should read it in the words of Satoshi.
https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf

Lol thanks. fucksakes i was just asking a question. Thanks for all the help guys..i am excited for bitcoins future..i just have a good feeling about it..

asshole

right, be connect or disconnect does not matter for bitcoin network at all.

It doesn't "go" anywhere. Your coin was always in the blockchain, regardless of if your computer is online. Your wallet is just a collection of private keys giving you ownership over certain "addresses". If an output belongs to your address in the blockchain, then your bitcoin wallet app will show you your balance. However, you still have this balance regardless of if you're online or your wallet app is synced.

I am using a SanDisk 128GB USB 2.0 with Kali Linux installed on it with Bitcore wallet.

"Do they simply bounce back because the wallet is offline?" - no address will be created so on a blockchain balance will be updated after you will send some btc into.

" Lets say i have my wallet on a USB am i able to transfer funds to that wallet application on my USB then unplug it from my computer and store it that way?"  - what kind of wallet you keep @ usb?   but if this wallet keep all data in it's folder, then yes - why not. Just make sure where your wallet data is kept.

 Read the guides you idiot. Are people too stupid to read?

For example, if i have a USB with KALI Linux installed on it..i download  bitcore on there and install it will that theoretically work?..also Lets say i sent 1BTC from coinbase to my wallet on my USB stick...and my wallet wasnt online..that 1BTC would not get to my wallet until i physically plugged my usb stick in to a online computer correct?...where does that 1BTC go in the mean time? in some time of holding space on coinbase?....thanks for all the help guys..

Yes, that's a very normal way of storing a wallet securely.  Make sure you have a backup at another location in case the USB key is damaged.


Your address will receive the bitcoins.  Your wallet doesn't need to be online.  In fact you could generate a paper wallet/brain wallet/cold storage address that has never been online and you'd still be able to receive funds there.  As long as you have the private key to the address you'll be able to claim the coins whenever you want.

I don't believe you can send coins at all if your wallet is not connected to the internet. I could be wrong, could someone else concur?

Hey guys i had a questions about my bit core wallet. Lets say i have my wallet on a USB am i able to transfer funds to that wallet application on my USB then unplug it from my computer and store it that way? Also what will happen if my wallet isnt connected to the internet and i try and send my coins to its address? Do they simply bounce back because the wallet is offline?