Topic: How long does it take for a bitcoin address to become inactive? (Read 329 times)

This is actually the first time I'm hearing this kind of problem in blockchain.info.

Anyways, Try importing your wallet in electrum. (* Please Note that, this requires you to have your recovery phrase. If you don't have it you can get it at Settings --> Security --> Wallet Recovery Phrase)

Standard Wallet --> I already have a seed --> Enter your recovery phrase --> Options --> tick the BIP39 Seed Box --> Leave the derivation unchanged --> Set a stong password

After that you should be able to see its balance at the bottom left and spend it or whatever but if its still shows 0, Check at the "Addresses tab" if the address which receives the N amount of bitcoin is really there.

P.S. There should be an option called "Move topic" at the bottom left. Rather than technical suport, I think its more fitted at the Web Wallets sub-board. If you're on the right board the odds are you will get a better response.

I read this over and over again and I've been able to capture something. The wallet address is entirely different from the private key I guess? How do I locate the private key of my blockchain wallet? I don't think I ever received that when I created a blockchain wallet but I could remember I got a private key from myetherwallet.

And the reason why I'm asking this is because I received fund that was confirmed on the blockchain network but the fund did not get into my wallet. The transaction detail is visible on the blockchain transaction link above.

I don't have a 100% understanding of what you just explained but something relates to what you refer above. On the "show script & coinbase" section of the transaction, it displays "unspent" written in red. Does that in anyway have an effect to the transaction being delivered to my wallet and how can it be resolved?

Please, I want to also know if it is possible to check list of generated wallet address in blockchain just like coinbase?

Bitcoin wallets, are just computer programs that process, data. A bitcoin wallet knows the contents of the blockchain, that shows the amount that a bitcoin address holds. If the program is inactive, the coins are held in that address forever. Only the owner of the wallet (the one who has the private keys from the address) can spend the bitcoins. Nobody else.

Could you explain why you're asking this? I'm not sure if I understand this question, but I can explain some concepts.

There are no accounts in the Bitcoin protocol. The Ethereum protocol does use accounts, but those are not like bank accounts either. For most purposes, you can act like your bitcoins exist on your computer like cash in a physical wallet, but that's not strictly true. The wallet.dat file on your computer contains the private keys to your addresses. With these private keys you can spend amounts of bitcoin that are recorded publicly on the blockchain as unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs).

This means that nothing will happen to an inactive wallet as long as you, and only you, can access your private keys. In fact, it's recommended to store them offline, either as a backup or as savings. Offline wallets can be paper wallets or devices like the Trezor, called hardware wallets.

You could have an account with an exchange website or a web wallet service. In that case, everything depends on their rules. It's like giving a valet the keys to your car. Not recommended.

Another meaning of the word ‘wallet’ is the software you use to spend and receive bitcoin, e.g. Multibit or Bitcoin Core. This needs to be updated from time to time in order to apply improvements in safety and features.

In the future, a second version of the blockchain might be split off, creating a new currency. At first, bitcoin owners will have the same amount of coins on both chains. This has never happened with Bitcoin, but some people are planning a fork, as it's called, in order to process more transactions per second.

If inactive means nobody has access to the funds, nothing.

If inactive means somebody isn't spending the funds, nothing.

If inactive means they sent a small percent of funds a month ago, nothing.

The only time the Bitcoin network has anything to do processing wise on an account or address is when a transaction is sent.

When a user is syncing to the network, they will verify all funds have a link to a previous transaction to prevent double spending.

When a transaction is sent out the account funds are verified to have correct balance and the account is checked to its previous transaction to ensure that it hasn't already been spent.

Other than this there is really no definition of an inactive account, processing only happens to verify old transactions once on synchronization, or verify transaction on accepting to memory pool, and lastly verify it when transmitted in a block.

I have no idea about bitcoin offline wallet or how to export.

The address was generated from my blockchain wallet and that is why I am most concerned because its unusual and the first time it ever happened.

How do I move this to the right trend? Moderator, any assistance?

I don't think bitcoin address will ever become inactive. Unless and until you use some online wallet providers like coinbase, any address should be active for lifetime. Wallet providers like coinbase can make your account deactivated but if you had used an offline wallet, it must not be deactivated. If you have access to your private key, please export your wallet to some other offline wallet. That should recover your funds.

Double check if the address is correct, if its is then the problem lies in your wallet's side. Mind telling us which wallet did you use?

And from what I know, Bitcoin addresses don't expire so rest assured that as long as you hold that address' private key you can access your funds.

P.S. Nothing on this post is related on the topics discussed here in Legal sub-board. This should be moved on Technical Support or your wallet's board (If any)

I was meant to receive a bitcoin payment of 0.0005 BTC, i had no access to my wallet at the moment to generate a new address so I used an address that I used to receive transaction months ago. The transaction was sent and was visible in the blockchain but did not get into my wallet. Below is the transaction detail

https://blockchain.info/tx/83ff7af47529089fca4f0d8b7b0ebabf69bb26d002f1533fdc5a9c9974944864

This means I cannot receive the bitcoin anymore so ibwant to know how long a bitcoin address is valid