Topic: How to sign a message?! - page 7. (Read 141318 times)

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  ??

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.

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://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/mesaj-mzalama-hacklenen-veya-calnan-hesaplar-kurtarma-surecleri-5156948 (Mesaj İmzalama - Hacklenen veya Çalınan Hesapları Kurtarma Süreçleri)

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:

For instance... something like this:

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.

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

-----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-----

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]

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


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).

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.

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:


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.

Hi and thanks for your reply.

When I initially download and set up my wallet, I did set it up as "2FA", which is 2 factor authentication I believe, and used the Google Authentication app with the QR type code. My old computer hard drive crashed and I used my 12 word seed to recover my wallet and update to to the latest version.

When I set up my wallet up on my new computer, I got a message stating that 2 factor Authentication (2FA) was turned off or not available because this wallet was recovered from seed.

Can you explain to me what I need to do to use "Legacy" or "Native Segwit" type Addresses to get this message signature thing to work?

Thanks.     

P2SH = Pay to Script Hash... These addresses will start with a "3".

As per the error message, P2SH addresses aren't necessarily created based on a single "private/public key"... Because of this, you cannot sign a message using these addresses as there is not public/private key to be able to sign the message with.


Given that you're using Electrum, I would guess that you're either using a MultiSig wallet or, more likely, a "2FA" wallet (which is a special type of multisig)... these are actually created by combining multiple keys together to create the P2SH scripts.

You need to use "Legacy" ("1"-type addresses) or Native Segwit (aka bech32 aka "bc1"-type addresses) to be able to sign messages.

Hello again,

Ok I followed everything to the letter, Wrote a specific message in that section with date and time, Inserted one of my bitcoin addresses in the the Address section, proceeded to the Signature section of my Electrum messaged and clicked Sign, got the pop up window requesting my password, I entered my password and clicked, "ok", but instead of adding the signature, I got this pop up.


"Cannot sign messages with this type of address: p2sh
Signing with an address actually means signing with the corresponding private key, and verifying with the corresponding public key. The address you have entered does not have a unique public key, so these operations cannot be performed.
The operation is undefined. Not just in Electrum, but in general."


I'm using one of my Addresses that says "receiving" just to the left of the Address. There are about 20 of them and I used one that has not been previously used before.

Also, at the bottom of the list of Address, there are 6 that say "Change" to the left of the Addresses instead of  "Receiving".

I tried one of those and got the same pop up window as before.

Am I missing something here or entering something incorrectly? I have no idea what "p2sh" means.

I'm using Electrum version 3.3.4 and have had no problems receiving 3 different deposits of bitcoin and my balance total is showing correctly.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again. 

Nowadays airdrops become with BTC adresses !!!!
I think you are "somehow" mistaken here. We are talking about how to sign a message using your BTC address within your BTC wallet.
It's almost possible to sign messages from altcoin addresses but it's not the topic here. May be you should look on how to sign a message using MetaMask or MyEtherWallet.

To sign a message, you can use any address in your Electrum wallet to do it. However, before signing a message, you should remember to back up seeds of your wallet for later recovery. It sounds ridiculous if you sign a message from a wallet that you don't have control of its seeds. Then, in worst situation (such as computer broken) the sign message has zero value for your account here.
Moreover, if you have more than one devices, I suggest you to sign at least 2 messages from two different wallets - that stored on two devices. It is the way to decentralize risks of losing wallet control from technical issues of your devices and your backups.

---

Note:
- Don't include email in your message (to avoid phishing links later)
- Place to sign your message: Stake your bitcoin address here. Please use the format in the OP of that topic.

Yes, just choose one address from the list to sign a message from it. It's a very friendly use in Electrum on sign/verify messages.

Yes, you have to copy and paste the following three elements so another user can verify it:
- Signed message.
- Address used.
- Signature.

Don't forget to add actual date to your message; it's the proof that you just did it now, not in the past. This is just a recommendation, not a must-do.

Hi Everyone,

I'm just learning about this Bitcoin Signature thing. I've read Shorena's thread tutorial from the beginning and want to go ahead and sign a message and have it verified. I'm kinda confused on which Address to use. Do I just use one from my list?  I'm using Electrum as my wallet. Also, do I just copy and paste the completed signed message from the Electrum page here?

Thanks.

Your post isn't clear. What do you mean? Do you want to change your email on this account? In that case, click on profile and go to "Account Related Setting", you will get the option to change the email.

Verified successfully your message for you :
https://brainwalletx.github.io/#verify?vrAddr=14zcFLX2vq6ZyTKysf5TDCbhC75m1rDDzV&vrMsg=This%20is%20address%20of%20roptoshambrella%20btalk%20account.%20This%20account%20can%20not%20be%20sold%20or%20handovered%20someoneelse%20without%20a%20signed%20message%20from%20this%20address.%20Date%20%3A%2022%2F01%2F2019&vrSig=IKwYPIA8UHazGZSjDMHCMfVKFGAT%2B472y9rGkoQwPOMT%2FED%2FQEpHwFPerPZXWGuvJ33IyDhdjxVYD8ahiF9EwgM%3D

Thanks for topic.
A new beginning a safe beginning

-----BEGIN BITCOIN SIGNED MESSAGE-----
This is address of roptoshambrella btalk account. This account can not be sold or handovered someoneelse without a signed message from this address. Date : 22/01/2019
-----BEGIN SIGNATURE-----
14zcFLX2vq6ZyTKysf5TDCbhC75m1rDDzV
IKwYPIA8UHazGZSjDMHCMfVKFGAT+472y9rGkoQwPOMT/ED/QEpHwFPerPZXWGuvJ33IyDhdjxVYD8ahiF9EwgM=
-----END BITCOIN SIGNED MESSAGE-----

Do you mean your personal email, your Bitcointalk account or both?

If it's only your email that has been hacked, then that is a thing to resolve between you and your email provider, although you should likely change your associated email on the account sites you access. Specifically, if you can still log into Bitcointalk, then it is probably best to change the email on your profile (for this you do not need to send a signed message unless you mess-up and end-up with a locked account). I would read through @sncc’s [Guide] Bitcointalk account security. 

If you have lost control of your Bitcointalk account, then read through Recovering hacked/lost accounts and Account recoveries are moving again.