Topic: Isn't the safest way to store bitcoin Is to store it on the blockchain? (Read 1261 times)

yeah must remember to write in our wills , if we died and we never shared the private keys and password, so our btc will be useless

Not only do you still have to pass down your password from one generation to the next, but you have to pass down the information of where on the blockchain your encrypted key is too.

Encrypt wallet.
Encrypt wallet.data with GPG or similar.

use diff passwords.. and don't forget passwords.... and beware of keyloggers... Possile set it all up n fresh distro of linux.

The most secure method to store you coins is to set up a cold storage wallet using a live cd.

Storing your private keys on the blockchain? Yeah, they probably won't get lost, but they probably will get stolen that way. Also if you encrypt them and put them on the blockchain, they're only as safe as the encryption you're using is. This doesn't make sense, you'd have to store those keys, and if you can learn them by heart, they're not safe!

A private key is essentially a very secure "password" that allows you to access your bitcoins. Anyone with access to this private key has access to the bitcoins, and anyone without access to the private key does not have access to the bitcoins.

Your plan is to take this very secure "password", and encrypt it with a weaker password. Then store the encrypted private key in the blockchain.  In order to access this private key (and therefore access the bitcoins), you would need access to the password that was used to encrypt it.  How would you keep this new password safe?  How would you get this new password securely to the person 6 generations down?  How would you keep this new password secure, and get it to the right person 10k years from now?  Couldn't this new password get lost, stolen, or destroyed?  You couldn't count on any companies, coulds, or harddrives to keep track of this encryption password for you since (as you state) they could disintegrate.

Perhaps you could encrypt the password that you used to encrypt the private key, then you could store the encrypted password in the blockchain!  Oh, wait.  Now you need some way to safely store the password that you'll use to decrypt the password that you'll use to decrypt the private keys.

Perhaps you could encrypt this new password and then store it in the blockchain!  Wait.  No.  Now you need some way to safely store the password that you'll use to decrypt the password, that you'll use to decrypt the password, that you'll use to decrypt the private key.

I think I'm starting to see a problematic pattern here.  Do you?

I would never advise anyone to take a key that was made easier to remember as that would be a bad way to keep things safe as they could be easily cracked causing a lot of problems. Best way to remember your key is to either write it down and keep it safe or better yet find a way of storing it and keeping it safe.

Yeah, there is, there is that new thing called a brain, try use it.

Anything that would make private keys shorter or less random would also make them easier to crack.

Is there any works underway to make the private keys easier to remember?

I assume you were thinking about storing your encrypted private keys on the network (like in email account or dropbox) rather than blockchain, right?
It should be safe as long as your use a good encryption algo and the password is long enough.

However, I don't think you need to store your bitcoin for 10k years lol.

The Blockchain is the global ledger, not a hard drive.  Storing bitcoins on the blockchain is kind of like saying that your money is stored on the bank statements you receive in the mail each month from your banking institution.  It doesn't make sense and is a misunderstanding of what the Blockchain actually is.  

When talking about safely securing bitcoins, you're talking about securing the private keys associated with a particular public bitcoin address.  Currently, paper/physical wallets are best for securing your private keys.  Assuming you don't have the same private key information stored on your computer or mobile device, paper wallets make your bitcoins impervious to hacks and online theft.

Do you mean the site, using the online wallet?

You will never know how long they will stay around. Maybe they won't offer online wallet stuff somwhere in the future. Or maybe some evil hacker genious find a security glitch on their site and steals everyone's bitcoins.

Anyway, you'll need to store the credential details/private keys somewhere, so anyway you are back from where you started.

I've noticed that this is one of the harder concepts to grasp - no one really "possesses" a bitcoin, all you really possess is the key that controls it.

you are not technically storing your bitcoin on anywhere but the blockchain; it's always there. your private key is to access the bitcoin on the blockchain is what you need to store.

Encrypted of course. It can never get lost, stolen or destroyed.

If you want to store bitcoin for someone 6 generations down.

How else would you store bitcoin for 10k years?

Companies, clouds, hardrives will disintegrate but the block chain will always be there.

Edit: I meant storing your private keys on the blockchain