Question concerning cold storage (Bitcoin)

monkeydominicorobin

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Quote from: Naccamotor on October 21, 2017, 10:14:32 AM

short:
Is a wallet created on an offline computer with Electrum unique?

longer version:
I like Electrum and have used it for quite some time now. Now I wanna do this:

http://docs.electrum.org/en/latest/coldstorage.html

I did research a little (just a little sorry...) but couldn't find the answers to the questions further down. Maybe one of the pros here can answer them easily. Thanks.

Electrum can't find out if the Address it creates is already in use since I plan to never plug this computer to the internet again after downloading Electrum. So....

1. Will it for sure create a new address?
2. Are all addresses created unique? For sure?
3. Do I have to hurry to put BTC into the offline created address, before anyone else gets it in a hot wallet?

You are referring to what we call collision. If it is not a unique address and if it contains 1000 Bitcoins then you are rich. Good for you. You can always check the blockchain explorer if it is a unique address. Besides the number of address combinations available in SHA256 is equal to the number of atoms in our universe. Collisions are highly unlikely. Because so far only 18 million adresses have been created or is it 18 billion. Anyways it is a tiny fraction compared to the number of atoms in our universe. So don't let your life revolve around paranoia. There are more chances of somebody in this world having the same fingerprint as you are having than having to share the same bitcoin private keys. Reminder. Your wallet generator being offline does not translate that it will not create a unique address. That is a common misconception. Be paranoid that there could be someone out there having the same fingerprint as you possess.

bob123

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Quote from: Naccamotor on October 21, 2017, 10:14:32 AM

1. Will it for sure create a new address?

Yes, electrum will always be able to creates a new address. Electrum generates a seed from which tons of addresses can be made of.

Quote from: Naccamotor on October 21, 2017, 10:14:32 AM

2. Are all addresses created unique? For sure?

Addresses created are random. They are not unique "for sure". But the possibility of finding a private key, someone else already found are almost 0.
Meaning if every PC on this planet would create addresses 24/7.. there probably wouldnt be a collision until whole mankind dies. (Including Birthay paradox)

Quote from: Naccamotor on October 21, 2017, 10:14:32 AM

3. Do I have to hurry to put BTC into the offline created address, before anyone else gets it in a hot wallet?

Theoretically you dont have to worry. But the earlier its in your offline generated wallet.. the faster its in a "safe place".
If you are using Windows and you are browsing / reading mails on your PC.. its probably not a good idea to keep them in a normal wallet on your desktop.

HCP

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Quote from: ranochigo on October 21, 2017, 10:20:27 AM

Quote from: Naccamotor on October 21, 2017, 10:14:32 AM

2. Are all addresses created unique? For sure?

Yes.

I believe the chances of creating an address that someone else has are something like being hit by lightning while taking a crap EVERY year for 17 years... Yes, someone did the maths on this Tongue

https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.23105380
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.23155229

Quote from: DannyHamilton on October 17, 2017, 03:14:33 PM

Quote from: shield132 on October 17, 2017, 03:05:53 PM

Quote from: DannyHamilton on October 16, 2017, 02:55:43 PM

Quote from: molecular on November 03, 2012, 02:45:18 PM

"Finding a collision is about as likely as being struck by lightning while taking a crap every year for 17 years in a row".

while 0.00001% chance exist, this means that percent can be released at any time, even in some seconds and not in some million years.

And how about when 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000007% chance exists?

Please let me know when you have been "struck by lightning while taking a crap every year for 17 years in a row".

Naccamotor

newbie

Activity: 14

Merit: 0

wow that was fast

thanks

ranochigo

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Merit: 4418

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Quote from: Naccamotor on October 21, 2017, 10:14:32 AM

1. Will it for sure create a new address?

The way Electrum works is that the seed will be able to create a lot of address, likely larger than you will ever need. With each transaction, Electrum lists the used address as used and never display it again, though you can still send Bitcoins to it. Electrum will then be displaying an unused address from its keypool for you to use.

Quote from: Naccamotor on October 21, 2017, 10:14:32 AM

2. Are all addresses created unique? For sure?

Yes.

Quote from: Naccamotor on October 21, 2017, 10:14:32 AM

3. Do I have to hurry to put BTC into the offline created address, before anyone else gets it in a hot wallet?

If you have a malware in your online computer, whatever you do, you'll never win against it. If you are receiving a large amount of Bitcoins, just send it directly to your cold storage and send some out again to spend it on your online wallet.

Naccamotor

newbie

Activity: 14

Merit: 0

short:
Is a wallet created on an offline computer with Electrum unique?

longer version:
I like Electrum and have used it for quite some time now. Now I wanna do this:

http://docs.electrum.org/en/latest/coldstorage.html

I did research a little (just a little sorry...) but couldn't find the answers to the questions further down. Maybe one of the pros here can answer them easily. Thanks.

Electrum can't find out if the Address it creates is already in use since I plan to never plug this computer to the internet again after downloading Electrum. So....

1. Will it for sure create a new address?
2. Are all addresses created unique? For sure?
3. Do I have to hurry to put BTC into the offline created address, before anyone else gets it in a hot wallet?

Topic: Question concerning cold storage (Bitcoin) (Read 521 times)