Post
Topic
Board Bitcoin Discussion
Re: What do you use your paper wallets for?
by
exoro
on 19/06/2015, 18:02:20 UTC
I just found out that you can't withdraw a designated amount of Bitcoin from paper wallets, you can only sweep or import them.

This seems kind of weird to me. What is the point of a paper wallet if its sole purpose is to later on be swept clean of its coins? If security is an issue, wouldn't it make more sense to have a software bitcoin wallet that runs off an encrypted usb drive?


You've had some really great responses in this thread. In my view, paper wallets are inferior to the double-flashdrive approach.

Just keep your wallet.dat files on 2 drives stored in separate locations. Then, keep a bitcoin client "containing dust" fully synchronized on your machine on the ready.

Now, when you need to make a withdrawal, close the client, copy over your USB wallet.dat, reopen client and make withdrawal, then reverse the process to restore the dust wallet. Keep one flashdrive hidden and one within easy grasp.

Interesting. Would that be considered a multi signature wallet?

I just setup a wallet that I'm thinking is super-secure. Basically, I have Multibit and my wallet files/keys running off a usb drive. The drive is then encrypted using a piece of software called VeraCrypt. I'm thinking that this wallet is near impossible to crack. The password to the drive is ginormous and since Veracrypt takes about 10 seconds to verify the password is correct, it won't likely be bruteforce-able. The wallet is still easily accessible for me because I can get the usb drives password quickly using another app called 1Password.

In reference to 1Password, check this out:
http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/06/serious-os-x-and-ios-flaws-let-hackers-steal-keychain-1password-contents/

What you have described sounds reasonable otherwise. Maybe not use computer software to store your passwords.
Also make sure you have a backup somewhere else, for your USBs.
I'll keep using paperwallets in the mean time..

Damn... I'm not worried about anyone getting my usb password, since they can't use it unless they physically have it, but I have a ton of other passwords on their as well. I guess it's time to look for a better way to store passwords...