Post
Topic
Board Beginners & Help
Re: understanding import/sweep blockchain
by
Harley997
on 10/06/2014, 01:09:01 UTC
I am new and I am catching onto the knowledge slowly.

I have a:
coinbase account with public key(I can't find a private key)
blockchain account with public key(I can't find a private key)
paper wallet with public and private key.

1st I thought you needed a private key to send money....why doesn't coinbase or blockchain have a private key?
2nd I want to move my paper wallet into my blockchain account so I can spend it.  If I import my key do I retain complete control over that money still?  ie. If blockchain goes bankrupt am I still in control over those monies b/c I imported vs sweeping?

Thanks.

For Coinbase: you do not control your private keys. Coinbase will use it's own private keys to sign a TX to send funds to an address that you specify assuming that you have funds available. If coinbase were to fail in some way then you would lose your funds

For Blockchain: you are in control of your private keys. If you have an email address attached to your account then you will receive a backup of your keys anytime your wallet changes. Since blockchain's wallet is open source even if blockchain were to fail/go bankrupt there could be other services that are compatible with the encrypted backups. With that being said there would probably be a lot of scams trying to steal private keys.