What is a Bitcoin Paper Wallet?

A bitcoin paper wallet is just the Bitcoin private key printed on a piece of paper.

Although paper is one particular medium of holding the private key there are other companies that have incorporated them into physical coins, such as Casascius.

Paper wallets are a form of cold wallet and essentially a bearer instrument – whoever holds them has access to both the Bitcoin private key and therefore the address.

So you could actually hand the wallet to someone in lieu of payment – they would have to trust that you didn’t have another copy of it though and wouldn’t run off and spend the balance before they could.

The private key creates the public key, which in turn creates the address – and due to some clever mathematics using elliptic curves and modular arithmetic in finite fields the process is achieved. First though let’s remind ourselves of the process.

One form of standard paper wallet is from bitaddress.org – the private address is generated using a client side javascript tool that calculated the address too. The format the wallet is presented in is with two QR codes and two numbers – the Bitcoin address in standard base-58 format and the private bitcoin key in the Wallet import Format or WIF.

They also give you the opportunity to make gift cards that have an amount stamped on them making them a form of note.

You can store this away in a vault – there is then no chance apart from through physical theft that your Bitcoins can be stolen from this address.

There are also various physical coins that come with various forms of tamper proof security. Casascius is probably the most famous of these, although in late 2013 they were stopped from selling loaded coins i.e coins containing Bitcoins – FinCen had classified them as a money transmitting business.

There are other coin producers such as Antana, Alitin and Titan Bitcoin who all provide various forms of bearer bitcoins.

One example of where the perils of a paper wallet can be seen is when a tv presenter showed his QR code for the private key live on television.

The private key was quickly used to spend the money in the Bitcoin address although later returned to the owner. Keep your private key safe!

Paper wallet

In the most specific sense, a paper wallet is a document containing all of the data necessary to generate any number of Bitcoin private keys, forming a wallet of keys. However, people often use the term to mean any way of storing bitcoins offline as a physical document. This second definition also includes paper keys and redeemable codes. A paper key is a single key written on paper that is used multiple times like a wallet (this is strongly discouraged). A redeemable code is a single key intended to be funded and "redeemed" only once: these are commonly used for gifts and as part of physical Bitcoin coins/notes.

Storing bitcoins on paper wallets is not safe unless very strict security precautions are undertaken during their initial preparation. (See below.)

Security overview

Generating paper wallets is not recommended from an online PC. Malware malware on the PC may be able to steal your paper wallet keys.

Even if you generate paper wallets securely, they are still vulnerable to loss and theft.

Unencrypted paper wallets must be kept safe like jewels or cash.

For additional security paper wallets can be split into shares, requiring X of Y shares (e.g., 3 out of 5) to reassemble the secret key.

Tips and gifts

By creating a keypair, one can store bitcoins on a physical medium to be left as a tip or a gift. The recipient then sweeps the private key to their own wallet.

Physical tokens

A trusted provider can hide the private key inside a tamper-resistant token, and issue them as a form of bitcoins. This requires those who accept it as payment to trust that when the provider produced the tokens, they loaded them with the correct amount of bitcoins, and that they have not been tampered with since then. To redeem the bitcoin value, the token must be destroyed to access the private key. Often a bitcoin address is embedded on the outside visible, but there is no guarantee (without destroying the token) that this matches the private key inside, or, even if it does, that the private key is not replicated on multiple tokens or saved by the producer.

Proper paper wallets are often a very secure way of storing bitcoins, since they are not typically exposed to malware. They can also be easily stored securely in safes and safe deposit boxes. However, it may be more difficult to securely "backup" paper wallets, and due to the current sub-optimal software support, it may be easier to make a mistake that causes loss of bitcoins.

Sometimes people try to use single keys as true bitcoin wallets. However address reuse is very bad for privacy and security. Because of this, one is forced to choose between hazardous options:

Use the key only once to receive, and only once to send the full amount. This requires the user to know the full amount he wants to store in advance, and often leads to the next situation:
Create multiple keys. By using more than one key, the user can receive more than once using a different address each time, including using new addresses for change. This is very complicated, and makes it easy to accidentally reuse addresses, produce the wrong change/fee combination, lose some keys, spend hours searching for the right key, etc. Not even skilled bitcoin experts are comfortable managing their own keys manually like this.

Therefore, it is highly recommended that you use proper paper wallets which allow you to generate an infinite number of addresses from a single seed.

Encoding/formatting

Proper, multi-key paper wallets usually take the form of a multi-word HD wallet seed mnemonic. The list of several words corresponds to some binary data that is used to generate all of the addresses. Words are used to make it easier to avoid and correct errors. Trying to memorize an entire seed mnemonic is very difficult and is generally not recommended.

A single key (for use in insecure single-key paper wallets or redeemable codes) can be represented in several formats, but typically the Wallet Import Format (WIF) is used, since keys represented that way are very short (51 characters) and thus easy to re-enter when importing or "sweeping" it for withdrawal.

Creation of a paper wallet

Generation of secure keys

The private seed is used to prove your right to spend the bitcoins transferred to the paper wallet, and as such should be kept hidden and secret. If the private seed on a paper wallet is exposed (for example in a photograph) then the wallet may be used by anyone who sees it. To guard against accidental revelation, the private key displayed on the paper wallet may be encrypted or split into several different parts (for example using Shamir's secret sharing scheme). At the very least, the private key should be well hidden e.g. by folding the wallet in half and sealing it shut.

Currently, at least Armory and Electrum support generating mnemonic codes for their wallets, which can be written down or printed to make a multi-key paper wallet.

Several tools exist for producing single keys, including Bitcoin Address Utility, vanitygen, and Cwallet. Again, using single keys for anything except one-time transfers of bitcoins is strongly discouraged.

Web-based key generators

Some websites feature free open-source client-side keypair/wallet generators written in JavaScript. Keypairs/wallets generated by JavaScript or using websites are inherently weak and insecure, and unless the code of the website is audited every time it is used, it may leak the generated keys back to the server—especially if un-audited Javascript is downloaded and run locally. Even with careful code auditing, browser plugins or other websites may compromise the environment.

Recommendations

Disconnecting from the Internet guarantees that that the paper wallet generator is truly self-contained and isn't transmitting your keys online.
Verifying the integrity of the code (and the trustworthiness of the author) is important to make sure a hacker hasn't modified the download so that it generates predictable seeds instead of truly random ones.
Remember, spyware and viruses often attempt to monitor your computer activities so that their authors can steal from you. They are interested in passwords to online accounts, and anything of value. Bitcoin wallets are something of value that have already been targeted by malware. If your computer is infected with spyware or viruses - even if there are no symptoms, or your antivirus isn't reporting anything - then anything you type, view, or save on your computer, could potentially be stolen by someone remotely controlling your computer. Your private seed can then be intercepted while you enter it, so only enter a Bitcoin private seed into your computer when you are certain it is secure (such as a fresh boot of a LiveCD).
The wallet should never be saved to a computer hard drive or sent via email or other network connections. You should also never scan/type your key into your computer, except at the moment you are using it.
If possible, the wallet should be kept hidden, for example by using BIP38 encryption (single keys only), and/or by folding the paper to hide the private key so that a photograph or photocopy of it will not reveal or replicate the private key.
A web-based generator should not be used.
A generator should use an appropriate source of random numbers (entropy). This means that the generated keys aren't predictable. If the addresses come from a predictable or partially-predictable patterns like pseudorandom numbers [1] , someone else who can predict the pattern can steal the balance. Randomness should NEVER be human generated, as the human brain is incapable of secure entropy.
Remember that unlike wallets (paper or otherwise), a single paper key is only good to receive a single payment, and must be redeemed in its entirety.

Printer Security

Some advanced printers have internal storage (even hard drives) that preserve copies of printouts. This is a risk if someone gets access to your printer, or if you dispose of your printer. There is also the possibility that a smart enough printer can be hacked. (Consider StuxNet which was able to rewrite the firmware of non-computer devices indirectly connected to the Internet) If this concerns you, use a "dumb" printer, and never let your printer have access to the Internet or to an Internet-connected computer.

Handwriting

An alternative using a printer for paper wallets is to write the private key and address with your own hand. Base58Check encoding used for Bitcoin addresses and private keys specifically excludes characters that look similar like 0OIl. The mnemonic recovery seeds used by wallets like Armory and Electrum are also suitable to be written by hand.

Redeeming Keys and Withdrawing Funds

This section applies only to single-key paper "wallets".

Paper keys, when used as wallets, are very different from wallets such as Bitcoin Core in that there is only one address in a paper key rather than a hundred or more online keys that are managed with full software assistance from Bitcoin Core.

There are various methods for copying the private key data to other wallets.

bitcoind supports an "importprivkey" RPC method for this purpose.
Bitcoin-Qt's debug console can also be used in a similar way (see also How to import private keys in Bitcoin Core 0.7+).
BlockChain.info and Armory can also import them directly into wallets.
Mycelium is a Android mobile wallet with an easy to use "cold storage" spending function. It is also available via Android and iTunes playstore. The iTunes version may not yet support cold storage spending.

Note that importing a private key that may be compromised can result in the entire wallet becoming insecure. For this reason, sweeping (or sending the entire amount to a fresh address) is generally recommended over plain importing.

Privacy Issues

Because paper wallets only record the private key and address, wallet software which redeems the bitcoins must somehow learn about the balance of the wallet before being able to spend it. The solution with the best privacy properties is to import the private key into bitcoin-qt and rescanning. Nobody watching the bitcoin-qt full node from outside will be able to tell which address it's interested in because all the scanning happens locally on disk.

Unfortunately rescanning is quite slow, so most users are pushed towards using public blockchain explorers or Electrum servers. These centralized services can spy on the user and learn exactly how many bitcoins they have and when/where they spend them. An address database created from all bitcoin addresses is nearly 1 terrabyte in size at of April 2017 and takes a long time to build up, so very few people will have this kind of thing locally for the few occasions when they redeem paper wallets. Almost all wallet software today especially smartphone wallets relies on centralized lookups when redeeming paper wallets.

This is another reason paper wallets are not recommended, the way that they function pushes people to ruin their own privacy.

How to Create a Bitcoin Paper Wallet or Paper Bill

Bitcoin might be digital but it’s equally suited to being stored and shared in the analogue world. Whether you’re looking for a way to safely store your coins, to issue paper bills that are made out to a specific bitcoin address and amount, paper is your friend. A printer and a little know-how is all it takes.

Why Create a Paper Wallet?

Exchange accounts can be hacked, mobile wallets breached, and smartphones lost, stolen or destroyed. But paper? It’s impervious to all digital attack vectors. It’s not foolproof – fire, water damage, or theft can still take their toll – but if you’re careful where you stash your paper wallet, it’s one on the safest ways to store cryptocurrency. Be it as a backup of an existing hardware, mobile or desktop wallet, or as a standalone wallet that exists solely offline, paper is perfect.

The ultimate form of cold storage, a paper wallet simply consists of a printout of the private and public keys to your address. (These can even be handwritten if you don’t trust printers or have access to one). Suffice to say that while the public key can be shared so that others can send you coins, you shouldn’t share your private key with anyone. Thus, once you’ve printed your wallet, you need to store it somewhere only your eyes can view it. That could be a safe, a bank vault or a sly hiding place in your home.

If you’re ultra cautious, you can even split your paper wallet into parts and store it in separate locations. Not much use if you’re a day trader, admittedly, but if you’re a hodler for life, a distributed paper wallet (with at least one duplicate to ensure redundancy) is about as safe as cold storage gets.

How to Make a Paper Wallet

There are numerous websites that allow you to create a paper wallet in seconds before printing it off. Choose a favorably reviewed site whose code is open sourced to prevent the sort of scams that are all too prevalent in the crypto space. Examples of paper wallet generating sites include the following:

Bitaddress.org : A simple but effective open source Javascript wallet generator. Select the BTC wallet type you’d like, generate some entropy, choose how many addresses you want and hit “Print”. You can also create vanity, bulk, split, and brain wallets.

Bitcoin.com : The tools section of Bitcoin.com allows you to create a bitcoin cash paper wallet just like the BTC example described above. Bitcoin.com’s paper wallet generator, like all of the sites listed here, does not store knowledge of your private key.

Bitcoinpaperwallet.com : A self-explanatory site that allows you to create BTC and BCH paper wallets. There’s a useful section on paper wallet security tips and you can order tamper-proof holographic stickers for creating your own folding paper wallet. When it comes to print out your wallet, the sensitive details – namely the private key and QR code – are securely taped shut and sealed with a sticker. That way, you know that no one’s accessed your paper wallet and peeked at your private key.

How to Make a Bitcoin Paper Bill

Making a paper wallet containing your private key is fine for your own purposes, but what if you want to share your BTC address with others? In that case you only need to print your bitcoin address and QR code. Sites such as Gobitcoin.io will allow you to enter your BTC address, generate a QR code and even specify an amount. If you charge a fixed 0.05 BTC for a service, for example, you can hand people a QR code they can scan with that amount pre-entered. All they have to do is scan the QR code and hit send. Other sites will let you create QR codes for bitcoin cash and loads of other cryptocurrencies.

Versatile and ultra-secure, paper wallets are one of the smartest ways to keep your crypto. Create it, print it, and then stash it in a very safe place.

Do you use cold storage to secure your bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.

bitcoinpaperwallet.com

Store bitcoins on your own tamper-resistant paper wallet

Tamper-evident stickers and the bootable CD are now 10% off. Plus, every order includes FREE SHIPPING to anywhere in the world, and a free limited edition sticker.
Order here »

Make Paper Wallets to Keep Your Bitcoin Addresses Safe.

For long-term storage of bitcoins (or giving as gifts) it's not safe to store your bitcoins in an exchange or online wallet. These types of sites are regularly hacked. Even keeping a live wallet on your own computer can be risky.

Be your own bank.

By printing out your own tamper-resistant bitcoin wallets and generating your own addresses, you can minimize your exposure to hackers as well as untrustworthy people in your home or office. Just transfer your bitcoins into your new wallets, and use common sense to keep your wallets safe the way you would jewels and ordinary cash. Or give them away!

"Bitcoin Cash" Paper Wallets

In August 2017, the Bitcoin blockchain "forked" creating a new digital currency called Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Paper wallets generated on this site are fully compatible with Bitcoin Cash. A special design is available to make it easy to identify Bitcoin Cash paper wallets.

Click here to try out the Bitcoin Cash paper wallet generator.

What's special about this design?

But first read everything on this page since you should take some precautions to make sure your new wallets are secure.

NEW: Litecoin & Dogecoin paper wallets, too!

Video: How to make a paper bitcoin wallet

Why trust this site?

This generator is based on BitAddress.org, the well established and most trustworthy open-source engine for generating addresses using your own browser's JavaScript engine. No crypto-code is run on this web server, and no addresses are transmitted over the Internet. BIP-38 encryption is fully supported as well. If you don't trust this service (or pseudorandom number generators in general) this wallet service lets you roll dice, shuffle cards, or supply your own "vanity keys". To be more secure, you should download this wallet generator from GitHub and run it offline, or even boot from this Ubuntu CD.

Canton Becker—who started this service in 2013—is easily reached for questions, Bitcoin business consultation, or custom designs at:

Wallets come in 12 different languages, as well as special Christmas and "red envelope" / Chinese New Year designs. Here's a PDF template for making an envelope for giving away Bitcoin for the holidays.

1. Tri-Fold Template

This bitcoin key generator guides you to print both a front side and a back side for your paper wallet. All sensitive details on the front side (the private key and QR code) are folded up and securely taped shut so as to stay hidden. For additional security, you can seal your wallets with the tamper-evident serialized hologram stickers available for purchase on this site—though any sufficiently opaque (light-blocking) tape will work fine.

2. Tamper Resistant

One risk with a paper wallet is that someone with physical access to your wallet may "sneak a peek" at the private key and withdraw your funds without your knowledge. This wallet's folding design and obfuscating security patterns resist "candling" -- the process of shining a bright light through the paper to reveal what's printed inside. Serialized tamper-evident hologram stickers destory themselves when removed, preventing stickers from being replaced with new ones.

3. Perfect for Giving

Want to give bitcoins to someone who isn't tech-savvy? Need to send bitcoins by mail? Use a pre-loaded paper wallet. The sealed-shut folded design helps to ensure that the recipient won't accidentally reveal the private key. For recipients unfamiliar with bitcoin, the reverse side of the wallet has printed instructions for checking the wallet balance and withdrawing funds.

Order Paper Wallet Supplies

Use this form to purchase tamper-evident holographic stickers with serial numbers, zip-sealing bags made specifically for this folding wallet design, or a bootable CD for making paper wallets offline.

Once shipped, USA orders take about 4 business days to arrive. Orders to the EU & Australia usually take 10 business days. Mailing to certain countries (e.g. Russia, Estonia, Brazil) can take significantly longer.

All orders include a free large vinyl 'bitcoin' sticker for your car, laptop, or crypto-evangelism activities.

Please complete all *Required fields above.

What can I get?

1) Tamper-evident serialized hologram stickers, silver and gold.
2) Ubuntu LiveCD with the wallet generator pre-installed. It will boot on almost any computer with an optical drive, whether you're using a Mac or PC.
3) A limited edition high-quality vinyl Bitcoin sticker for your laptop or car -- free with every order.
4) Zip-sealing bags, perfectly sized for this design.

Hologram stickers come in silver and gold tints, and feature unique serial numbers printed in pairs. You can also order a customized Ubuntu "LiveCD" with the generator pre-installed -- by far the easiest and safest way to print out secure wallets. All orders include free first-class shipping, plus one free zip-sealing bag and a high quality 3.5 inch vinyl 'bitcoin' sticker for your car or laptop.

Serial numbers (e.g. 002505) are laser-eteched in pairs directly onto the stickers.

Oooooh, rainbows!

The shiny hologram tape used to seal up the paper wallets you see on this site isn't just for good looks. It's "tamper-evident" tape that provides a deterrent to a significant group of would-be thieves: someone in your trusted environment (home, work) who might be motivated to steal your coins if you were unlikely to notice the withdrawal until checking your balance online.

The holographic design on this tape is irreversibly damaged as soon as the tape is lifted from the paper, no matter how carefully it is replaced.
Unique serial numbers (printed in pairs) guard against merely replacing old stickers with brand new stickers
The reflective quality of the tape protects against "candling" -- using a super-bright light source (like a laser) to see the private key through the folds.

Secure Wallet Generation & Safekeeping

Helpful tips organized in ascending degrees of paranoia

Keeping it Safe

The biggest threat to your wallet isn't an evil WiFi packet-sniffing robot. Your worst enemy is water. If you have access to a laser printer, use it—because laser printers melt waterproof plastic (toner) onto paper instead of using ink. When using an inkjet printer, consider storing your wallet in a zip-sealing plastic bag (like those sold on this site) or printing on waterproof paper, or treating the paper with a clear coat spray like Krylon "Preserve It".

tldr: Treat a paper wallet like cash. If you lose it or if it becomes illegible, the coins are gone forever.

Even the condensation from the outside of a glass set on top of an inkjet print can destroy it.
Here's what a tiny bit of water will do to an inkjet-printed wallet:

Withdrawing Funds

The private key on this wallet is recorded in typical "Wallet Import Format" (WIF). Many online services (e.g. blockchain.info, coinbase.com) will let you import or "sweep" your paper wallet using this key. Plan on importing your entire balance. Afterwards, discontinue using the paper wallet—as if you were breaking open a piggy bank. If you try to spend or withdraw only a portion of your funds, you risk losing the remaining balance forever.
How to import paper wallets »

tldr: Add funds to your wallet as often as you like, but withdraw them all at once—otherwise your balance may disappear forever.

Going Offline

Your wallet may be vulnerable to prying eyes when you are generating the keys and printing them out. Although the wallet generator on this website is SSL-encrypted, it's still possible for someone to be snooping on you. (For example, your computer might have malware that broadcasts your screen to a remote location.) The most important safety measure is to go offline and run the javascript wallet generator on your own computer instead of this website.
Here's how »

tldr: Download the ZIP file or get the Ubuntu LiveCD and run the wallet generator with your Internet connection turned off.

How to run this wallet generator offline

You can order the Ubuntu LiveCD from this site (which comes with the wallet generator securely pre-installed)

Download the wallet generator from GitHub as a ZIP file to your computer.
Turn off your Internet connection. (Power off the modem!)
Extract the ZIP file and drag the HTML file inside of it onto Safari, Firefox, or Chrome (not Intenet Explorer.)
Print out your wallet(s).
Reboot your computer and power cycle your printer before going back online.

https://github.com/cantonbecker/bitcoinpaperwallet

Destroying Cache Files

The problem with printing out secure documents—even if your computer is 100% virus/trojan free—is that your printer driver and/or operating system may be keeping copies of the documents you print in some sort of "spool" or print queue. If a hacker or virus gets into your computer and knows to look for these cache files, then they can get your private keys and "sweep" your wallets. Here are some tips on how to securely delete your printer "spool" files.

tldr: Learn how to delete your printer cache files after printing secure documents.

How to delete pesky printer cache files

Enable 'FileVault' to encrypt your filesystem so that cache files cannot be 'undeleted'.
Set up a symbolic link from /private/var/spool/cups/cache/ to a removable media volume (e.g. a SD card) and disconnect it when not in use.

Use an encrypted filesystem so that your cache files cannot be 'undeleted'.
Read this FAQ on how to change the destination of your cache (spool) files to removable media.

Use a live-boot CD instead of a regular hard drive OS install. This way when you reboot your computer, all cache files are deleted from memory and no jobs are ever written to disk.

Hey, do you know much about printer spools on your operating system? I need your help for this section! canton@gmail.com

Using a Clean OS

If you've got loads of applications on your computer, or if you use your computer for "risky behavior" (like installing freeware or visiting java / flash websites) consider dedicating a computer (or at least a bootable partition / thumbdrive / "live CD") for paper wallet printing. Never take that install online. Transfer the wallet generator ZIP file from GitHub to your clean OS using a thumbdrive or other non-networked method.

tldr: Run the wallet generator on a dedicated offline computer / OS.

Using a Dumb Printer

Some advanced printers have internal storage (even hard drives) that preserve copies of printouts. This is a risk if someone gets access to your printer, or if you dispose of your printer. There is also the possibility that a smart enough printer can be hacked. This isn't quite tinfoil-hat level paranoia, as we've seen examples in the wild of viruses that rewrite the firmware of non-computer devices indirectly connected to the Internet. If this concerns you, don't use a fancy printer, and never let your printer have access to the Internet or to an Internet-connected computer.

tldr: Smart printers save copies of what they print and may be vulnerable to super-smart viruses. Use a dumb offline printer whose firmware can't be reprogrammed.

Overwhelmed? Scared silly?

There's no need to follow all of these precautions. If you're just generating some give-away wallets for fun or to store small amounts of bitcoin, relax. Just use the online wallet generator on a trusted computer over a secure Internet connection. For storing larger amounts, follow as many of these security precautions as you can.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Did You Make This?

I love Bitcoin. I love how it's elegant, functional, philosophical, and radical.

Unfortunately, for folks not steeped in cypherpunk ideology and network security, bitcoins are hard to understand, hard to purchase, and hard to keep safe. The primary purpose of this site is to make it easier to keep your coins safe once you've gone through the hard work of acquiring some.

The secondary purpose of this site is to encourage you to expand the understanding and acceptance of Bitcoin by loading up and giving away these beautiful and fairly idiot-proof paper wallets.

Hey, here's a couple bitcoins. Keep this paper somewhere safe for now, because some day it might be worth a whole lot and you can buy yourself something nice. Enjoy!

About the Author

Canton Becker has been making web sites and programming database-driven web applications since 1993. Before that, he worked on "Gopherspace" — the predecessor to the World Wide Web.

In 1995, he co-founded Rocket Network, an online music collaboration application whose development brought in US$40M of investment from Paul Allen, Cisco and other generous tech pioneers.

Since exiting the company in 2000, Canton works one-on-one with small businesses and non-profits to build beautiful and intuitive websites. And he obsesses constantly about Bitcoin.

This site benefits from "standing on the shoulders of giants"—in this case the superb work of bitaddress.org, whose code does the key generation and QR code rendering at the heart of this wallet generator.

Also, thanks to Artiom Chilaru of flexlabs.org for the excellent BIP38 implementation, and to Martin Ankerl for the algorithmic 'guilloche' background pattern generator.

Donations to encourage this project are warmly welcomed. Thank you!

Donate bitcoin, because you have some.
1Pjg628vjMLBvADrPHsthtzKiryM2y46DG

You can also add a donation when you order hologram stickers.

Donate using PayPal / USD / Euro, because you're oldschool.

© Copyright 2014 by Canton Becker. The text on this page is released and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0, which means that you are free to distribute, use and modify it for any personal or commercial purpose provided that you include an obvious link back to bitcoinpaperwallet.com. The Bitcoin Paper Wallet software (HTML and Javascript) may be modified and redistributed according to the MIT and GPL licenses described in the source code. The bitcoinpaperwallet.com logo, hologram sticker design, and folding wallet design are copyrighted and may not be replicated or used without permission except for personal use.

How to Create a 99.9% Secure Bitcoin Paper Wallet

Last updated on January 2nd, 2018 at 12:00 am

What is a Bitcoin paper wallet ?

Some people would prefer keeping their private key offline in what is known as Cold Storage. This means that instead of saving that long series of characters known as a private key on their computer they rather print it out and save the paper somewhere safe – hence a paper wallet. Usually this process will be done for the purpose of storing large amounts of Bitcoin since it’s consider safer.

How do I create a non secure paper wallet

Creating a paper wallet is pretty easy, the trick is to secure it correctly. In order to create a NON SECURE paper wallet just head over to BitAddress, create a private key, then choose “Paper Wallet” and print out the results. Your Bitcoins can then be stored through the public address on the left.

Why is this considered non secure ?

First of all you’re connected to the web while doing this, this means that someone may have the ability to see what’s going on on your screen.

Second, if someone was able to hack BitAddress for example, he can collect all of the private keys that people create on the site.

Last but not least, if you’re using Windows you may have been subjected to Malware which you are unaware of. This may put your private key at risk as people may be monitoring your actions.

How to create a SECURE paper wallet

If you’re really serious about safeguarding your Bitcoins you have to make sure you create a secure paper wallet. This process is a bit tedious but is worth the effort.

Why is this process considered secured ?

1. You’re not connected to the Internet while producing your private key.

2. You’re using an “out of the box” operating system which is less prone to Malware.

3. You are using an offline version of BitAddress so no one can “hack” this site.

Download the necessary tools

Step 1 – Install Ubuntu on your flash drive

IMPORTANT: This step will erase everything you have on the flash drive.

Open up LiLi and insert your flash drive.
Make sure you’ve selected the correct drive (click refresh if drive isn’t showing).
Choose “ISO/IMG/ZIP” and select the Ubuntu ISO file you’ve downloaded in the previous step.
Make sure only “Format the key in FAT32” is selected.
Click the lightning bolt to start the format and installation process

After the process finished unzip the BitAdrress file you’ve downloaded in the previous step and copy it into your flash drive as well.

Step 2 – Disconnect your computer from the Internet

At this point you would want to disconnect your computer from the Internet whether it’s Wi-Fi or a LAN connection. Make sure there’s no way remote access can be granted to the computer. When finished make sure you are still able to print a test page so you’ll know your printer is good to go.

Step 3 – Run your computer using Ubuntu from your flash drive

By clicking F12 or F1 on computer load you will be able to choose to run your operating system from your flash drive.

After the Ubuntu operating system load you will choose the “try Ubunto” option.

Step 4 – Setup a printer on the Ubuntu operating system

At this point you will want to set up your printer on the Ubuntu OS:

Click on System Settings (a monkey wrench and cog wheel icon)
Click on “Printers”
Click on “Add”
Add your printer
Print out a test page

Step 5 – Open BitAddress and print your new paper wallet

The final step will be to open the copy you have of BitAddress.org and create you own paper wallet locally on your machine.

Open private browsing in FireFox (right click -> “Open a New Private Window”)
Type in the following in the address bar: file://cdrom/bitaddress.org-master/
Click on the link “BitAddress.org.html”

Create your paper wallet by moving the cursor around until the number on the top right reaches 0
Choose “Paper Wallet” from the menu
Print out your paper wallet

You can now load your paper wallet by using the public address on the left side.

How to Make a Paper Bitcoin Wallet

Last updated: 29th January 2018

A bitcoin paper wallet is simply a public and private key printed together. It is an offline wallet, and is usually regarded as a type of "cold storage" (extra-secure storage that does not make contact with the hackable internet), although it has some important differences that make its presence in that category debatable (more on this further down).

As the name suggests, paper wallets are usually made out of paper, although technically they could also be made of plastic or any other substance on which information can be durably printed.

via bitaddress.org

What is printed on the paper wallet are the private and public keys, usually in QR form, with the latter also serving as the address. You could just copy and paste the keys onto a text document and print that out (erasing the copy on the computer afterwards). Or you could use one of the free web services that generate the printable wallet for you. The key generation is usually done in your browser, so they are never transmitted on the internet. To be safe, you should clear your browser after printing. And never store an image of the paper wallet on your computer or phone.

Some paper wallet services have a nifty design that you can cut, fold and seal, making them a lightweight and relatively secure form of storing bitcoin offline. You send your bitcoin to the public address displayed on the wallet, and then store it in a secure place.

What makes paper wallets secure is that they are totally offline (generally known as "cold storage"). They are not within the reach of hackers, and your bitcoin are never trusted to a third party. As long as the paper wallet is secure, your holdings are secure.

But, therein lies the relative lack of security. Someone could find your hiding place, take your printout, spend all the bitcoin associated with those keys, and return the paper, so you would never know.

A more secure version would involve folding the paper so that the private key is hidden from sight, taping the fold with a seal that can't be broken and replaced (just search for "tamper evident seals," there are many different providers and models), and making sure that the private key cannot be seen even if the folded paper is held up to the light.

via bitcoinpaperwallet.com

Even that is not particularly secure. What if the folder, drawer or box that you keep it in floods?

Sure, it's unlikely, but when you're securing a lot of bitcoin, it pays to think of worst case scenarios (and hey, what with climate change and all…). So, a tightly-sealed plastic bag would help.

How do you protect a paper wallet from fire? I have no idea. Keep it in the freezer? (That definitely would be "cold storage," he he.)

Also, paper itself is not the most durable of substances. Apart from the obvious risks of fire or water damage, the ink could fade with time, making the keys unreadable. No readable keys, no bitcoin.

Even with paper wallets, you can check your balance at any time using blockchain.info (just type your public key into the search box). And most online wallets allow you to import your paper wallet data. To spend those bitcoin, you will be asked to type in the private key information, or scan the private key QR code (sometimes called the "spend" QR code).

Some good paper wallet generators:

Bitaddress.org and Walletgenerator.net are open-source random address and key generators that uses your browser's JavaScript engine, so no keys are sent over the internet. And moving your mouse around to create entropy and mix up the characters even more is fun. That random sequence is then used to generate your public and private keys, which are displayed on the next screen for printing.

Bitcoinpaperwallet.org will create a printout of a colourful paper wallet, with the appropriate fold lines, and will sell you tamper-evident stickers for sealing it shut.

Mycelium offers an original and even more secure way to generate paper wallets, with a USB dongle that you plug directly into your printer. The device generates a paper wallet that automatically gets printed out, without ever having touched your computer.

(Note: specific businesses mentioned here are not the only options available, and should not be taken as a recommendation.)

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Repair the Yahoo Search App.

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We can go to www.yahoo.com and search for any topic or website. It's just the Yahoo Search App that won't allow anyone to do web searches at all.

I let Google know that the Yahoo Search App installed from their Google Play Store had completely stopped working on May 18, 2018.

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www.att.com.

WEBPAGE NOT AVAILABLE
This webpage at gttp://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geJGq8BbkrgALEMMITE5jylu=X3oDMTEzcTjdWsyBGNvbG8DYmyxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDTkFQUEMwxzEEc2VjA3NylRo=10/Ru=https%3a%2f%2fwww.att.att.com%2f/Rk=2/Es=plkGNRAB61_XKqFjTEN7J8cXA-
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I tried to search for things like www.homedepot.com. The same thing happened. It would say WEBPAGE NOT AVAILABLE. The only thing that changed were all the upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols.
Then it would again say
could not be loaded because:
net::ERR_CLEARTEXT_NOT_PERMITTED

This is the same thing that happened when Samsung and At&t tried to do any kind of searches thru the Yahoo Search App.

Yahoo needs to fix the problem with their app.

Yahoo Search App from the Google Play Store on my Samsung Galaxy S8+ phone stopped working on May 18, 2018.

I went to the Yahoo Troubleshooting page but the article that said to do a certain 8 steps to fix the problem with Yahoo Services not working and how to fix the problem. Of course they didn't work.

How to Create a 99.9% Secure Bitcoin Paper Wallet

Last updated on January 2nd, 2018 at 12:00 am

What is a Bitcoin paper wallet ?