You should sweep a private key if someone else had access to the private key (e.g. Since sweeping involves sending a transaction (to yourself), a miner fee will be deducted from your balance.
#Import private key bitcoin core software
This is done via a Bitcoin transaction, so an internet connection is required to send out the transaction and complete the sweep.Īfter the sweep is complete, the original private key will be completely depleted of funds and all of its bitcoins will belong to a new private key in the software wallet. Sweeping a private key is the same as importing it, but with an extra step – all of the bitcoins belonging to the private key are sent to a new Bitcoin address on your software client. If someone else gave you the paper wallet, or its private key has been seen, you should sweep it instead.
You should only do an import if you generated the private key (or paper wallet) yourself and no one else has ever, or will ever, have access to it. This is because Bitcoin transactions spend the entire balance of a private key, and send any leftover change to a newly generated private key in the software wallet.įor other issues that can occur when importing a private key, read this post. If anyone else gets their hands on that paper wallet, or have already had access to its private key, they can still spend its bitcoins.Īdditionally, any bitcoins sent to the paper wallet in the future will be credited to both the paper wallet and the software wallet.Īnother important thing to keep in mind is that once any of the private key’s bitcoins are spent using the software wallet, the private key will be completely depleted of its bitcoins – Even if only a portion of its bitcoins are spent! If any bitcoins belong to the private key, they’ll now be included in your software wallet’s balance and remain assigned to that private key.įor instance, if you are importing a private key from a paper wallet, its bitcoins are now accessible via both the paper wallet and the software wallet. When you import a private key, you’re simply adding it to the collection of private keys in your software wallet. For a more detailed guide keep on reading, here’s what I’ll cover: As a rule of thumb, sweeping is more recommended than importing. Import keeps the Bitcoins on the original private key, while Sweep sends the Bitcoins to a whole new private key connected to the software wallet. Sweep and Import are ways of transferring a private key onto a software wallet. In this post, I’ll explain the difference between the two methods and what to look out for. Knowing the difference between importing and sweeping a private key is important, especially if you use paper wallets.
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