There are lots of people who are afraid of using anything new for fear of difficulties and pitfalls they may come across. It is determined by general mentality and tendency to think in terms of a proverb “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. However, very often people change their point of view as soon as they get to know more about the new thing.
A Bitcoin paper wallet is a printed copy of the private and public keys of a person. Such wallets are either used for extra-safe storage of Bitcoins, or transaction conduction. Some people would surely argue that paper and ink may taint with the flow of time, not speaking about resistance to water and fire. And that is, unfortunately, true. Still, there is a plenty of ways to keep important documents secure, and that works with paper wallets as well. The only special thing about Bitcoin and its wallets is the inability to restore funds if the wallet is lost. So, if there’s a way to safely store several copies of printed public and private keys to your BTC savings in different places, make sure you do it.
How To Create Paper Wallet
- Print the Paper Wallet Open bitaddress.org and click the Paper Wallet tab. Print the page on high quality setting.
- Download the Android App If you already haven't already download the blockchain.info android app. You will need to create a new wallet or pair to an existing wallet.
- Scan the Addresses from the paper wallet Bitcoin Addresses come in two parts - public and private keys. We are going to import the public part of the address into the android app. This lets the app view the balance and transactions of an address but cannot spend the funds without scanning the private part.Open the android app click the menu button on the top bar and choose "Address Book". Again hit the menu button and select "Scan Watch Only Address" and scan the QR Codes on the paper wallet labeled "Load & Verify". Choose a label for the address if you wish.
- Receiving Coins You will now see the addresses from the paper wallet in the android app with a (Watch Only) tag. You can receive coins and view your transactions as you would with a regular address.
- Spending The Coins Click the send arrow in the top right. Click the menu button and choose "Custom Send" Set the from address field to the address on the paper wallet. Enter the recipient and amount to pay. Click Send. When prompted press ok and scan the qr code labeled "spend" from the new paper wallet.Assuming no errors your transaction will be sent instantly.
- Protection from malware and keyloggers.
- Maintain 100% ownership of your private keys. You own the coins not a 3rd party service.
- No dependence on the security of any website
- Keeping a piece of paper safe is easier than keeping your computer secure.
A paper wallet will protect you from theft, loss of electronics and obsolescence of software. The paper wallet will hold your private keys. A private key is the “secret number that allows bitcoins to be spent” (https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Private_key), as opposed to a public key, which is a not-secret (public) number that allows people to send you bitcoins.
What a unique gift rather than giving a loved one something boring such as socks or underpants, you could present them with a loaded Bitcoin or Litecoin paper wallet. Think of it as a creative idea for a birthday or Christmas present, as well as the way of “infecting” people surrounding you with Bitcoin, which from a large-scale perspective will definitely influence the Bitcoin industry in general.
Try out printing out your Bitcoin paper wallet today and feel the process of materialising digital money into paper ones. There are a lot of services providing random number tools for generating public and private keys for your paper wallet. BitcoinPaperWallet.com seems to be the most developed and popular of them, offering tri-fold templates and even paper wallet supplies, such as holographic stickers with serial numbers, zip-sealing bags made specifically for this folding wallet design, and a bootable CD for making paper wallets offline.