<p>I would expect the "jibberish key" is the address in this case. The set of words is known as a "seed", and is used to back up all the private keys in your wallet. <strong>NEVER share those words with anyone</strong>, anyone with those words can spend all your bitcoins.</p>

<p>"Normal" bitcoin addresses start with a <code>1</code> and are usually around 34 characters long, made up of lowercase letters, uppercase letters and numbers. An example is <code>1BvBMSEYstWetqTFn5Au4m4GFg7xJaNVN2</code>. Some bitcoin addresses also start with a <code>3</code>. More recently a new type of address has begun being used, starting with <code>bc1</code>, but its unlikely you will see these commonly for a while. These addresses are all anyone needs to send transactions to you, they will never need the seed words or the private keys or anything else. Keep those safe and to yourself.</p>

<p>Some wallets such as blockchain.info also use a wallet identifier which is made up of numbers, letters and dashes (<code>-</code>), that is also for private use and does not need to be shared, it is not an address.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-19T00:43:28.357Z
2017-11-19T00:48:38.210Z
2017-11-19T00:48:38.210Z
meshcollider
<p>First off, and importantly: DO NOT EVER share the list of words. Do not even type it into a computer, take a photo of it, or otherwise store it digitally. This is SERIOUS. If it exists digitally, someone <em>could</em> steal it, and then your bitcoins are gone. Write it down with pen and paper, and store it somewhere really, really safe. If you have already stored those words digitally, then just forget about that wallet, and make a new one right now before you transfer any coins. </p>

<p>Now then:
A bitcoin address has two keys associated with it: a private key, and a public key. The private key lets you spend the coins, so you <strong>must</strong> keep that safe! The public key is something you can share with others, so that they can pay you.</p>

<p>So, in your situation, the list of words is the seed for your 'master private key'. It is actually just a big number, encoded into a string of words, and the wallet software uses it to create a 'master key' to generate all subsequent addresses in your wallet. Keep it safe!</p>

<p>Your wallet uses the public key to generate a bitcoin address, which is a string of random-looking characters. It should look something like this: 1L3AqyJm6tdt8SNFKJ4D7cLqQP8V7ihbpR (random address from a recent block). This is what you need in order send a transaction. </p>

<p>One last note: every time you receive a transaction, use a new, unique address. Try to never use the same address twice, your wallet will continuously generate new addresses as needed. Not reusing the same address is very important in protecting your financial privacy.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-19T00:50:08.300Z
Nice answer :) couple of small notes, 1) "the list of words is your 'master private key'" its technically the seed from which the master private key is derived, not the key itself; 2) "The public key is a string of random characters that looks like this" the address is technically a hash of the public key, not the public key itself
meshcollider
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-19T00:56:20.777Z
I have gone ahead and saved private and public key info to a usb drive and deleted the trail. But I probably will create a new wallet, anyway.
WoZ
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-19T00:58:55.210Z
@MeshCollider thanks! I edited my reply to include your clarifications
chytrik
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-19T01:05:54.350Z
@Woz keep in mind that if your private keys are unencrypted on your flash drive, then anyone who gets hold of it, even for a second, could steal your coins. Recommended that you encrypt them!
meshcollider
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-19T00:45:57.237Z
2017-11-19T00:57:56.473Z
2017-11-19T00:57:56.473Z
chytrik
<p>First off-- I am a total newb-- just bought btc today. Its sitting in a DEX wallet and I want to move it to another wallet. Which key do I use to identify the new wallet when I want to send?  Are they asking for the set of words or the jibberish key?</p>

<wallet><private-key>
I need clarification on moving BTC to another wallet
WoZ
# I need clarification on moving BTC to another wallet

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-11-19)

First off-- I am a total newb-- just bought btc today. Its sitting in a DEX wallet and I want to move it to another wallet. Which key do I use to identify the new wallet when I want to send? Are they asking for the set of words or the jibberish key?

**Tags:** wallet, private-key


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-11-19. Score: 3

I would expect the "jibberish key" is the address in this case. The set of words is known as a "seed", and is used to back up all the private keys in your wallet. **NEVER share those words with anyone**, anyone with those words can spend all your bitcoins.

"Normal" bitcoin addresses start with a `1` and are usually around 34 characters long, made up of lowercase letters, uppercase letters and numbers. An example is `1BvBMSEYstWetqTFn5Au4m4GFg7xJaNVN2`. Some bitcoin addresses also start with a `3`. More recently a new type of address has begun being used, starting with `bc1`, but its unlikely you will see these commonly for a while. These addresses are all anyone needs to send transactions to you, they will never need the seed words or the private keys or anything else. Keep those safe and to yourself.

Some wallets such as blockchain.info also use a wallet identifier which is made up of numbers, letters and dashes (`-`), that is also for private use and does not need to be shared, it is not an address.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2017-11-19. Score: 1

First off, and importantly: DO NOT EVER share the list of words. Do not even type it into a computer, take a photo of it, or otherwise store it digitally. This is SERIOUS. If it exists digitally, someone *could* steal it, and then your bitcoins are gone. Write it down with pen and paper, and store it somewhere really, really safe. If you have already stored those words digitally, then just forget about that wallet, and make a new one right now before you transfer any coins.

Now then:
A bitcoin address has two keys associated with it: a private key, and a public key. The private key lets you spend the coins, so you **must** keep that safe! The public key is something you can share with others, so that they can pay you.

So, in your situation, the list of words is the seed for your 'master private key'. It is actually just a big number, encoded into a string of words, and the wallet software uses it to create a 'master key' to generate all subsequent addresses in your wallet. Keep it safe!

Your wallet uses the public key to generate a bitcoin address, which is a string of random-looking characters. It should look something like this: 1L3AqyJm6tdt8SNFKJ4D7cLqQP8V7ihbpR (random address from a recent block). This is what you need in order send a transaction.

One last note: every time you receive a transaction, use a new, unique address. Try to never use the same address twice, your wallet will continuously generate new addresses as needed. Not reusing the same address is very important in protecting your financial privacy.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Nice answer :) couple of small notes, 1) "the list of words is your 'master private key'" its technically the seed from which the master private key is derived, not the key itself; 2) "The public key is a string of random characters that looks like this" the address is technically a hash of the public key, not the public key itself  
> **username_0**: I have gone ahead and saved private and public key info to a usb drive and deleted the trail. But I probably will create a new wallet, anyway.  
> **username_2**: @MeshCollider thanks! I edited my reply to include your clarifications  
> **username_1**: @Woz keep in mind that if your private keys are unencrypted on your flash drive, then anyone who gets hold of it, even for a second, could steal your coins. Recommended that you encrypt them!  

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