<p><code>getaccount</code> command was <a href="https://bitcoincore.org/en/doc/0.17.0/rpc/wallet/getaccount/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">deprecated in Bitcoin Core 0.18</a>, the wallet uses "labels" now.</p>

<p>When the wallet was created, it created a seed for you. This is used to generate the addresses in a <a href="https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0032.mediawiki" rel="nofollow noreferrer">BIP32 heirarchy</a>. To generate the first address, you can use the <a href="https://bitcoincore.org/en/doc/0.18.0/rpc/wallet/getnewaddress/" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><code>getnewaddress</code></a> command, followed by an optional label (to save the address in the address book), and an optional address type. E.g.</p>



<pre><code>$ bitcoin-cli -testnet getnewaddress my_first_address
</code></pre>

<blockquote>
  <p>As I understand that a bitcoin wallet is basically a pot which holds several child addresses?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>A Bitcoin wallet is generally considered software that manages your Bitcoin addresses and transactions, as well as your private keys to those addresses. In Bitcoin Core it is also used to describe a heirarchy of addresses with their own unique seed. Addresses used within a "wallet" on Bitcoin core are all derived from the same master key and seed. In fact you can have multiple wallets using the same installation of Bitcoin core, see <a href="https://bitcoincore.org/en/doc/0.18.0/rpc/wallet/createwallet/" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><code>createwallet</code></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-20T13:13:54.130Z
2019-05-20T13:13:54.130Z
JBaczuk
<p>I am new to block-chain, so please bear with my questions. I need to understand the basics of a bitcoin-wallet.
So I have setup a bitcoin full node using <strong>bitcoind</strong> in running in testnet mode. As I understand that by default a wallet is created. Now when I am trying to get the address of the wallet by this command <code>bitcoin-cli -testnet getaccount ""</code>, I am geeting an empty list.
So is there no default wallet as such, also how do I create a new wallet? As I understand that a bitcoin wallet is basically a pot which holds several child addresses?</p>

<bitcoin-core><bitcoind><wallet.dat><bip32-hd-wallets>
Understanding default bitcoin wallet in bitcoind
Paras
# Understanding default bitcoin wallet in bitcoind

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-05-20)

I am new to block-chain, so please bear with my questions. I need to understand the basics of a bitcoin-wallet.
So I have setup a bitcoin full node using **bitcoind** in running in testnet mode. As I understand that by default a wallet is created. Now when I am trying to get the address of the wallet by this command `bitcoin-cli -testnet getaccount ""`, I am geeting an empty list.
So is there no default wallet as such, also how do I create a new wallet? As I understand that a bitcoin wallet is basically a pot which holds several child addresses?

**Tags:** bitcoin-core, bitcoind, wallet.dat, bip32-hd-wallets


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-05-20. Score: 2

`getaccount` command was [deprecated in Bitcoin Core 0.18](https://bitcoincore.org/en/doc/0.17.0/rpc/wallet/getaccount/), the wallet uses "labels" now.

When the wallet was created, it created a seed for you. This is used to generate the addresses in a [BIP32 heirarchy](https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0032.mediawiki). To generate the first address, you can use the [`getnewaddress`](https://bitcoincore.org/en/doc/0.18.0/rpc/wallet/getnewaddress/) command, followed by an optional label (to save the address in the address book), and an optional address type. E.g.

```
$ bitcoin-cli -testnet getnewaddress my_first_address

```

> As I understand that a bitcoin wallet is basically a pot which holds several child addresses?

A Bitcoin wallet is generally considered software that manages your Bitcoin addresses and transactions, as well as your private keys to those addresses. In Bitcoin Core it is also used to describe a heirarchy of addresses with their own unique seed. Addresses used within a "wallet" on Bitcoin core are all derived from the same master key and seed. In fact you can have multiple wallets using the same installation of Bitcoin core, see [`createwallet`](https://bitcoincore.org/en/doc/0.18.0/rpc/wallet/createwallet/)


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