<blockquote>
  <p>imported bitcoin address which I can not transfer to anybody, if I want to transfer it is asking private keys, but I don't have private keys</p>
</blockquote>

<p>It sounds like you have imported the address as a watch-only address, meaning your wallet watches for transactions involving it, but as you say, cannot spend any coins because it doesn't have the private key. This would have happened if you had used <code>importaddress</code> instead of <code>importprivkey</code>. Without the private key you do not own those bitcoins, you are simply looking at someone else's transactions.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-21T21:15:01.797Z
2017-10-21T21:15:01.797Z
meshcollider
<p>A person I met online asked me to pay small miner fee to get big funds in bitcoin. After sending him the fee, he injected huge funds into my bitcoin wallet, which fell into a bitcoin address imported into my wallet. But now I cannot send these bitcoins, if I want to transfer it is asking private keys, but I don't have private keys, what shall I do to transfer imported bitcoin to my wallet?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-21T18:32:22.210Z
Please clarify your specific problem or add additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it’s hard to tell exactly what you're asking.
amaclin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-21T22:37:15.017Z
This sounds very much like a scam.  As MeshCollider says, if this guy just gave you an address (alphanumeric string starting with 1) and not a private key (which would be a silly way to transfer funds anyway), he didn't actually give you any money.  The whole idea of "big funds" in exchange for a small "miner fee" is very suspicious in the first place; mining does not work like that.
Nate Eldredge
<signature><watch-only>
Imported bitcoin address
Enoch
# Imported bitcoin address

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-10-21)

A person I met online asked me to pay small miner fee to get big funds in bitcoin. After sending him the fee, he injected huge funds into my bitcoin wallet, which fell into a bitcoin address imported into my wallet. But now I cannot send these bitcoins, if I want to transfer it is asking private keys, but I don't have private keys, what shall I do to transfer imported bitcoin to my wallet?

**Tags:** signature, watch-only

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Please clarify your specific problem or add additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it’s hard to tell exactly what you're asking.  
> **username_2**: This sounds very much like a scam.  As MeshCollider says, if this guy just gave you an address (alphanumeric string starting with 1) and not a private key (which would be a silly way to transfer funds anyway), he didn't actually give you any money.  The whole idea of "big funds" in exchange for a small "miner fee" is very suspicious in the first place; mining does not work like that.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-10-21. Score: 3

> imported bitcoin address which I can not transfer to anybody, if I want to transfer it is asking private keys, but I don't have private keys

It sounds like you have imported the address as a watch-only address, meaning your wallet watches for transactions involving it, but as you say, cannot spend any coins because it doesn't have the private key. This would have happened if you had used `importaddress` instead of `importprivkey`. Without the private key you do not own those bitcoins, you are simply looking at someone else's transactions.


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