<p>The balance of an address only changes if you send bitcoins into or from it. Paper wallets are usually intended to be swiped only once, so you should not have outgoing transactions while the paper wallet is still valid. You could add coins to it, as a sort of piggy bank, but there are also use cases where the amount will be fixed.</p>

<p>So, if the paper wallet is intended to be used with a fixed balance, it can be printed on it for convenience; if not and an amount is printed anyway, it can simply be ignored.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-08T18:15:37.840Z
2012-12-08T18:15:37.840Z
Meni Rosenfeld
<p>Sites like <a href="http://bitaddress.org" rel="nofollow">bitaddress.org</a> and <a href="http://blockchain.info/wallet" rel="nofollow">Blockchain.info</a> where you can print out a paper wallet also show your current Bitcoin balance on your paper wallet. But your balance is something that is constantly changing, so why would it be printed on a paper wallet?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-07T23:04:28.773Z
BitAddress.org generates new addresses.  These never have funds on them at the time they are generated, of course.  Are you referring to some other source?
Stephen Gornick
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-08T18:12:02.420Z
@StephenGornick: Apparently bitaddress.org has a new design for paper wallets, with some art (including Satoshi's formula for the probability of successful double-spend) and an "Amount:" label. It looks blank so maybe it's intended to be filled in after printing.
Meni Rosenfeld
<wallet>
Why is your Bitcoin balance displayed on paper wallets?
jobukkit
# Why is your Bitcoin balance displayed on paper wallets?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-12-07)

Sites like [bitaddress.org](http://bitaddress.org) and [Blockchain.info](http://blockchain.info/wallet) where you can print out a paper wallet also show your current Bitcoin balance on your paper wallet. But your balance is something that is constantly changing, so why would it be printed on a paper wallet?

**Tags:** wallet

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: BitAddress.org generates new addresses.  These never have funds on them at the time they are generated, of course.  Are you referring to some other source?  
> **username_2**: @username_1: Apparently bitaddress.org has a new design for paper wallets, with some art (including Satoshi's formula for the probability of successful double-spend) and an "Amount:" label. It looks blank so maybe it's intended to be filled in after printing.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2012-12-08. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

The balance of an address only changes if you send bitcoins into or from it. Paper wallets are usually intended to be swiped only once, so you should not have outgoing transactions while the paper wallet is still valid. You could add coins to it, as a sort of piggy bank, but there are also use cases where the amount will be fixed.

So, if the paper wallet is intended to be used with a fixed balance, it can be printed on it for convenience; if not and an amount is printed anyway, it can simply be ignored.


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