<p>This was an issue with versions of the client prior to 0.3.24 -- once the vast majority of the network switches over, the block chain downloads should proceed as fast as your CPU and network connection can handle.</p>

<p>There are places you can download the block chain, but the client doesn't provide a way to accept the block chain in any form other than from the network. If you're starting from nothing, it will generally take about 10 hours to process the whole block chain. Most of it isn't transfer time, it's CPU time validating all the hashes and signatures.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-03T06:15:51.257Z
A lot of people want to use Armory as their bitcoin client, which really makes the idea of using a light bitcoin client impossible, unfortunately.  I submitted a request to etotheipi to add in an option to Armory to load the blockchain from a server, and he said it's something he might do in the future, but it's pretty low on his list of priorities.
Evan Lynch
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-06T10:42:22.147Z
answer states there is no way to load the blockchain from disk, but it is well-known that you can move the blocks subfolder around to do this.
fuzzyTew
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-06T10:42:30.553Z
answer states there is no way to load the blockchain from disk, but it is well-known that you can move the blocks subfolder around to do this.
fuzzyTew
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-09T07:58:22.330Z
+1 If it really takes 10 hours to validate the chain when reading from a local file, then I guess I have to give up on the idea... Is there a way to know which versions everyone is on?
Thilo
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-09T08:02:56.720Z
Watch your CPU usage while you sync up. Unfortunately, the client can't really take advantage of multiple cores as it catches up. The right ultimate solution is for most people not to run the client but to instead run a lighter piece of software that only does what they actually need.
David Schwartz
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-17T18:32:02.310Z
@Thilo You could "divide" it. So 10 days, 1 hour each.
Pacerier
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-09T07:51:10.967Z
2011-09-09T07:51:10.967Z
David Schwartz
<p>A good start of downloading block chain is here</p>
<hr>http://sourceforge.net/projects/bitcoin/files/Bitcoin/blockchain/<hr>
<p><strong>update 22.02.2021: URL is not more Working</strong></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-24T02:54:44.503Z
This is the correct answer. "Bitcoin-Qt/bitcoind version 0.7.1 and later supports a special import feature:  If the file "bootstrap.dat" is found in the bitcoin data directory, it will validate and import all blockchain data found in that file." The torrents are in the link indicated by Codler.
Stephan Tual
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-16T11:11:12.083Z
Broken link....
user541686
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-19T16:33:45.427Z
As of 2015-06-05, this project may now be found at https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin
remedcu
CC BY-SA 4.0
2011-09-09T09:26:42.960Z
2021-02-22T17:22:37.237Z
2021-02-22T17:22:37.237Z
Codler
<p><em>"Bitcoin-Qt/bitcoind version 0.7.1 and later supports a special import feature:  If the file "bootstrap.dat" is found in the bitcoin data directory, it will validate and import all blockchain data found in that file."</em></p>

<p>The official torrent can be found at: <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/bitcoin/files/Bitcoin/blockchain/">http://sourceforge.net/projects/bitcoin/files/Bitcoin/blockchain/</a></p>

<p>Magnetic link: magnet:?xt=urn:btih:6fe493ba606847eac163baf35aae9db319735482&amp;dn=bootstrap.dat&amp;tr=udp://tracker.openbittorrent.com:80&amp;tr=udp://tracker.publicbt.com:80&amp;tr=udp://tracker.ccc.de:80&amp;tr=udp://tracker.istole.it:80</p>

<p>Thread: <a href="https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=145386.0">https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=145386.0</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-22T07:35:23.690Z
This is the correct answer.
Felipe
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-24T02:57:27.640Z
2013-03-24T02:57:27.640Z
Stephan Tual
<p>Bootstrapping will be deprecated as of the 0.10 release in a few weeks. The torrent file mentioned in other answers will never be updated again because it is faster to have Bitcoin Core sync over the network. </p>

<p>So no need to download the Blockchain seperately anymore!</p>

<p>You can find the release notes here <a href="https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/0.10/doc/release-notes.md" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/0.10/doc/release-notes.md</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-09T18:07:21.367Z
True, but there will still be circumstances where it's useful, like when you have a slow connection, but the ability to load the bootstrap file through a usb drive.
Nick ODell
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-09T18:12:55.517Z
Good point but then I would not run a full node and rather Electrum for example
greg121
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-09T18:00:12.870Z
2015-02-09T18:06:04.627Z
2015-02-09T18:06:04.627Z
greg121
<p>(edit: removed old and stale magnet)</p>

<p>now use these, as advised in top answers:</p>

<p><a href="https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=145386.0" rel="nofollow">https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=145386.0</a></p>

<p><a href="https://bitcoin.org/bin/blockchain/" rel="nofollow">https://bitcoin.org/bin/blockchain/</a></p>

<p><a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/bitcoin/files/Bitcoin/blockchain/bootstrap.dat.torrent/download" rel="nofollow">http://sourceforge.net/projects/bitcoin/files/Bitcoin/blockchain/bootstrap.dat.torrent/download</a></p>

<p><a href="http://armoryguide.com/bootstrapping-the-blockchain/" rel="nofollow">http://armoryguide.com/bootstrapping-the-blockchain/</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-01-30T09:53:30.557Z
2014-06-02T07:25:11.777Z
2014-06-02T07:25:11.777Z
zoigo
<p><em>Note by Murch: This download link is broken and it seems unlikely to me that anyone still provides this service. Network and synchronization code have been immensely improved over the years so that the initial block download via the network is usually acceptably fast.</em></p>

<p>You can download the <a href="http://eu1.bitcoincharts.com/blockchain/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">blockchain nightlies</a> handled by tcatm (one of the Bitcoin core developers and the operator of bitcoincharts.com). Unpack and copy&amp;replace <code>blkindex.dat</code>, <code>blk0001.dat</code> files into <code>C:\Users\"username"\AppData\Roaming\Bitcoin</code> for Windows 7, and run <code>bitcoind</code> with the <a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Running_Bitcoin" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><code>-rescan</code> option</a>. Then it will take only a couple minutes to download up to latest block. Be aware that manually copied blocks won't get verified.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-24T09:53:23.133Z
This is to report a rotten link :(
Be Brave Be Like Ukraine
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-24T10:02:13.853Z
@DavidSchwartz excuse my ignorance, but wouldn't a rescan w/o revalidation of the cryptographic work be trusting the entity providing the download? Thus wouldn't this be encouraging a centralizing single-point-of-failure node w.r.t. to trust and honesty? P2P systems must inherently not trust in order to remain decentralized. If I am correct, then the `-rescan` command line option should be removed?
Shelby Moore III
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-24T14:32:22.220Z
@ShelbyMooreIII: You still need the `-rescan` option to rescan trusted databases if the wallet is changed.
David Schwartz
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-23T06:37:54.360Z
Howdy @Serith - any chance you could find an alternate link to blockchain? The link is dead, and it's breaking most of the context of your answer --
Tim Post
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-11T19:52:02.020Z
The link is broken, could you update the answer please?
Slava Fomin II
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-19T16:31:03.983Z
The link is broken, so downvoted.
remedcu
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-09T08:34:10.990Z
The -rescan option doesn't verify blocks. It only checks for transactions that affect your wallet. It shouldn't take very long, not more than 10 minutes or so. (And you must do this if you use the nightlies. Otherwise you won't show or be able to spend any Bitcoins you received in blocks you didn't download from the Bitcoin network.)
David Schwartz
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-09T08:58:48.067Z
Are those .dat files portable? Or only work on Windows 7?
Thilo
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-09T09:10:21.240Z
it should be interchangeable, https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=26044.0
Serith
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-09T09:11:31.897Z
The only issue would be if you compiled the client yourself and used a different version of BerkeleyDB. Otherwise, it should work on all platforms.
David Schwartz
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-09T09:16:41.843Z
Just found some more about it from Matt Corallo, he says it will work, https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=36847.msg453167#msg453167
Serith
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-09T08:30:16.423Z
2017-03-13T08:33:24.813Z
2017-03-13T08:33:24.813Z
Serith
<p>Every time I turn on the Bitcoin client it takes days to catch up with the block chain.</p>

<p>Are there alternatives to getting it trickling through the peer-to-peer network? Can I just download it somewhere? Wouldn't this be ideal for distribution via BitTorrent? </p>

<p>If so, how do I import it into the Bitcoin client?</p>

<p>My client would still be validating this data (can it?), and it is all signed and proof-of-worked, so there is no real security problem here, is there?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-10T14:54:58.540Z
Can I know the from where i can download a sample of blockchain for some basic analysis?
Ankita
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-11-27T23:16:43.643Z
Apparently this does not speed up the time it takes to import and validate the block chain much, because the cryptographic calculations are the bottle neck, not the network I/O. But still, downloading everything first and validating later reduces the time you need a working network connection. Validation can be done offline, too.
Thilo
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-18T15:49:51.410Z
Good question! I was going to ask "How long is it supposed to take to download all blocks from the transaction history?". Short answer is: the times it takes to download a 1.4GB file, plus a bit more to get the latest blocks from peers.
rds
<blockchain><synchronization><performance><bootstrap.dat>
Can I download the whole block chain from somewhere?
Thilo
# Can I download the whole block chain from somewhere?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2011-09-09)

Every time I turn on the Bitcoin client it takes days to catch up with the block chain.

Are there alternatives to getting it trickling through the peer-to-peer network? Can I just download it somewhere? Wouldn't this be ideal for distribution via BitTorrent?

If so, how do I import it into the Bitcoin client?

My client would still be validating this data (can it?), and it is all signed and proof-of-worked, so there is no real security problem here, is there?

**Tags:** blockchain, synchronization, performance, bootstrap.dat

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Apparently this does not speed up the time it takes to import and validate the block chain much, because the cryptographic calculations are the bottle neck, not the network I/O. But still, downloading everything first and validating later reduces the time you need a working network connection. Validation can be done offline, too.  
> **username_2**: Good question! I was going to ask "How long is it supposed to take to download all blocks from the transaction history?". Short answer is: the times it takes to download a 1.4GB file, plus a bit more to get the latest blocks from peers.  
> **username_1**: Can I know the from where i can download a sample of blockchain for some basic analysis?  

---

## 6 answers

### Answer by username_15 on 2011-09-09. Score: 28 | Accepted answer

*Note by Murch: This download link is broken and it seems unlikely to me that anyone still provides this service. Network and synchronization code have been immensely improved over the years so that the initial block download via the network is usually acceptably fast.*

You can download the [blockchain nightlies](http://eu1.bitcoincharts.com/blockchain/) handled by tcatm (one of the Bitcoin core developers and the operator of bitcoincharts.com). Unpack and copy&replace `blkindex.dat`, `blk0001.dat` files into `C:\Users\"username"\AppData\Roaming\Bitcoin` for Windows 7, and run `bitcoind` with the [`-rescan` option](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Running_Bitcoin). Then it will take only a couple minutes to download up to latest block. Be aware that manually copied blocks won't get verified.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: The -rescan option doesn't verify blocks. It only checks for transactions that affect your wallet. It shouldn't take very long, not more than 10 minutes or so. (And you must do this if you use the nightlies. Otherwise you won't show or be able to spend any Bitcoins you received in blocks you didn't download from the Bitcoin network.)  
> **username_0**: Are those .dat files portable? Or only work on Windows 7?  
> **username_15**: it should be interchangeable, https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=26044.0  
> **username_3**: The only issue would be if you compiled the client yourself and used a different version of BerkeleyDB. Otherwise, it should work on all platforms.  
> **username_15**: Just found some more about it from Matt Corallo, he says it will work, https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=36847.msg453167#msg453167  
> **username_16**: This is to report a rotten link :(  
> **username_17**: @username_3 excuse my ignorance, but wouldn't a rescan w/o revalidation of the cryptographic work be trusting the entity providing the download? Thus wouldn't this be encouraging a centralizing single-point-of-failure node w.r.t. to trust and honesty? P2P systems must inherently not trust in order to remain decentralized. If I am correct, then the `-rescan` command line option should be removed?  
> **username_3**: @username_17: You still need the `-rescan` option to rescan trusted databases if the wallet is changed.  
> **username_18**: Howdy @username_15 - any chance you could find an alternate link to blockchain? The link is dead, and it's breaking most of the context of your answer --  
> **username_19**: The link is broken, could you update the answer please?  
> **username_10**: The link is broken, so downvoted.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2011-09-09. Score: 14

This was an issue with versions of the client prior to 0.3.24 -- once the vast majority of the network switches over, the block chain downloads should proceed as fast as your CPU and network connection can handle.

There are places you can download the block chain, but the client doesn't provide a way to accept the block chain in any form other than from the network. If you're starting from nothing, it will generally take about 10 hours to process the whole block chain. Most of it isn't transfer time, it's CPU time validating all the hashes and signatures.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: +1 If it really takes 10 hours to validate the chain when reading from a local file, then I guess I have to give up on the idea... Is there a way to know which versions everyone is on?  
> **username_3**: Watch your CPU usage while you sync up. Unfortunately, the client can't really take advantage of multiple cores as it catches up. The right ultimate solution is for most people not to run the client but to instead run a lighter piece of software that only does what they actually need.  
> **username_6**: @username_0 You could "divide" it. So 10 days, 1 hour each.  
> **username_4**: A lot of people want to use Armory as their bitcoin client, which really makes the idea of using a light bitcoin client impossible, unfortunately.  I submitted a request to etotheipi to add in an option to Armory to load the blockchain from a server, and he said it's something he might do in the future, but it's pretty low on his list of priorities.  
> **username_5**: answer states there is no way to load the blockchain from disk, but it is well-known that you can move the blocks subfolder around to do this.  
> **username_5**: answer states there is no way to load the blockchain from disk, but it is well-known that you can move the blocks subfolder around to do this.  

---

### Answer by username_7 on 2011-09-09. Score: 14

A good start of downloading block chain is here

---

http://sourceforge.net/projects/bitcoin/files/Bitcoin/blockchain/

---

**update 22.02.2021: URL is not more Working**

> **Comments:**
> **username_8**: This is the correct answer. "Bitcoin-Qt/bitcoind version 0.7.1 and later supports a special import feature:  If the file "bootstrap.dat" is found in the bitcoin data directory, it will validate and import all blockchain data found in that file." The torrents are in the link indicated by username_7.  
> **username_9**: Broken link....  
> **username_10**: As of 2015-06-05, this project may now be found at https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin  

---

### Answer by username_8 on 2013-03-24. Score: 9

*"Bitcoin-Qt/bitcoind version 0.7.1 and later supports a special import feature: If the file "bootstrap.dat" is found in the bitcoin data directory, it will validate and import all blockchain data found in that file."*

The official torrent can be found at: <http://sourceforge.net/projects/bitcoin/files/Bitcoin/blockchain/>

Magnetic link: magnet:?xt=urn:btih:6fe493ba606847eac163baf35aae9db319735482&dn=bootstrap.dat&tr=udp://tracker.openbittorrent.com:80&tr=udp://tracker.publicbt.com:80&tr=udp://tracker.ccc.de:80&tr=udp://tracker.istole.it:80

Thread: <https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=145386.0>

> **Comments:**
> **username_11**: This is the correct answer.  

---

### Answer by username_12 on 2015-02-09. Score: 3

Bootstrapping will be deprecated as of the 0.10 release in a few weeks. The torrent file mentioned in other answers will never be updated again because it is faster to have Bitcoin Core sync over the network.

So no need to download the Blockchain seperately anymore!

You can find the release notes here <https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/0.10/doc/release-notes.md>

> **Comments:**
> **username_13**: True, but there will still be circumstances where it's useful, like when you have a slow connection, but the ability to load the bootstrap file through a usb drive.  
> **username_12**: Good point but then I would not run a full node and rather Electrum for example  

---

### Answer by username_14 on 2013-01-30. Score: 2

(edit: removed old and stale magnet)

now use these, as advised in top answers:

<https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=145386.0>

<https://bitcoin.org/bin/blockchain/>

<http://sourceforge.net/projects/bitcoin/files/Bitcoin/blockchain/bootstrap.dat.torrent/download>

<http://armoryguide.com/bootstrapping-the-blockchain/>


---

