<p>If you trust someone else to provide a private key for you, it doesn't matter if you encrypt your wallet. They will forever be able to control and spend your money at their leisure with no regard to any password you add.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-31T23:32:30.043Z
2020-12-31T23:32:30.043Z
Claris
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Can the manufacture access my wallet with the private keys if i encrypt the wallet on bitcoin core?</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<h1>THEY CAN SPEND MONEY YOU THINK IS IN <em>YOUR</em> WALLET.</h1>
<hr />
<p>This question sounds like a misunderstanding of what a wallet is.</p>
<p>A Bitcoin wallet does not ever contain money.</p>
<p>The only important information in a Bitcoin wallet is a secret number called the &quot;private key&quot;.</p>
<p>Anyone who knows this private key has control over money sent to addresses that were created from that private key (including modern hierarchical deterministic HD wallets that contain many private keys derived from one common secret number).</p>
<p>So any changes of passwords or encryption applied to your wallet has <strong>no effect whatsoever</strong> on the ability of other people to spend your money - if they already know the secret number.</p>
<p>The safest thing to do is to <strong>sweep</strong> (not import) that secret number (private-key) into a new wallet - this transfers money to the control of a new and different secret number that no one else knows.</p>
<p>Before deleting anything, make backups, test recovering from backups. Write your recovery-phrase or private key down somewhere very very safe - somewhere you can go and get beck if you lose your phone, if your PC is stolen or if your house is burned down.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-01T11:19:38.173Z
2021-01-01T11:19:38.173Z
RedGrittyBrick
<p>I bought cold storage coins with private keys engraved. After I import and encrypt the wallet in bitcoin core, can just the private keys be used to access the wallet or would you also need the passphrash i encrypted it with?</p>
<p>In other words, can the manufacture access my wallet with the private keys if i encrypt the wallet on bitcoin core?</p>

<bitcoin-core>
Can anyone use your private key if its encrypted on bitcoin core?
Gohtslightly
# Can anyone use your private key if its encrypted on bitcoin core?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-12-31)

I bought cold storage coins with private keys engraved. After I import and encrypt the wallet in bitcoin core, can just the private keys be used to access the wallet or would you also need the passphrash i encrypted it with?

In other words, can the manufacture access my wallet with the private keys if i encrypt the wallet on bitcoin core?

**Tags:** bitcoin-core


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-12-31. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

If you trust someone else to provide a private key for you, it doesn't matter if you encrypt your wallet. They will forever be able to control and spend your money at their leisure with no regard to any password you add.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2021-01-01. Score: 0

> **Can the manufacture access my wallet with the private keys if i encrypt the wallet on bitcoin core?**

# THEY CAN SPEND MONEY YOU THINK IS IN *YOUR* WALLET.

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This question sounds like a misunderstanding of what a wallet is.

A Bitcoin wallet does not ever contain money.

The only important information in a Bitcoin wallet is a secret number called the "private key".

Anyone who knows this private key has control over money sent to addresses that were created from that private key (including modern hierarchical deterministic HD wallets that contain many private keys derived from one common secret number).

So any changes of passwords or encryption applied to your wallet has **no effect whatsoever** on the ability of other people to spend your money - if they already know the secret number.

The safest thing to do is to **sweep** (not import) that secret number (private-key) into a new wallet - this transfers money to the control of a new and different secret number that no one else knows.

Before deleting anything, make backups, test recovering from backups. Write your recovery-phrase or private key down somewhere very very safe - somewhere you can go and get beck if you lose your phone, if your PC is stolen or if your house is burned down.


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