Author: Jochen Hoenicke 2016-05-14 12:26:34
Published on: 2016-05-14T12:26:34+00:00
In a Bitcoin developer mailing list, Jonas Schnelli expressed his opinion that importing a BIP32 wallet is still an expert job which can lead to bad security practices. However, importing xpubs for watch-only accounts is necessary for hardware wallets and other valid use cases. Users may send xpriv or import a seed over a compromised computer to cold storage, but it is generally not recommended to import private keys. Instead, users should import transaction history and send all funds covered by the seed to a new wallet. Even when sweeping a BIP-44+SegWit wallet, knowledge of where SegWit addresses are located is necessary. Many wallets do not give out the xprv except indirectly via the backup mechanism.
Updated on: 2023-06-11T05:22:40.860239+00:00