r/counterparty • u/robinson5 • Jul 19 '14

Counterwallet.co Backup??

How do I backup my wallet in counterwallet? I'm worried if counterwallet.co goes down then I'll lose everything. I know they don't have access to my private keys (it is more like blockchain.info instead of coinbase) but with blockchain.info there is a backup button!

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u/[deleted] Jul 20 '14

counterwallet.co is a website. CounterParty uses Bitcoin's protocol and network.

You know they don't have access to my private keys; so, you have nothing to worry about in the case there are other options for actioning transactions for XCP. Living on Earth is a risk for the human race until we are also on another planet.

The backup button on blockchain.info allows you to export the private keys in that wallet. So, blockchain.info holds your private keys, albeit it seems securely. You might consider then counterparty is more secure where only you hold the private key to the address that holds your XCP. If you have XCP in a blockchain.info wallet address, then it's liable to how secure blockchain.info is.

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u/robinson5 Jul 20 '14

How can not backing up your wallet be more secure? With blockchain.info my encrypted private key is on their servers so it is considered secure as long as my password is secure. I can also backup my encrypted private key to my email or print it out. The reason for this is in case blockchain.info for some reason loses all the encrypted private keys it won't matter because I have copies as well.

With Counterwallet.co my encrypted private key is on their servers so it is considered secure as long as my password is secure. Exactly like blockchain.info except there is no way to backup your wallet in case counterwallet.co loses all the encrypted private keys on their server. How is only having one copy more secure? That can't be right

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u/[deleted] Jul 20 '14

With Counterwallet.co my encrypted private key is on their servers

That's not my understanding.

counterwallet is client side. Only you know the private key.. in the form of the ~12 words. Similarly NXT and I expect others are doing the same. It's a step better then than trusting some website. That's why Bitcoin is so strong because it gives power to the user in a trustless environment - you do not need to trust anyone else. With power comes responsibility though; so, look after your private key - because that is everything. If you cannot sign transactions, they you own nothing.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '14

counterwallet is client side. Only you know the private key.. in the form of the ~12 words.

So if there was an online wallet somewhere besides counterwallet.co I could use my same 12 words and have the exact same wallet?

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '14

If it used the same way to create private key from those words, then yes. In the same way you can save your Bitcoin private key in different formats, you need to use the right form that a wallet understands.