Categories: EducationTutorials

How to recover your bitcoins from blockchain.info using electrum

How to export your private keys from blockchain.info and move the balance to any address using electrum

The Problem

Blockchain.info is a popular online bitcoin wallet provider. It’s name often confuses new bitcoiners into believing that blockchain.info is the blockchain ledger. As an online wallet service provider the company must keep a database of their customer’s wallet identifiers and hashed passwords along with wallet balances. Recently blockchain.info went down for maintenance for about 14 hours on October 26th.

Also Read: Why is my Bitcoin transaction not confirming?

Due to the recent DDOS attempts on the bitcoin network it seems that the wallet balances in the database might have fallen out of sync with the actual wallet balances on the bitcoin network. As a result users are getting the following errors when trying to send bitcoins from their wallets:

Non-canonical signature: High S Value

An outpoint is already spent in [xxxxxxxxxx]

Prev out is already spent DBOutput

Blockchain.info has issued the following statement in regards to their ongoing wallet issues:

We are aware that users are experiencing some or all of the following issues:
Wallets displaying improper balances
The inability to send funds
“Maximum concurrent requests” errors
Expired authorization emails
Other errors related to these issues

We want to let you know that we’re working on these issues, but have no estimate as to when they will be resolved. We’re deeply sorry for any inconvenience this may be causing you, and thank you for your patience with this matter.

The Solution

Thankfully, blockchain.info allows you to export your private keys. Using electrum – a lightweight wallet – you can sweep the private keys from your blockchain.info wallet and get the correct balances on your electrum wallet and successfully remove your bitcoins from the blockchain.info service. Here is how to get the private keys from your blockchain wallet:

  • login to your blockchain.info wallet

  • navigate to the import/export tab

Related Post
  • Then click I understand when the Advanced Warning dialog box comes up

  • Select the Export Unencrypted tab
  • From the dropdown menu select the Bitcoin-Qt Format for your private keys

In the above pictures the private keys are highlighted in red and their corresponding addresses which are on the same line are highlighted in green. We are going to copy those private keys (highlighted in red) and sweep them free of coins using our electrum client. If you haven’t already, download and install the electrum wallet from electrum.org

After setting up your electrum wallet navigate to Wallet -> Private Keys -> Sweep

You will be greeted with a window which will let you copy your private keys. Copy the private keys from blockchain.info and paste them one at a time on a new line like so:

NOTE: The mouse cursor may turn into a stop sign when hovering or trying to highlight the private key. Simply ignore that and treat it like a regular mouse cursor, it is simply a protection against cyber attackers.

IMPORTANT: The address highlighted in red is the address where all the coins will be sent to, make sure it is an address which is in YOUR control.

Lastly, on the Transaction dialog confirm one last time that the address highlighted in green is in fact the address that you want the coins sent to. If all checks out click broadcast and you should receive a confirmation and any coins that were left on those addresses on in your blockchain wallet are now on your wallet of choice.

Conclusion

If you are having issues spending bitcoins from your blockchain wallet, the balance on your wallet page keeps acting up or showing negative, or you can’t spend bitcoins from a certain address sweeping the private keys to a fresh wallet is a sure way to fix any database related issues that blockchain.info may be experiencing.

We have not confirmed what the exact cause of the recent maintenance was, but we reached out to blockchain.info for a response. We hope this article helped you if you were having issues with your wallet.

If you liked this article follow us on twitter @themerklenews and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest bitcoin news, altcoin price analysis, and the hottest stories.

Mark Arguinbaev

I'm a 29 year old cryptocurrency entrepreneur. I was introduced to Bitcoin in 2013 and have been involved with it ever since. Fun Fact: I mined cryptocurrency using my college dorm room's free electricity.

Share
Published by
Mark Arguinbaev

Recent Posts

WIF Set to Overtake BONK? Lunex Soars with 100x Potential in Altcoin Season

As altcoin season heats up, all eyes are on the rising stars—especially Lunex, which is…

7 hours ago

Binance Coin Price Dips: BNB Holders Rush To Lunex Presale To Hedge Their Long Positions

While the broader market witnessed a notable upward movement, Binance Coin (BNB) experienced a decline…

7 hours ago

Crypto Stalwarts Forecasted 800% Growth in Innovative Projects: VeChain, Rollblock and Polkadot!

This blazing crypto bull run has investors looking for the next top altcoins set to…

7 hours ago

Dogecoin Price Set To Recreate 36,000% Rally From 2021 After Pennant Formation

The Dogecoin price is back in the limelight, captivating the crypto world with its recent…

7 hours ago

Is XRP About to Explode? How Trump’s Victory Is Affecting XRP Price Amidst JetBolt Growth

Ripple’s XRP showed a 68% price increase in the last 7 days following Trump's victory,…

7 hours ago

Ethereum Down While Bitcoin, Solana, and JetBolt Skyrocket In End November 2024

Ethereum stumbles as Bitcoin surges past $97K, Solana eyes new highs, and JetBolt’s presale shakes…

10 hours ago