Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I buy or sell coins for money (Dollars, Euros, etc.)?

You will need to use an exchange such as Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken, etc. btc-wallet.live is simply non-custodial infrastructure for blockchain developers.


I am re-using passwords across multiple websites. Am I safe?

NO. Re-using passwords means you are using the same password on multiple websites/services/accounts. This means that if your password leaks just once, every account anywhere that uses that password is now compromised. You must generate secure, unique passwords everywhere you use a password. Popular browsers such as Firefox have password management tools built-in to assist with generation of secure passwords. Every time you set a password (including Secret PINs), it should be securely, randomly generated, and must be unique.


Am I required to retain backups of my account's Private Keys?

YES. See the User Agreement. Your account's Private Keys allow you to use your addresses without ever interacting with btc-wallet.live, and btc-wallet.live, by design, does not have access to your coins.


I need my account's Private Keys. Where do I get them?

Please go to your Settings page and click "Backup Private Keys." Please note that btc-wallet.live does not have access to the raw data you will see when you retrieve your Private Keys. They are only as secure as you keep them.


The sender says your Ethereum/Bitcoin/Litecoin address is invalid. Why?

btc-wallet.live uses MultiSig addresses, which require more than one private key to use. These addresses may use a different format than single-signature addresses.

If the sender says your wallet addresses are invalid, this means the sending service has not implemented the MultiSig address's standard. You will need to inquire with the sender directly for a fix.


I forgot my Secret PIN. Can you get my coins for me, please?

When you signed up, we asked you to save your Secret Mnemonic. Do you have this?

If yes, go to Settings, enter the Secret Mnemonic (ignore the Secret PIN field), and then your new Secret PIN, confirm your new Secret PIN, and click 'Change Secret PIN.' This step will also generate a new Secret Mnemonic -- make sure to write this new Mnemonic down!

If you do not have your Secret Mnemonic, you cannot reset your Secret PIN. Remember that you can always use the private keys you've backed up without using btc-wallet.live. A reference sweep script is provided here.

If you've lost your Secret PIN and your Secret Mnemonic, and do not have your private key backups, btc-wallet.live cannot assist as btc-wallet.live has no access to users' coins by design. You can keep track of your coins using any blockchain explorer (example: chain.so).


What are Labels?

Labels are short, easy-to-remember words for long, complicated wallet addresses. For example, it is alot easier to remember the label "homewallet" than it is to remember the wallet address "DFi9yMNjBqq1rJwnk...".

When you create an address using your Wallet, or using the get_new_address API call, you create a random wallet address. If you wish to label this wallet address, you can specify this an alpha-numeric string in the input field on the Create Address dialog, or pass it as a value to the label parameter in the API call.


I sent coins to a Label, where is it?

Labels are not the same as wallet addresses. If your coins do not show as pending/available on your Wallet or get_balance API call, you accidentally sent the coins to a wallet address that does not belong to you.

To be specific, never deposit/send coins to your labels. Always deposit/send coins to your Wallet addresses.


I sent coins to a wallet Address, where are they?

The wonderful thing about the Bitcoin and related tokens is: everything is third-party auditable by design. To track your coins down, look up the destination/source wallet address on a reliable Block Explorer, like SoChain.


I need my transaction history. Where do I get it?

You can either export your transaction history using the API, or for a ready-made CSV file, see Export Transaction History. Additionally, you can retrieve the same data using any blockchain network yourself, as the transaction data we provide is retrieved from the blockchain network itself.


Why do I have to pay Network Fees?

btc-wallet.live does not control your addresses or your coins, you do. Every transaction you perform happens on the relevant blockchain network. As such, miners need an incentive to confirm your transactions (since there's complex work involved). Network Fees are part of blockchain network design. Without Network Fees, our beloved digital currencies cannot function properly.

While we attempt to estimate appropriate Network Fees for your convenience, you can always specify your own Network Fees using the "custom" Priority setting when you transact.


Why does the Network Fee vary?

Network Fees are paid to your network's miners. These Network Fees depend on the size of your transaction in bytes. Since this transaction size is highly variable, the Network Fees vary as well. Additionally, Network Fees will vary depending on how many other transactions are waiting to get confirmed on the given network. Generally, the more transactions awaiting confirmation by miners, the higher the Network Fees required for faster confirmations.


I paid for a plan but it says I've exhausted my address limit. Why?

Each plan shown at Pricing grants you a (maximum) number of addresses for your account. If your account has your chosen plan's maximum number of addresses already, you will not be able to create more addresses. All addresses, whether or not archived, count towards your plan's maximum address limit. These address limits do not reset monthly, or at all.


I can't find a library for Clojure, etc. What do I do?

You can implement your own using reference implementations in Ruby, NodeJS, PHP, Python, and C# provided at our API docs.


I found a bug, what do I do?

Awesome! We love fixing bugs. Contact us, and maybe you'll get a fat reward for it. ;)