Silk Road forums

Discussion => Security => Topic started by: Bill Paxton on July 10, 2013, 03:03 am

Title: I did something really stupid. Changed my BTC address before deposits came
Post by: Bill Paxton on July 10, 2013, 03:03 am
I did this once before when bitinstant got hacked and I was  nervous about all sorts of stuff so I changed my BTC address before they transferred funds into my SR account. I wrote and told them, they asked me for the new/changed address and sent them to me no problem.

I totally accidentally just did the same thing!! I went to change my BTC address BEFORE sending funds from localbitcoins and I thought that it had changed because I had two windows up and was looking at the wrong one...(I know I know)  SOOO::::

I sent my BTC from localbitcoins to a SR address that I had cancelled/changed moments before/during the sending process.

I did copy and paste my OLD  SR btc address into my backup BTC address in my settings but I have a feeling this is not going to help me. I did not touch/change my BTC address on localbitcoins

What do I need to do?  I know they aren't just going to float around out there and  get stolen because people do stupid shit like I just did often.

Will they get returned to my  localbitcoins.com address after the one its trying to send to proves to be invalid?
Will they just sit in blockchain.info until I do something proactive about it?
Will they transfer into my backup BTC address that I entered into my account settings?? I wish there was a way to change my BTC address back to the old onc since I have the letters/digits for it but I don't think this is posible.

Please help!!!!

-Billy P.
Title: Re: I did something really stupid. Changed my BTC address before deposits came
Post by: Jack N Hoff on July 10, 2013, 03:05 am
They will still make it to your account. :)
Title: Re: I did something really stupid. Changed my BTC address before deposits came
Post by: saulgood on July 10, 2013, 05:47 am
Yep. As I'm sure you've found out already, your old SR address still works. SR keeps a whole pool of your previous addresses around, and deposits into any one of them count as deposits towards your account. It's just a UI issue that they don't show you all of them at a time. They're also trying to encourage you to always use new addresses to obfuscate the blockchain transaction history.

Also, bitcoins are never "returned" in a transaction. If an address is syntactically valid (even if no one has ever claimed the address), then the bitcoin network will accept a transaction to it.
Title: Re: I did something really stupid. Changed my BTC address before deposits came
Post by: Hungry ghost on July 10, 2013, 06:11 am
I've done this a few times recently. I like to get a new bitcoin SR address each time. The last few times "get new address" seems to freeze, so I back out. I refresh my account page a few minutes later to make sure it hasn't changed, then copy paste the original address. When I go back to check, Lo and behold the address has now changed. This makes me slightly uneasy each time, but luckily I have read enough threads like this one to know they always show up just the same.

        Just out of interest though, are ALL the old addresses still functional and attached to my SR account.? Or am I slightly misunderstanding bitcoin? BTC is one of those things, like quantum physics, that I understand while I,m reading about it,but I kind of find hard to visualise. I read and re read....but if I try and explain to someone I'm aware I'm mangling it!
        The bit about how if someone transfers coin to an offline wallet, then a year later wants to spend coin, the block chain catches up, I always find confusing.....
.......I hate as I've got older (I'm quite old) I've definitely lost intelligence. As a teenager I was really good at maths and would have definitely had no trouble understanding. But I went off the rails and now after years of drug abuse and several heroin overdoses and much other varied bad shit I am aware that my brain just isn't functioning like it once did. So often I reach for a word that I know exists and it isn't there....like an empty place on the shelf or a 404 error.
"Sorry the neuron that held this information has been destroyed"
Title: Re: I did something really stupid. Changed my BTC address before deposits came
Post by: BlazedForDays on July 10, 2013, 01:44 pm
As a piece of advice guys you shouldn't keep your coins on your SR account or ANY ONLINE WALLET. If SR or one of these online wallets suddenly disappears, and it has happened with bitcoins, you're fucked.

I recommend a client like Electrum for use on your computer. Only transfers coins to SR when making a purchase.

Cheers guys!
Blaze
Title: Re: I did something really stupid. Changed my BTC address before deposits came
Post by: saulgood on July 10, 2013, 04:17 pm
Hungry ghost, yes, all of your old addresses are still functional.

And an offline wallet doesn't mean anything, except that you store the private keys to your bitcoin addresses offline, on a USB stick or printed on paper, or on some other object that is incapable of computer networking by itself. The block chain doesn't know the difference between an offline/online address, they are all just addresses with certain balances in the ledger.
Title: Re: I did something really stupid. Changed my BTC address before deposits came
Post by: Andrewbud420 on July 10, 2013, 04:19 pm
I think everyone get's a chunk of addresses. I always renew my address... Last time I did it I went to send the coins with my QT wallet and that same address was already used by me to send coins to SR...

Title: Re: I did something really stupid. Changed my BTC address before deposits came
Post by: Hungry ghost on July 11, 2013, 09:45 am
Hungry ghost, yes, all of your old addresses are still functional.

And an offline wallet doesn't mean anything, except that you store the private keys to your bitcoin addresses offline, on a USB stick or printed on paper, or on some other object that is incapable of computer networking by itself. The block chain doesn't know the difference between an offline/online address, they are all just addresses with certain balances in the ledger.
So the blockchain is just a record/ledger of every address and the balance thereof?   Like, every address ever created, even if it is no longer being used and now has balance of zero?
        I am going to go back and read all the bitcoin stuff I can find, I want get it straight in my head once and for all. I hate not understanding things properly, it makes me feel stupid.
Title: Re: I did something really stupid. Changed my BTC address before deposits came
Post by: Jack N Hoff on July 11, 2013, 09:50 am
Hungry ghost, yes, all of your old addresses are still functional.

And an offline wallet doesn't mean anything, except that you store the private keys to your bitcoin addresses offline, on a USB stick or printed on paper, or on some other object that is incapable of computer networking by itself. The block chain doesn't know the difference between an offline/online address, they are all just addresses with certain balances in the ledger.
So the blockchain is just a record/ledger of every address and the balance thereof?   Like, every address ever created, even if it is no longer being used and now has balance of zero?
        I am going to go back and read all the bitcoin stuff I can find, I want get it straight in my head once and for all. I hate not understanding things properly, it makes me feel stupid.

That is exactly what the blockchain is but if an address was never used then it was never broadcasted to the blockchain and it would not be in the blockchain.
Title: Re: I did something really stupid. Changed my BTC address before deposits came
Post by: deep987 on July 11, 2013, 08:51 pm
So the blockchain is just a record/ledger of every address and the balance thereof?   Like, every address ever created, even if it is no longer being used and now has balance of zero?
        I am going to go back and read all the bitcoin stuff I can find, I want get it straight in my head once and for all. I hate not understanding things properly, it makes me feel stupid.

To be more accurate, the blockchain is a record of transactions, not addresses and balances per se. A balance is the result of all transactions for an address.