2
Considering the Bitcoin client for Windows 0.8.1:
So the best way (if I have already used up 100 keys) is to send bitcoins to different wallet and then to newly generated one?
When I want new keys, can I just delete old wallet from default location and WILL BE THE NEW ONE GENERATED AUTOMATICALY when turning on the client?
5
A wallet (by default) always contains 100 unused keys. Every time the client needs a new key (for a new address, for sending change to, or - in theory - for solo mining payouts), it takes the oldest address from the pool, and creates a fresh one to add.
This just means you need to backup every 100 transactions. No need to switch to a new wallet.
6
Run the client with the parameter -keypool=10000 to generate 10000 keys in your keypool.
Pros: Less backing up
Cons: Your wallet will be bigger (file size) and take maybe a few seconds extra to load
2Today I learned. – Colin Dean – 2013-03-29T00:31:12.930
0
That is for Bitcoin-Qt, if you use MultiBit, after you sent money, the change will return to the sending address.
When I want new keys, can I just delete old wallet from default location and WILL BE THE NEW ONE GENERATED AUTOMATICALY when turning on the client? And is this option possible? – Comodore – 2013-03-29T10:25:38.443
1If you delete the wallet, a new one will be created yes. But that does mean you lose all your funds, as you lost all old keys. You don't need to worry about this - a wallet always generates new keys when it needs them. – Pieter Wuille – 2013-03-29T16:46:16.663
And so the key pool is getting constantly bigger? How can I get to know how big is at the moment? – Comodore – 2013-03-30T17:16:38.160
1The keypool always contains 100 future keys. The total number of keys in a wallet (those used + those in the pool) constantly grows indeed, though. I don't think the total number is exposed anywhere, but the getinfo command (RPC or debug window) can tell you the timestamp of the oldest entry in the key pool. – Pieter Wuille – 2013-03-30T17:29:04.560