Paper wallet vs hardware wallet (and how to sweep an old paper wallet)
If you have a paper wallet in a drawer, move all of its bitcoin into a hardware wallet in one sweep.
A paper wallet is a single private key and address printed on paper, usually by a website. A hardware wallet keeps its keys on a dedicated device, signs transactions offline, and backs everything up with a seed phrase. Do not make new paper wallets. If you have an old one, sweep the full balance into a hardware wallet with Sparrow (Tools, then Sweep Private Key) or Electrum (Wallet, then Private Keys, then Sweep).
What a paper wallet is
A paper wallet is a printout with two strings on it, often as QR codes. One is a Bitcoin address, which is public and usually starts with 1. The other is the private key for that address, which is secret and controls everything sent there. Unencrypted private keys usually start with 5, K, or L. Keys encrypted with a password under the BIP38 standard start with 6P.
The Bitcoin Wiki calls paper wallets an obsolete and unsafe method that was popular between 2011 and 2016, and notes that almost all of them were made by websites. Yours is most likely from that era.
Writing your seed phrase on paper is something else: that paper is the backup for a hardware wallet. The device still holds the keys and does the signing, and the paper only matters if the device is lost. My backup guide covers it.
Paper wallet vs hardware wallet
| Paper wallet | Hardware wallet | |
|---|---|---|
| What holds the key | A printout | A dedicated device, backed up by a seed phrase |
| How it was made | Usually a website in your browser | Generated on the device, offline |
| Addresses | One, reused for every deposit | A fresh address for every payment |
| How you spend | Expose the private key to a computer | Sign on the device, the key never leaves it |
| Partial spends | Risky: change can land somewhere else | Handled automatically, change stays in the wallet |
| Backup | A second printout, or nothing | A seed phrase on paper or metal |
| Verdict | Retire it | Use this |
Why not to make a new paper wallet
I recommend against making a paper wallet for bitcoin. Each problem below comes with the format.
- The generator is usually a website. You cannot check whether the page logged your key, and browser randomness has failed before: Unciphered found that wallets generated with BitcoinJS and its derivatives between 2011 and 2015 could have weak randomness.
- Printing leaves copies. The Bitcoin Wiki warns that anyone who reads the print file can see the private key and take the bitcoin.
- Spending means typing or scanning the private key into a computer or phone, the exact thing cold storage is supposed to avoid.
- Partial spends lose money. A Bitcoin transaction spends whole outputs and sends the leftover to a change address. People who imported a paper wallet, spent part of it, and assumed the rest was still on the paper found it had moved to a change address in the software wallet.
- One address means every deposit is linked together on the public blockchain.
A hardware wallet fixes all five, and good Bitcoin-only ones start under $100. My under-$100 rankings cover the cheaper options.
Before you start
- 1Set up the hardware wallet that will receive the bitcoin, back up its seed phrase, and get a receive address from it. Confirm the address on the device screen.
- 2Check the paper wallet's balance by looking up its address. A public block explorer works, but it can tie your IP address to that Bitcoin address. Your own node with a block explorer avoids that. See my node guide.
- 3Keep the paper wallet out of sight of cameras and phones while you work. Do not photograph the private key to "make it easier."
- 4If the key starts with 6P, find the BIP38 password first. Sparrow can decrypt it during the sweep, but only with the password.
How to sweep a paper wallet with Sparrow
Sweeping moves the entire balance from the paper key to an address you choose in one transaction, so nothing is left on the paper and no change address is involved. Sparrow is an open-source desktop Bitcoin wallet and the one I would use.
- 1Install Sparrow from sparrowwallet.com and open the wallet for your hardware wallet, connected to your own node if you have one.
- 2Open the Tools menu and select Sweep Private Key.
- 3Paste or scan the private key. Sparrow accepts the Wallet Import Format (keys starting with 5, K, or L) or a BIP38 encrypted key.
- 4Pick the script type. Old paper wallets with an address starting with 1 use Legacy (P2PKH). For older uncompressed keys, Sparrow only offers that type.
- 5Check that the address Sparrow shows matches the address printed on the paper wallet. If it does not, you picked the wrong script type.
- 6Enter your hardware wallet's receive address as the destination, choose a fee rate, and create the transaction.
- 7Broadcast it, then wait for confirmation and check that the bitcoin arrived in your hardware wallet.
In Electrum the same job is under Wallet, then Private Keys, then Sweep. Electrum's documentation explains that sweeping sends all the bitcoin to an address in your wallet, and the swept keys do not become part of it. Do not use import. Electrum only imports keys into a special wallet with no seed phrase, which then needs its own backup.
Retiring the old paper wallet
Once the transaction confirms, the paper wallet is empty, and you should treat the private key as burned. Never send bitcoin to that address again. Anyone who saw the key, the printer, or the website that made it could still take whatever lands there.
Keep the paper as a souvenir or destroy it. The bitcoin now sits under your hardware wallet's seed phrase, and that is the backup to protect.
Frequently asked questions
Are paper wallets safe?
Not by today's standards. Most were generated on websites, printing can leave copies, and spending requires exposing the private key to a computer. A hardware wallet avoids all three.
How do I make a paper wallet for bitcoin?
I recommend you do not. If the goal is offline storage, a Bitcoin-only hardware wallet with a seed phrase backup on metal does the same job without the risks. See my wallet rankings.
How do I send bitcoin from a paper wallet?
Sweep the whole balance into a wallet you control with Sparrow or Electrum, then send from there. Do not spend part of it directly, because the leftover goes to a change address that is not on your paper.
Should I sweep or import a paper wallet?
Sweep. Sweeping moves all the bitcoin to an address in your own wallet in one transaction. Importing keeps the old key in use and, in Electrum, requires a separate wallet with no seed phrase backup.
Is writing my seed phrase on paper the same as a paper wallet?
No. A seed phrase on paper is the backup for a hardware wallet that holds and uses the keys. A paper wallet is a single printed private key that you have to expose to spend.