<p>The <a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Block_chain" rel="nofollow">blockchain</a> is the full record of all Bitcoin transactions. Without it, we wouldn't know how much each address is able to spend.</p>

<p>There are <a href="https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet" rel="nofollow">some clients</a> (called lightweight clients) that rely on their peers' blockchains while others like Bitcoin Core (sometimes called a full client/node) store the blockchain themselves. If you choose a full client, you should expect to download and store the blockchain (~21 GB currently). You can speed up the initial sync by download bootstrap.dat from a torrent, <a href="https://bitcoin.org/en/download" rel="nofollow">as instructed here</a>.</p>

<p>What you're describing, though, is not <a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Cold_storage" rel="nofollow">cold storage</a>! Cold storage means that the keys are only accessible via offline means, like a piece of paper, or a computer that is never connected to the Internet.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-07T13:33:21.447Z
Thanks for your answer. I'll certainly take a look at the bootstrap.dat torrent. In terms of cold storage I intend to encrypt the wallet.dat files and burn them to a cd and remove them from my pc.
Matthew Layton
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-07T12:39:52.713Z
2014-06-07T12:39:52.713Z
Tim S.
<p>I have installed the BitCoin wallet application on my PC, so that I can cold store my BitCoin. It's "Synchronizing with the network" and has 272 weeks of BC left to download (painfully slow!!)</p>

<p>What I want to know is, why do I need to download the BC in order to send/receive funds from my wallet. Is this absolutely necessary?</p>

<wallet><blockchain><bitcoin-core>
Purpose of a BlockChain in local wallet application
Matthew Layton
# Purpose of a BlockChain in local wallet application

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-06-07)

I have installed the BitCoin wallet application on my PC, so that I can cold store my BitCoin. It's "Synchronizing with the network" and has 272 weeks of BC left to download (painfully slow!!)

What I want to know is, why do I need to download the BC in order to send/receive funds from my wallet. Is this absolutely necessary?

**Tags:** wallet, blockchain, bitcoin-core


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-06-07. Score: 1

The [blockchain](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Block_chain) is the full record of all Bitcoin transactions. Without it, we wouldn't know how much each address is able to spend.

There are [some clients](https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet) (called lightweight clients) that rely on their peers' blockchains while others like Bitcoin Core (sometimes called a full client/node) store the blockchain themselves. If you choose a full client, you should expect to download and store the blockchain (~21 GB currently). You can speed up the initial sync by download bootstrap.dat from a torrent, [as instructed here](https://bitcoin.org/en/download).

What you're describing, though, is not [cold storage](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Cold_storage)! Cold storage means that the keys are only accessible via offline means, like a piece of paper, or a computer that is never connected to the Internet.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks for your answer. I'll certainly take a look at the bootstrap.dat torrent. In terms of cold storage I intend to encrypt the wallet.dat files and burn them to a cd and remove them from my pc.  

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