<p>If you &quot;imported&quot; something from your old Multibit Wallet and ended up with a &quot;watch-only wallet&quot; it means that what you &quot;imported&quot; was a Bitcoin-address and not a private-key. You must find and import the <strong>private-key</strong>, <em>not the Bitcoin-address</em> if you want your new wallet to be able spend the money.</p>
<p>If your old Multibit Classic software is still working, you should be able to use it to create a transaction that sends money to a receive-address you create in a new wallet (using some <a href="https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet" rel="nofollow noreferrer">different wallet-software</a> such as Bitcoin-core).</p>
<p>I think a lesson for the rest of us is not to trust our money <em>solely</em> to proprietary backup formats. Always have a backup of either the master private key in Wallet Import Format (WIF) or the seed-phrase/recovery-phrase/backup-phrase in BIP-39 format or in some equally well-defined and well-known public format</p>
<hr />
<p>Related questions with answers that may be useful:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/69247/13866">Restore old multibit wallet</a></li>
<li><a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/98703/13866">Recovering wallet from MultibitHD backup file</a></li>
<li><a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/68671/13866">How do I get BTC out of my Multibit wallet?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/89202/13866">My Multibit wallet is empty</a></li>
<li><a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/66921/13866">I used multibit years ago - now what? (BTC, BTG, BCC etc...)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/66913/13866">Import Multibit multibit.key into Electrum</a></li>
<li><a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/multibit">Other questions about Multibit wallets</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T10:43:53.643Z
Where can I find Multibit Classic for Linux?
MW1983
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T09:55:17.037Z
2020-10-03T10:35:26.847Z
2020-10-03T10:35:26.847Z
RedGrittyBrick
<p>If you have access to your old computer look for the backup file there. If you used MacOS: Navigate to ~/Library/Application Support/MultiBit and if Windows: Search for %APPDATA%\MultiBit.</p>
<p>Look for .key or .wallet extension. Later you will need to decrypt the .key or .wallet file. Then you will obtain private key</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-25T01:14:57.970Z
2024-10-25T01:14:57.970Z
cryptorecovery.io
<p>I have old bitcoin wallet with some (not very huge) amount (last transaction was on 2014). It was created in Multibit (Classic, I guess, then I had old computer with old OS). Now I have new device, system and wallet, and want to restore old [wallet] to send bitcoin to the new one. I know, I need a private key, so I imported old wallet (it's <strong>watch-only wallet</strong> right now) in Bitcoin Core with rescan and next try to do like this guy -&gt; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ev33XGCH8M" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ev33XGCH8M</a>, however, after putting &quot;dumpprivkey&quot;-command in console, it says &quot;the private key for this address is not known&quot;.</p>
<p>That's what I don't understand (interesting, though), b'cause I remember I've backuped it and hold those files for all those years on my USB stick, but now they're completely unusefull. :(</p>
<p>How can I resolve this problem? Anyone knows?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-30T21:40:24.510Z
watchonly means that the wallet does not have any private keys. Did you import your private keys to Bitcoin Core?
Ava Chow
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T07:04:01.597Z
I tried, but it didn't work.
MW1983
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T10:00:22.353Z
It would probably help if you expanded on "didn't work" - what exactly did you do and what is the exact wording of any error-messages?
RedGrittyBrick
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T10:31:49.393Z
Rejected b'cause of invalid key.
MW1983
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T20:02:21.980Z
You need to make sure the thing you have is actually the private key. And you may need to convert it into the format that newer software requires. (Don't forget, you have bitcoin cash too.)
David Schwartz
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T20:41:20.560Z
The private key should be in .key file, am I right?
MW1983
<wallet-recovery><multibit>
Restoring private key from old bitcoin wallet
MW1983
# Restoring private key from old bitcoin wallet

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-09-30)

I have old bitcoin wallet with some (not very huge) amount (last transaction was on 2014). It was created in Multibit (Classic, I guess, then I had old computer with old OS). Now I have new device, system and wallet, and want to restore old [wallet] to send bitcoin to the new one. I know, I need a private key, so I imported old wallet (it's **watch-only wallet** right now) in Bitcoin Core with rescan and next try to do like this guy -> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ev33XGCH8M>, however, after putting "dumpprivkey"-command in console, it says "the private key for this address is not known".

That's what I don't understand (interesting, though), b'cause I remember I've backuped it and hold those files for all those years on my USB stick, but now they're completely unusefull. :(

How can I resolve this problem? Anyone knows?

**Tags:** wallet-recovery, multibit

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: watchonly means that the wallet does not have any private keys. Did you import your private keys to Bitcoin Core?  
> **username_0**: I tried, but it didn't work.  
> **username_2**: It would probably help if you expanded on "didn't work" - what exactly did you do and what is the exact wording of any error-messages?  
> **username_0**: Rejected b'cause of invalid key.  
> **username_3**: You need to make sure the thing you have is actually the private key. And you may need to convert it into the format that newer software requires. (Don't forget, you have bitcoin cash too.)  
> **username_0**: The private key should be in .key file, am I right?  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-10-01. Score: 1

If you "imported" something from your old Multibit Wallet and ended up with a "watch-only wallet" it means that what you "imported" was a Bitcoin-address and not a private-key. You must find and import the **private-key**, *not the Bitcoin-address* if you want your new wallet to be able spend the money.

If your old Multibit Classic software is still working, you should be able to use it to create a transaction that sends money to a receive-address you create in a new wallet (using some [different wallet-software](https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet) such as Bitcoin-core).

I think a lesson for the rest of us is not to trust our money *solely* to proprietary backup formats. Always have a backup of either the master private key in Wallet Import Format (WIF) or the seed-phrase/recovery-phrase/backup-phrase in BIP-39 format or in some equally well-defined and well-known public format

---

Related questions with answers that may be useful:

* [Restore old multibit wallet](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/69247/13866)
* [Recovering wallet from MultibitHD backup file](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/98703/13866)
* [How do I get BTC out of my Multibit wallet?](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/68671/13866)
* [My Multibit wallet is empty](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/89202/13866)
* [I used multibit years ago - now what? (BTC, BTG, BCC etc...)](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/66921/13866)
* [Import Multibit multibit.key into Electrum](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/66913/13866)
* [Other questions about Multibit wallets](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/multibit)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Where can I find Multibit Classic for Linux?  

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### Answer by username_4 on 2024-10-25. Score: 0

If you have access to your old computer look for the backup file there. If you used MacOS: Navigate to ~/Library/Application Support/MultiBit and if Windows: Search for %APPDATA%\MultiBit.

Look for .key or .wallet extension. Later you will need to decrypt the .key or .wallet file. Then you will obtain private key


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