lost some btc

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wallet42Member
Posts: 3 · Reputation: 119
#1Sep 4, 2022, 08:12 PM
Hey everyone. So, about a month after I last used Bitcoin Core 25.0, I fired it up again on March 20 with the same version and noticed that some btc was missing from my wallet. Didn't do any transactions during that time either. I checked bitcoin.org and saw they have BTC Core 27.0 out, so I tried that version, but the issue still happened. I wiped everything from my wallet directory and re-downloaded the whole blockchain, even swapped out wallet copies, but I'm still missing btc at the end. What do you think could have gone wrong? This is the first time in many years I’ve run into something like this.
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BasedGasHero Member
Posts: 460 · Reputation: 2335
#2Sep 4, 2022, 10:47 PM
Part of the balance is missing or the entire history? To ensure that you're using the right wallet file. Maybe the node is not yet synced if there's nothing wrong with the wallet file, if that's the case then try rescan or reindex. Also you can find the list of unspent UTXOs using bitcoin-cli listunspent .
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maxi2017Senior Member
Posts: 262 · Reputation: 1550
#3Sep 5, 2022, 02:07 AM
What do you mean "some btc disappeared from the wallet"? How do you know? Thats not possible without an outgoing transaction from your wallet address. Have you checked the address in an online blockchain explorer?
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wallet42Member
Posts: 3 · Reputation: 119
#4Sep 5, 2022, 07:19 AM
When I don't have much btc in my wallet and 2 btc disappear I know something is wrong. None of my main addresses dont have btc. They are all on the rest of the transaction addresses. I'll try reindex wallet first. Maybe btc didn't return to the wallet after the last transaction on February 19th.
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im_lynxHero Member
Posts: 515 · Reputation: 2161
#5Sep 5, 2022, 09:53 AM
Where did you download your copy of Bitcoin Core? Did you verify that your Bitcoin Core is genuine? bitcoin.org is not under control of Bitcoin developers. The only valid site for Bitcoin Core is https://bitcoincore.org! It seems to me that English isn't your native language. As you start up your Bitcoin Core only occassionally, are coins missing when your Bitcoin Core is fully synced?
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hodler2019Legendary
Posts: 2182 · Reputation: 12913
#6Sep 5, 2022, 02:53 PM
Chosing to delete was a poor decision. How can anyone know what you deleted? SORRY for your loss of 2 btc.
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sage_moonSenior Member
Posts: 273 · Reputation: 1371
#7Sep 5, 2022, 06:15 PM
I suppose you should first check if the addresses contain your funds (including change addresses). If they are there, it’s definitely a synchronization error, or perhaps you’re using a pruned node. In any case, if the funds are in a change address that isn’t being displayed for some reason, you can always recover it.
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gr3g.0rbitHero Member
Posts: 1025 · Reputation: 2646
#8Sep 7, 2022, 07:30 AM
You should rather use rescanblockchain command in that case instead of reindex, That's only necessary if there's some issue in your blocks, block index or UTXO set which will return with an error message. Bitcoin Core version has nothing to do with it. If your node is fully synced: Check your "Transactions" tab for any transaction that is not marked with check (✔). If so, tell us what the transaction's status shows.
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DarkSeedSenior Member
Posts: 209 · Reputation: 1423
#9Sep 9, 2022, 11:47 AM
You should explain if there are movements on the wallet. Any outgoing transactions? If not, then the transactions where you received these BTC are missing? in this context, it looks like you are using an older backup that does not contain the addresses where you got paid? It's very confusing how you put it. You also mentioned you deleted files. See if you deleted any wallet.dat files. If you are on windows, download Recuva or a software like that and do a deep scan for deleted files. If you are using linux, perhaps try with foremost. Im not gonna tell you the exact command, but look for .dat files and read the manual before proceeding. Also always recover the files into a different drive for higher chances of success.
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nick.novaMember
Posts: 5 · Reputation: 126
#10Sep 9, 2022, 01:29 PM
To help troubleshoot, may I ask if you've verified whether Bitcoin Core is correctly loading all of your wallet files? In some cases, especially when multiple wallet backups exist or file names have changed, Bitcoin Core may not automatically load the intended wallet. You can confirm which wallets are currently loaded using the listwallets command in the debug console, or try manually loading others with loadwallet "wallet_name".
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hodler2019Legendary
Posts: 2182 · Reputation: 12913
#11Sep 11, 2022, 02:30 AM
Op has not given any worthwhile info. He says 2 coins are missing. he did not state any address of any kind. and he said he deleted files we really can't do anything to help under these circumstances.
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planktonSenior Member
Posts: 473 · Reputation: 1384
#12Sep 11, 2022, 08:40 AM
Is it possible that the missing funds were the remainder of a previous transaction and were being held on a "change address" so that when you changed wallet copies the new wallet (presumably restored from a private key) it no longer contained the address that was being used for the change of a prior transaction?  That would look like your funds just went missing if you didn't understand how your coins were being managed inside your wallet.  Maybe look at the history of transactions and see if you can identify transactions that sent leftover funds to a change address or be more clear about how you changed your wallet and if it was restored from a private key or any other useful details.
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hodler2019Legendary
Posts: 2182 · Reputation: 12913
#13Sep 11, 2022, 01:12 PM
he should have never deleted files it is simply impossible to know what he did. btw he never gave an address or tx of any kind so he is pretty much on his own.
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im_lynxHero Member
Posts: 515 · Reputation: 2161
#14Sep 11, 2022, 05:17 PM
Has anyone ever compiled the 10 commandments of Satoshi? (Or whatever number is required to have them all.) Here's one of them that fits the current context: You shall never delete a wallet because you never know how and when you may need it. It simply doesn't make sense, especially when it's a wallet full of non-deterministic random private keys like the old wallets before HD wallets were established. And I would extend the "do not completely delete" mantra to mnemonic recovery phrases, too. If you think you don't need it, fine but still keep it. You can lower storage security, but simply don't delete it completely. There may come the day where you'll be happy you haven't deleted it.
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