As long as you find some sort of entropy (randomness) and the right algorithms you can create a bitcoin address. In this guide we are going to create a private key using standard six sided dice.
The private key is the most important part! With a private key you can generate the address, but if all you have is an address you can not generate or figure out the private key. Technically all you need to do is store the private key, you can always regenerate the exact same bitcoin address again and again using that key.
What you will need:
- A six sided die (preferably three of them, but you can do it with just one).
- Paper and pencil/pen
- A copy of bitaddress.org website saved offline. (https://github.com/pointbiz/bitaddress. ... 2.9.11.zip)
With the dice we are going to generate a Base 6 Private Key. These keys are 99 digits long and consist of numbers from 0-5.
1. Roll the die 99 times
If you have 3 die, you only have to roll it 33 times, but either way you will end up with 99 digits.
2. Write down the outcome of each roll until you have 99 digits. Since the key only accepts 0-5, when the number 6 comes up just write down a zero instead of six.
3. Once you have 99 rolls that is your base6 private key! You could save this somewhere and it's all you need to regenerate the same address and wallet import format private keys.
4. Since most wallets do not support base 6, you will need to convert it to WIF (wallet import format). Make sure you are not connected to the internet (best if you have a computer that is never connected to the web) and launch the index page of bitaddress.org (https://github.com/pointbiz/bitaddress. ... 2.9.11.zip)
5. Go to the "wallet details" tab and enter in your 99 digit base 6 private key and hit enter. Violla! You now have a bitcoin address and the corresponding private key.
Common Questions:
Is this a secure way to create an address, and what if someone else rolls the same numbers that I did?
- Yes it's secure, and don't worry about someone else generating the same key as you. There are 108 quattuorvigintillion different possible outcomes (yes that's a real number) and it is comparable to 1/100th of the number of atoms in the visible universe http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=6%5E99
What if I make a typo when entering the 99 digits into bitaddress?
- This is a serious concern! I strongly suggest that you enter in the 99 digits multiple times to make sure that you come up with the same address each time. Once you are consistently getting the same address you should be safe to expect that there are no typos.
Can I import this dice address into a wallet service like multibit, electrum, mycellium, etc?
- Absolutely! Using the WIF private key that comes up on bitaddress. You can scan the QR code, or copy and paste the private key into the 'import' section of your wallet.