wallet.dat – What should I do if I deleted the wallet file but the private keys are still there?
The main definition and meaning of a Bitcoin wallet is that it represents a set of private keys. So I assume you mean deleting those files.
Whether and in what format you can regain access to your wallet depends on the type of keys it contains.
The corresponding keys are:
- Connected to each other – HD Wallet (Deterministic Wallet)
- Disconnected (non-deterministic wallet)
Deterministic Wallet (HD Wallet) It is based on the fact that all other keys are derived from one master seed or a master key previously derived from that master seed. For this purpose, various standards are used, the most famous of which is BIP32. This process is “recursive”. This means that if you derive a subkey from a master key, that key can then derive subkeys, and so on. So, if the private key you know is:
- Master Private Key – You can regain access to your entire wallet, i.e. all your private keys.
- Non-master private keys – You can only regain access to a portion of your wallet, i.e. all the private keys that those keys were ancestors of in the derivation process.
non-deterministic wallet You can view it as a collection of private keys that exist in one place, and those keys are not connected in any way. So, if you know some of your private keys, it’s not enough to gain access to all or at least some of your wallet.
