Create a Bitcoin and Litecoin Segwit Wallet

Wed 05 December 2018 by Lennart Jongeneel

Storing private keys in a safe way can be cumbersome, so if you work with multiple cryptocurrencies, it is handy to use a single private key for multiple networks for example Bitcoin and Litecoin.

This article describes how to create a Segwit wallet with Python BitcoinLib from the Python console. It assumes you have the installed the Python BitcoinLib with 'pip install bitcoinlib'.

Bitcoin and Litecoin SegWit Wallet, credits @Frankieboy93

Thanks to Peter Dalby for the image, https://twitter.com/Frankieboy93

Create the private key

>>> from bitcoinlib.mnemonic import Mnemonic
>>> key = Mnemonic().generate()
>>> key
'scheme unfold sea follow canvas food average knife stamp random collect slot'

Make sure to write down this private key passphrase on 2 or more pieces of paper and store them in a safe place.

Create the wallet

Now create a Bitcoin segwit wallet and add an account for the Litecoin network:

>>> from bitcoinlib.wallets import HDWallet
>>> w = HDWallet.create('mywallet', key, witness_type='segwit', network='bitcoin')
>>> w.new_account(network='litecoin')
>>> w.info()
=== WALLET ===
 ID                             13
 Name                           mywallet
 Owner
 Scheme                         bip32
 Multisig                       False
 Witness type                   segwit
 Main network                   bitcoin

= Wallet Master Key =
 ID                             116
 Private                        True
 Depth                          0

- NETWORK: bitcoin -
- - Keys
  121 m/84'/0'/0'/0/0              bc1qjalwm3tr6jz5fecprutheejj84axlvsunj267k    address index 0                      0.00000000 BTC
  129 m/84'/0'/0'/1/0              bc1qyuwzqgn0czf40k2vdf9qsz3wlsfsmcfw59ag07    address index 0                      0.00000000 BTC

- - Transactions (Account 0, zpub6qrL6kaP9pEhD9RXiJrbVC9JmMd2XwXJh6nxH4rNk6Q1qHC7fgEEarNLKAFseRxXY8cZLymniczWvyqJp8CZGnmDSX6US1tit2BxHroAPCR)

- NETWORK: litecoin -
- - Keys
  125 m/84'/2'/0'/0/0              ltc1qpeez5d09uq7ruead6lh5m7aq09r47muvutgsgd   address index 0                      0.00000000 LTC
  127 m/84'/2'/0'/1/0              ltc1qzwus8mmd8y302aw20wg84whhszj6h0ay75vyhm   address index 0                      0.00000000 LTC

- - Transactions (Account 0, Mtub2sXpSFfX3mYCLHrNtJFNfaMcTU5M7UdbasVAQDUVBwrvqEwFTeAcJVkCtgrv9MViXistThqQNPt77sUSvpj4dTwsRD4tFa5jwDcujaHQacL)

= Balance Totals (includes unconfirmed) =

A wallet with the first derived addresses has been created. This wallet will be stored in a Sqlite database in your home folder. You can reopen it later with:

>>> w = HDWallet('mywallet')

Create a Transaction

First fund your wallet with a small amount of litecoins or bitcoins so we can create a transaction.

Update your wallet:

>>> w.utxos_update()
1

The utxos_update method outputs how many new unspent outputs or new funds are added, so '1' means a new UTXO is found.

To create an transaction type:

>>> t = w.send_to('ltc1qzwus8mmd8y302aw20wg84whhszj6h0ay75vyhm', 94118, fee=1000, offline=True)
>>> t.info()
Transaction
Date: None
Network: litecoin
Version: 1
Witness type: segwit
Status: new
Verified: True
Inputs
- ltc1qpeez5d09uq7ruead6lh5m7aq09r47muvutgsgd 95118 4b2698a851b2a38ebef43c2af7da4726058b3a88e6dda4cace43d2e944d99227 0
  Script type: sig_pubkey (segwit), signatures: 1 (1-of-1), valid
Outputs, s
- ltc1qzwus8mmd8y302aw20wg84whhszj6h0ay75vyhm 94118
Size: 141
Vsize: 141
Fee: 1000
Confirmations: None
Pushed to network: False
Wallet: mywallet

If everything looks fine you can push the transaction:

>>> t.send()
True
>>> t.info()
Transaction b68ea01a4521048bece5f208932d36add3f85981f13bb446bf05a065f0c43405
Date: None
Network: litecoin
Version: 1
Witness type: segwit
Status: unconfirmed
Verified: True
Inputs
- ltc1qpeez5d09uq7ruead6lh5m7aq09r47muvutgsgd 95118 4b2698a851b2a38ebef43c2af7da4726058b3a88e6dda4cace43d2e944d99227 0
  Script type: sig_pubkey (segwit), signatures: 1 (1-of-1), valid
Outputs
- ltc1qzwus8mmd8y302aw20wg84whhszj6h0ay75vyhm 94118
Size: 191
Vsize: 141
Fee: 1000
Confirmations: 0
Pushed to network: True
Wallet: mywallet

After sending the transaction object is updated with the transaction ID, and send results. The status should show as 'unconfirmed' and pushed to network should be True. If any errors occur when sending they will also be added to the object.

This is it. You can reopen your wallet later as all information is stored in the database. And you can restore or recreate your wallet with the passphrase.

Please note that this wallet is not super-secure as private keys are stored unencrypted on your device, so you should only use it for testing or small amounts of pocket money. To add extra security you can create a multisig wallet and/or encrypt your wallet private keys with a extra password.

Create a Bitcoin and Litecoin Segwit Wallet

Create the private key

Create the wallet

Create a Transaction

Use Nulldata to store data on the Litecoin or Dash Blockchain

Proof existence of documents using Nulldata

Create a Litecoin Multisig Transaction

Create a Litecoin Multisig Wallet

Guide: Create a safe offline wallet without printer

Claim your Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Cash or other forks

Use Nulldata to store data on the Bitcoin Blockchain

What to do with my paper wallet?

Create a Blockchain.info Wallet