Wallet is encrypted and currently locked – Unlock wallet the right way

We’ve covered so many wallet tutorials so far explaining how to use both electrum and QT wallets. Whenever we make a wallet guide the very first thing that we point out is wallet encryption. This is one of the most important security factor which you must take into consideration. If you fail to encrypt then anyone who have access to your computer can also access your funds. So if you have coins in your desktop wallet client then take this measure immediately.

Previously we’ve covered on how to encrypt wallet which you can go through if you want. Once your wallet is locked you’ll be asked to enter the password each time you send coins. Looks like more people are having trouble with this part “unlocking the wallet“. This is a beginners guide and here in this post we are going to show you how to unlock your wallet safely. Also once the purpose is done how to encrypt or lock it back properly.

Unlocking wallet – Decryption

Your wallet needs to be unlocked not when you just send coins, but also to export the private keys or when singing messages. On the other hand there are few QT wallets which will ask your password just for the purpose of staking or minting. So always remember this before encrypting your wallets; “If you lose your passphrase or password you lose all of your funds”. Either memorize your password or at least note it down in a paper and put it in a safe place. Alright, let’s see how to unlock the wallet now.

In most core wallets you’ll find the unlock wallet option under settings (Settings >> Unlock wallet). Just enter your passphrase to unlock your wallet. By unlocking from here you can access most part of your wallet. You can stake, send coins and even export private keys. However the problem is few wallets won’t unlock fully; it says “wallet is encrypted and currently unlocked” or “wallet is unlocked for minting only“. This usually can be observed in Verge and Peercoin wallets. In such cases the only way to fully unlock the wallet is by using the RPC console window.

If you’re using the latest version Bitcoin core then use the console commands to unlock your wallet.

Wallet is unlocked for minting only

Most users have reported stating that while dumping private keys wallet returns ” wallet is unlocked for minting only”.

Wallet Mining is a feature which you can find in old Verge / Peercoin wallets and is similar to Staking.

We don’t know why this error code appears in few wallet even though it is a PoW coin. Anyways if you wish to unlock your wallet for whatever reason then this is how it’s done.

Wallet unlock

1. In your wallet go to Help >> Debug Window >> Console. Or Window >> Console.
2. Now in console window just type walletpassphrase and hit enter. It will show you how to utilize this command properly.

walletpassphrase <passphrase> <timeout>

Stores the wallet decryption key in memory for <timeout> seconds.

you can add <mintonly> at the end of the command which is optional true/false allowing only block minting.

3. Below is an example to unlock your wallet completely for let’s say about 60 Seconds.

walletpassphrase "your wallet password" 60

4. You can change the timeout to any number and it will lock the wallet automatically once the time expires.
5. In case if it fails to lock back then all you have to do is enter ” walletlock” without quotes in your console window. Remember to lock your wallet back once the reason for unlock is done.

If you have any doubts regarding locking or unlocking your core wallet, then please feel free to comment it out.