Create paper wallet template for promotional use

[javgh]

I think it would be great if we had a simple one-page paper wallet PDF with Hive branding, which can be used to introduce people to both Bitcoin as well as Hive. The page should contain:

• our branding
• a title like "Bitcoin Paper Wallet"
• a paragraph answering "What is Bitcoin?"
• a paragraph answering "What is a paper wallet?"
• room for a QR code of the Bitcoin address and a QR code of the private key
• instructions targeted at smartphones users on how to go about downloading Hive Android or Hive iOS and importing the funds.

I think this would be very useful for things like conferences, where you can give out small amounts to get started (one would be surprised, how many people even at Bitcoin conferences don't actually have any bitcoins). But it can also be used in digital form (so not technically a paper wallet then) by - for example - attaching such a PDF to an email and saying: "Here, we were talking about Bitcoin yesterday, I have attached some for you". Since Bitcoin is still a technology that needs a lot of explanation, I think it's useful to have something that bundles both getting-started-funds and getting-started-instructions.

Simple mockup:

Once we have such a template, we can at first more or less manually create actual paper wallets from it, by overlaying new QR codes. Although it might be nice, to package that as a simple webpage at some point, which does that automatically in the browser and then offers up the created PDF as a download.

[ghost]

Love this idea!

[javgh]

Ok, I have written a little bit of text for the template. All just ideas - I'm fine with it being changed or completely ignored. ;-)

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is an attempt at creating a digital currency, which has no single
controlling entity, like a central bank or a government, but rather emerges from
a decentralized network of nodes running the Bitcoin software. At its core,
Bitcoin is a distributed digital ledger, which keeps track of who owns how many
bitcoins. Clever use of peer-to-peer technology and cryptography ensures that
the ledger is kept in sync and no bitcoins can be duplicated or counterfeited,
even though participants do not need to trust each other or rely on a central
party. The ledger will never contain more than 21 million bitcoins.

What is a paper wallet? (Version A)

On an abstract level, ledger entries are identified by Bitcoin addresses. These
can be thought of as account numbers, except a user typically has many of them
and can easily create new ones. Each Bitcoin address is associated with a
private key, which allows the modification of the ledger entry - i.e. the
transfer of bitcoins from this Bitcoin address to another. These private keys
are normally managed by wallet software, but can also be printed out to form a
paper wallet.

Below are QR codes for both a Bitcoin address and its associated private key.
The Bitcoin address contains a small amount of bitcoins, which you can send
elsewhere, by scanning the private key with your wallet software.

What is a paper wallet? (Version B)

Another helpful metaphor for Bitcoin is, to think of the network as a collection
of digital lockers in the cloud. Each locker is labeled with a Bitcoin address,
which can be used to deposit bitcoins into this locker. To open the locker and
move the bitcoins elsewhere, a private key is necessary. This private key is
normally managed by wallet software, but can also simply be printed out.

The Bitcoin address below identifies a locker with a small amount of bitcoins
inside. Next to it is the associated private key. By scanning it with your
wallet software, you can open the locker and move those bitcoins elsewhere.

I have written two versions for the "what is a paper wallet". The first one started as an extension of the digital ledger idea, but maybe it got a little bit too technical/scary. So the second one is an attempt at a friendlier metaphor.

[weilu]

I like the locker metaphor better :)

[mattatgit]

i've started putting it together, but i think it needs to be much simpler than this. I'm not so convinced it needs to explain what bitcoin is, or even too much about what a paper wallet is. If the primary idea is to promote Hive & get users started with some BTC & a Hive Web wallet, i see it being much simpler, more like this:

Format: A4 page, folded in quarters, making a wallet-like shape.

Here's a wireframe for it:

[mackuba]

Yeah, version B definitely sounds better.

Is there any way we can minimize the use of the word "ledger"? Speaking from experience, it's definitely not a word that non-native-speakers learn early on... I think before Bitcoin I've only seen it once in some game long ago :)