Running BTC Core on Tails with Watch-Only Feature

Is it possible to run BTC Core on Tails USB with Persistent Storage? I heard the latest versions let you upgrade without losing your saved data, which is awesome. But I’m curious, if I set it up for watch-only transactions, will it actually work? Anyone tried this?

When you use Bitcoin Core, you’re not really sending Bitcoin, just creating a signed transaction that nodes pick up. Tor doesn’t really matter in this case, nor does it matter if the recipient is a centralized exchange. So the exchange won’t even know you used Tor or not.

As a Tails user, I really wouldn’t recommend downloading the entire blockchain onto a USB stick. I’ve dealt with tons of USB corruption issues over two years, had to reinstall Tails like five times. Plus, keeping it updated is tricky. You might not even see your deposit address before getting blocked.

You don’t have to stick with just USB sticks for Tails. You can use portable SSDs or HDDs, though the latter is slower. Just make sure whatever you use is reliable, especially if you’re syncing a blockchain with Bitcoin Core.

Not sure about everything, but you must point Bitcoin Core to the right folder after Tails restarts. Configuring Tails to keep Bitcoin Core’s config using Dotfiles might help too.

I’d use USB for the OS but have a portable SSD for the blockchain. I’d access the exchange on clearnet. So if I send to a CEX through clearnet, does it line up with my broadcast IP? I’ve seen people get their transactions blocked when broadcasting through Tor.

In theory, it could work. I haven’t run BTC Core on Tails yet, so there might be config settings to tweak. But broadcasting transactions means sending to multiple nodes, which can’t identify you as the sender, even if your node connects to a CEX.

Just to clarify, a watch-only wallet means you can't spend any Bitcoin with it. You need the private key for that. A watch-only wallet’s just for monitoring balances.

Yeah, it sounds doable; there’s a guide for that. But note, you’ll need at least a 1TB flash drive for the full blockchain. If you run Bitcoin Core in pruned mode, maybe it’ll be less. You’ll also need hardware for signing transactions while in watch-only mode. But it should work fine if you experiment with a small amount first.