This how-to is primarily for new users of Bitcoin who download the Bitcoin QT wallet client (the one from Bitcoin.org - sometimes called the Original or Satoshi Bitcoin Wallet) and get stuck waiting for days downloading the entire block chain history before they can access their Bitcoins.

So if you downloaded Bitcoin QT, got a wallet address, ordered Bitcoins and then find that your Bitcoin wallet still has 90% of the block chain history to download, and if you don’t want to continue waiting, because that 10% already took half a day, then this is a way to get access to your Bitcoins quickly.

Import your wallet.dat into Blockchain.info

Step 1:

You will need to find your wallet.dat file (this is your actual wallet that was created by Bitcoin QT when you installed it).

Your wallet.dat file is located in:

Vista / Windows 7
C:\Users\YourUserName\Appdata\Roaming\Bitcoin

Windows XP
C:\Documents and Settings\YourUserName\Application data\Bitcoin

Note 1 for Windows users: If not already enabled, you will need to enable “view hidden files and folders”.

Note 2 for Windows users: replace YourUserName with your actual user name and replace C: with the appropriate drive letter if your operating system is installed on a drive path other than C:

Linux
~/.bitcoin/

Mac
~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/

There are a few ways to get there:

• Navigate through your computer to the folder manually.
• Windows: Copy and paste the appropriate C:-drive-address (see above) into any open folder’s address bar (replacing the appropriate fields).
• Windows: Go to Start Menu > Run (or press WinKey+R) and run: explorer %APPDATA%\Bitcoin
• Windows: Search for wallet.dat
• Linux: find / -name wallet.dat -print 2>/dev/null
• Mac: I don�t know. If you know another way aside from the first one abve, please write it in the comments.

If you can see the wallet.dat file in the folder, it’s all good, you can leave it alone for a bit and go to the next step.

Step 2:

Go to https://blockchain.info/wallet/import-wallet in Google Chrome or Firefox (Internet Explorer may not work for what you will need to do).

Step 3:

Bring up the folder containing your wallet.dat file so you can see it and the web page at the same time.

With you mouse, drag the wallet.dat file into the boxed area in the middle of the web page.

Follow the rest of the instructions on blockchain.info to setup your blockchain.info wallet.

If Bitcoins have been sent to your Bitcoin wallet address, you should see the Bitcoins in your blockchain.info wallet as soon as you have completed the wallet setup.

Note: If you still want to use Bitcoin QT afterwards, it’s best to remove the wallet.dat file and get Bitcoin QT to create you a new one, as there can be problems if you are running 2 instances of the same wallet in different places.