open a terminal window

command ~ $ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:bitcoin/bitcoin

command ~ $ sudo apt-get update

command ~ $ sudo apt-get install bitcoin-qt

In order to speed up the synchronization of the blockchain a file named bootstrap.dat is available for download. At around 18Gb (November 2014) it can take a long time to download (24hrs). When downloaded if you need to transfer the file by copying the file to another computer, it will be necessary split to file into sections of (files) less than 2Gb each using the following command.

~ $ split -n10 bootstrap.dat

(splits the file into 10 files)

~ $ ls

~ $ bootstrap.dat

xaa xab xac xad xae xaf xag xah xai xaj

Copying ‘split’ files to a temporary directory ‘bitcoin-boot’

command ~ $ cd Downloads/bitcoin-boot

command ~ $ ls

To re-create the bootstrap.dat file concatenate the spit files using the following command

command ~ $ cat x* > bootstrap.dat

Copy bootstrap.dat to the (hidden) directory .bitcoin :- Note – the .bitcoin directory is ONLY created once Bitcoin-Qt has been loaded (run) at least once. (run Bitcoin-Qt now, from the menu for a few seconds!) This is where the data for the BTC wallet is kept – wallet.dat

command ~ $ cd .bitcoin

command ~ $ ls

(confirmation bootstrap.dat resides in the correct directory)

When Bitcoin-Qt is launched it will import the bloackchain from bootstrap.dat – as shown

‘importing blocks from disk’

This can take approximately 24 hrs depending on the specification of your computer

When Bitcoin-Qt has finished importing blocks from bootstrap.dat it will read

‘Synchronizing with network’

This can take and additional 24 hours again depending on the specification of your computer

When synchronization is complete the Bitcoin-Qt wallet is ready to use