Electrum Bitcoin Wallet: How to Set Up, Back Up and Use It
Electrum is a lightweight, non-custodial Bitcoin wallet for Windows, macOS, Linux and Android. It keeps your private keys on your own device and checks the blockchain through Electrum servers instead of downloading it, so it starts in seconds rather than syncing for days. First released on 5 November 2011, according to the Bitcoin Wiki, it is one of the oldest Bitcoin wallets still maintained, and it handles hardware wallets, multisig, offline signing and Lightning.
Electrum at a Glance
| Feature | Electrum |
|---|---|
| Coins | Bitcoin only |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux and Android; no official iOS app |
| Custody | Non-custodial: the keys stay on your device |
| Blockchain data | Simplified Payment Verification (SPV) through public or private Electrum servers |
| Backup | A 12-word seed in Electrum’s own format, not BIP39; BIP39 phrases can be imported |
| Hardware wallets | Ledger, Trezor, KeepKey, BitBox02, Coldcard, Jade and others |
| Advanced features | Multisig, watch-only wallets, offline signing, Lightning, two-factor wallets |
| Official download | electrum.org only, with GPG-signed releases |
What Is Electrum and How Does It Work?
Electrum is an SPV (Simplified Payment Verification) wallet: it does not download the full blockchain but asks servers for the data it needs and checks it. Its FAQ explains the trust model. The client never sends private keys to the servers, it verifies what they report with SPV, and by default it stays connected to about ten servers, which helps it notice a lagging server or a chain split.
The trade-off is privacy. One of those servers learns which addresses belong to your wallet, so a server operator can link them together. If that matters to you, run your own Electrum server connected to your own Bitcoin node, or connect through Tor.
Used on its own, Electrum keeps the keys on an online computer or phone, which makes it a hot wallet; paired with a hardware wallet, it only coordinates, and the keys stay on the device. If another app ever needs one of the keys, Electrum can export private keys from a standard wallet, although sending the coins is usually the safer move.
Main Features
- Lightweight and fast: no full blockchain download.
- Non-custodial: you hold the keys; no account, email or identity check is needed (custodial vs non-custodial wallets).
- Encryption: the seed and private keys are encrypted with AES-256-CBC and decrypted only briefly when you sign, and the wallet file itself is encrypted by default since version 2.8.
- Hardware wallet support: Electrum works as the desktop app for many hardware wallets.
- Multi-signature wallets: shared wallets with several cosigners.
- Open source: the code is public, and electrum.org says its executables are reproducible and signed independently by several builders.
How to Install Electrum Safely
Download Electrum only from electrum.org. Electrum’s documentation on malware warns that attackers clone its website on lookalike domains and buy Google ads for them; the official project does not advertise. A cloned app opens your wallet and then sends all the coins out or uploads the seed words.
Installation differs by system:
- Windows: the installer, the standalone executable or the portable version.
- macOS: the .dmg file; move Electrum to the Applications folder.
- Linux: the AppImage, or the Python package from source.
- Android: Google Play or F-Droid, as linked from electrum.org.
Each release has a GPG signature file. Checking it proves that the file was signed by the developers, which a lookalike site cannot fake; electrum.org explains how to import ThomasV’s key and run the check.
Creating and Restoring a Wallet
The setup wizard offers a standard wallet, a two-factor wallet, a multi-signature wallet or a wallet of imported addresses or keys. A standard wallet can also be created from a hardware device or, for watch-only use, from a master public key.
A new standard wallet gets a 12-word seed. The FAQ puts its strength at 132 bits of entropy, comparable to the security of a Bitcoin private key. Write the words on paper and keep them offline: Electrum cannot recover a forgotten password, but restoring from the seed lets you set a new one, and without both the funds are lost. You can add custom words as a seed extension, Electrum’s name for a passphrase, which must then be backed up as well.
Electrum seeds use their own versioned format, not BIP39, so other wallets usually reject them. In the other direction, a BIP39 phrase from another wallet can be restored in Electrum by choosing the BIP39 option during restore; Electrum seed vs BIP39 explains the difference and the settings to pick. To display the seed of an existing wallet later, open Wallet → Seed (how to view a seed phrase).
Pairing a Hardware Wallet
Electrum’s documentation covers Ledger, Trezor, KeepKey, Digital Bitbox, BitBox02, Safe-T, Coldcard and Jade. To use one:
- Connect the device and unlock it.
- For a Ledger, open the Bitcoin app; for a Trezor, make sure the firmware is up to date.
- In Electrum, choose File → New/Restore, select the hardware wallet option and follow the prompts.
- Confirm the receiving addresses on the hardware wallet’s own screen.
The private keys then stay on the device: Electrum builds the transactions, and the device signs them after you approve the amount and address on its screen.
Sending and Receiving Bitcoin
To receive, open the Receive tab, create a request and share the Bitcoin address or QR code it shows. To send, open the Send tab, paste the recipient’s address, enter the amount and choose a fee. Electrum lets you set the fee yourself, so you can pay more for a fast confirmation or less when you can wait; how the mempool works explains how fee rates set the order.
Before confirming, compare the whole address with the one you meant to pay. Electrum’s malware page describes clipboard hijackers that swap a copied address for the attacker’s; if you paste an address and see a different one, your computer is infected.
Security Best Practices
- Download Electrum only from electrum.org and check the signature.
- Set a strong wallet password, so the keys are encrypted at rest.
- Use a hardware wallet for savings, so the keys never sit on the computer.
- Keep the seed on paper, offline, and never give it to anyone. Electrum’s documentation says it has no customer service: anyone who contacts you as “Electrum support” and asks for your seed or offers a download link is a scammer.
- Check every transaction in the confirmation window before you sign it.
Advanced Features
- Multisig wallets: set up any M-of-N wallet with File → New → Multi-signature wallet and pass partially signed transactions between cosigners as files or QR codes.
- Cold storage: keep the seed on an offline computer, use a watch-only copy online, and move unsigned transactions between the two.
- Lightning: Electrum has supported Lightning payments since version 4.0 (July 2020), according to its release notes.
- Watch-only wallets: monitor a balance from a master public key without any private keys.
- Fee control: set the fee yourself, and raise it later on a stuck transaction that signals replace-by-fee.
Is Electrum Right for You?
Electrum suits Bitcoin users who want a fast desktop wallet, a front end for a hardware wallet or a multisig setup, and who are comfortable with a technical interface. It is less suitable if you hold other coins, want an iPhone app, or need a seed phrase that every other wallet accepts: in that last case, create a BIP39 wallet elsewhere and restore it in Electrum when you want its features. Other wallet types are compared in the crypto wallet guides.