Create a new wallet.
- Step 01
Open Electrum ABC
Launch the wallet. On first run you'll be prompted to create or restore a wallet.
- Step 02
Choose 'Create new wallet'
Pick the 'Standard wallet' option for a single-signature wallet (most common).
- Step 03
Write down your seed
The wallet generates a 12-word seed. Write it on paper. Never photograph it, never paste it into anything online. This seed is the only backup.
- Step 04
Confirm the seed
Re-enter the seed to confirm you wrote it correctly. Mistakes here mean unrecoverable funds later.
- Step 05
Set a wallet-file password
Set a strong password. The wallet file on disk is encrypted with this password (AES-256).
- Step 06
Back up the wallet file
Copy the wallet file to a second location (USB key, encrypted drive). The seed alone is enough to recover, but the file is faster and preserves your address labels.
One more time, slowly: the seed is the wallet
If you lose the seed and the wallet file, your XEC is gone. If someone else finds the seed, they own your XEC. Treat those 12 words like cash in physical form.
New-wallet questions.
Is the 12-word seed phrase enough to restore my wallet?+
Yes. The seed is the master backup for a standard Electrum ABC wallet. Given the seed you can restore all addresses, balances, and future coins on any fresh install of Electrum ABC — even without the original wallet file.
Can I choose my own wallet password?+
Yes. You set the password yourself when you create the wallet. It encrypts the wallet file on disk with AES-256. It is not a login and cannot be recovered — pick a strong password and store it separately from the seed.
Do I need to be online to create a wallet?+
You don't need internet to generate the seed and the wallet file — those are computed locally. You do need a network connection when you want to check balances or send and receive XEC, since Electrum ABC connects to ElectrumX servers for chain data.
What happens if I lose the wallet file but still have the seed?+
You can fully restore the wallet from the seed on a new install. Address labels and custom settings inside the file will be lost, but every XEC address, key, and coin controlled by the seed is recoverable.