en	[[!meta title="Exchanging bitcoins using Electrum"]]

en	[*Electrum*](https://electrum.org/) is a [[!wikipedia Bitcoin]] client that is particularly suited to the context of Tails because:

en	You can use your wallet from different devices and avoid losing bitcoins in a backup mistake or computer failure.

en	Electrum does not download the blockchain, so there is no waiting time when starting.

en	You can sign transactions from an offline working session for additional security.

en	To start <span class="application">Electrum</span> choose <span class="menuchoice"> <span class="guimenu">Applications</span>&nbsp;▸ <span class="guisubmenu">Internet</span>&nbsp;▸ <span class="guimenuitem">Electrum Bitcoin Wallet</span> </span>.

en	To learn how to use *Electrum*, read the [*Electrum* documentation](https://electrum.readthedocs.io/).

en	For an explanation of how Bitcoin works in simple terms, read [The In-Depth Guide to Bitcoin That Won’t Leave You Frustrated](https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/ultimate-guide-bitcoin/).

en	Bitcoin is not anonymous.

en	To make it harder to relate your different transactions, you should use a different receiving address for each transaction. Electrum automatically generates new addresses for you to use.

en	<p><span class="application">Electrum</span> uses <em>mBTC</em> as the default base unit. 1 mBTC = 0.001 BTC. To change the base unit, choose <span class="menuchoice"> <span class="guimenu">Tools</span>&nbsp;▸ <span class="guimenuitem">Preferences</span></span>.</p>

en	Do not blindly trust the bitcoin balance that Electrum displays as . Wait for transactions to be confirmed.

en	Recovering your wallet from its seed

en	Backing up your seed

en	Your wallet can be recovered entirely from its : the chain of words generated by Electrum when creating the wallet. But if you lose your seed, you lose your entire wallet.

en	That's why we recommend you both:

en	Turn on the [[Electrum Bitcoin Wallet|persistent_storage/configure#electrum]] feature of the Persistent Storage to store your bitcoin wallet and preferences across separate working sessions.
sr-latn	Dies ist der Grund, warum wir es Ihnen empfehlen, den [[beständigen Speicherbereich|doc/first_steps/persistence/configure/#bitcoin]] für den Bitcoin Client zu aktivieren, um Ihr Wallet und Ihre Einstellungen über mehrere Arbeitssitzungen hinweg zu speichern.

en	Backup your seed outside of Tails. For example, you can write it down on a piece of paper and keep it with you.

en	Fixing a corrupted wallet

en	If Electrum fails to start or stays minimized, maybe your Electrum folder is corrupted.

en	To recover your wallet from its seed:

en	Make sure that Electrum is closed.

en	Open your Home folder.

en	Click the [[!img lib/open-menu.png alt="Main Menu" class="symbolic" link="no"]] button in the title bar and turn on the option **Show Hidden Files**.

en	Open the .electrum folder.

en	Delete the wallets folder.

en	Start Electrum.

en	When creating a new wallet choose I already have a seed and specify the seed of your wallet.