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[[!meta title="Exchanging bitcoins using Electrum"]]
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[[!toc levels=2]]
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[[!toc levels=2]]
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[*Electrum*](https://electrum.org/) is a [[!wikipedia Bitcoin]] client that is particularly suited to the context of Tails because:
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You can use your wallet from different devices and avoid losing bitcoins in a backup mistake or computer failure.
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Electrum does not download the blockchain, so there is no waiting time when starting.
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You can sign transactions from an offline working session for additional security.
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To start <span class="application">Electrum</span> choose
<span class="menuchoice">
<span class="guimenu">Applications</span> ▸
<span class="guisubmenu">Internet</span> ▸
<span class="guimenuitem">Electrum Bitcoin Wallet</span>
</span>.
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To learn how to use *Electrum*, read the [*Electrum* documentation](https://electrum.readthedocs.io/).
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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/).
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<div class="caution">
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<div class="caution">
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<p>Bitcoin is <a href="https://bitcoin.org/en/faq#is-bitcoin-anonymous">not
anonymous</a>.</p>
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<p>To make it harder to relate your different transactions, you should use
a different receiving address for each transaction.
<span class="application">Electrum</span> automatically generates new
addresses for you to use.</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="tip">
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<div class="tip">
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<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> ▸
<span class="guimenuitem">Preferences</span></span>.</p>
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<p>Do not blindly trust the bitcoin balance that <span class="application">Electrum</span>
displays as <em>unconfirmed</em>. Wait for transactions to be confirmed.</p>
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Recovering your wallet from its seed
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Backing up your seed
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Your wallet can be recovered entirely from its <em>seed</em>: the
chain of words generated by <span class="application">Electrum</span>
when creating the wallet. But if you lose your seed, you
lose your entire wallet.
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That's why we recommend you both:
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