How to create a Quai (QUAI) wallet

Which wallet should you use for Quai?

Quai's own open-source wallet is Pelagus. It is a browser extension for Chrome, Brave and Firefox. If you prefer a phone, Koala Wallet supports Quai on iOS and Android.

Both wallets are non-custodial. That means your keys stay on your device. No company holds your funds or can freeze them.

This guide walks through Pelagus in full. Then it covers the exchange and mobile options.

Only download a wallet from its official source. For Pelagus that is pelaguswallet.io, or else the coin's own site. Fake wallets in search ads and on random download sites are a common way people lose their coins.

How do you install Pelagus?

• Open the official site pelaguswallet.io and click Download. It opens the Pelagus listing in your browser's extension store.
• Add it to your browser and confirm. Pelagus works in Chrome, Brave and Firefox.
• When the install finishes, the wallet opens by itself. If it does not, click the extensions (puzzle-piece) icon at the top right of the browser and pick Pelagus.
• On the welcome screen, choose Create new wallet.

What does the password protect?

Set a strong password and type it again to confirm. Then click Anchors away! to create the wallet.

This password only unlocks Pelagus on this one device. It cannot recover your funds. If you forget it, you restore the wallet from your recovery phrase instead. So store the password somewhere safe as well.

How do you save your recovery phrase?

Click Create recovery phrase. Pelagus shows you a secret recovery phrase of 12 words, once.

This phrase is your wallet. Anyone who has it can take your coins. If you lose it, no one can restore your funds for you, because the wallet is non-custodial.

Write the 12 words on paper, in the exact order shown. Then click I've saved it in a safe place.

• Do not screenshot the phrase.
• Do not save it in a notes app or the cloud.
• Never type it into a website.
• A real pool or wallet will never ask you for it.

How do you confirm the phrase?

Pelagus asks you to put the words back in the right order. This proves you saved them. Then click Anchors away! again.

This is why the paper copy matters. If you cannot rebuild the phrase now, you could not restore the wallet later either. Once the order is correct, the wallet is created and you can continue to it.

How do you copy your QUAI address?

Open Pelagus and click Receive to see your account address. It is a string that starts with 0x, for example 0x004b0015A5a719765d2CeBF08dE8cfb965593F17. Use the copy button to copy the whole address exactly.

On Quai, the first two characters after 0x mark the shard the address lives on. A shard is a region and zone of the network. The network runs a single shard today, called Cyprus-1, so addresses begin 0x00.

Quai has two token types on one network:

• QUAI is the account-based token that miners earn.
• Qi is a separate UTXO-based token.

For mining payouts, make sure you copy a QUAI address. That exact string is your login and payout destination on a pool.

Can you use an exchange address instead?

Yes, if your exchange lists QUAI and supports direct deposits on the Quai network. On the exchange, open Deposit, pick QUAI, and copy the deposit address it gives you.

It is quicker to set up. But the exchange holds the keys, so it is not self-custody. The address can also change.

Get one thing right. QUAI also exists as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum. So copy the exchange's Quai-network deposit address, which begins 0x00. An Ethereum QUAI address means your mined coins will not arrive.

Some exchanges also ignore very small deposits. So a self-custody Pelagus or Koala wallet is the safer choice for mining.

Can you keep Quai on a phone?

Yes. Koala Wallet, by Eucalyptus Labs, supports Quai on iOS and Android. Install it from the official app store and create a wallet. Back up the recovery phrase with the same care.

It is non-custodial too, so the same rule holds everywhere. Whoever has the recovery phrase controls the coins.