Set up a wallet
To hold and spend coins on the Bitcoin BLAKE2b chain you need a fork-aware wallet. Use Shrike — a fork of Sparrow that validates the 164-byte v2 header and takes the BLAKE2b hash as the block id past the fork, and signs with replay protection so a spend here can't be replayed onto the SHA256d chain. Stock Sparrow / Electrum reject post-fork blocks, so they won't work. Non-custodial throughout: your keys, your coins — nothing here ever touches them.
1 · Download Shrike
Windows, macOS or Linux, from github.com/privkeyio/shrike/releases (mirror: shrikewallet.com).
The macOS and Windows builds are unsigned, so verify your download against the signed SHA256SUMS (signing key: Kyle Santiago, kyle@privkey.io) before opening it:
gpg --verify SHA256SUMS.asc SHA256SUMS && sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS2 · Create or import your wallet
Shrike drives just like Sparrow. File → New Wallet, name it, then either create a new software wallet (write the seed words down and keep them offline) or import your existing seed or hardware device. If you already mine here, this is where your coins land — use the same address you mine to.
New to the Sparrow flow? The wallet-creation screens are the same; Sparrow's guide is at sparrowwallet.com/docs.
3 · Connect Shrike to a server
Shrike reads your balance and history from a server. You only need to connect to one — choose a single option below. Running your own (Option 1 or 2) is the private, trustless way and we strongly recommend it; ours (Option 3) is an easy fallback to get going.
In Shrike: Preferences → Server → Bitcoin Core, then enter your node's RPC address, port and login. (Shrike also double-checks the fork against your node.)
In Shrike: Preferences → Server → Private Electrum, then enter your server's address and port.
electrum.bitcoinxor.org · port 50002 · SSL on
SSL only (the plaintext port is closed; the Let's Encrypt cert connects with no prompt). Our server only reads the chain — it can never see or move your coins — but it does see which addresses you look up, so move to your own (Option 1 or 2) when you can.
Whichever one you picked: click Test Connection, then Apply. Shrike syncs against it and you're set.
4 · Turn on replay protection
So a spend on this chain can't be replayed onto the original SHA256d chain, mark your keystore as BLAKE2b-signing: open the wallet's Settings → Keystore and check Replay protection for each keystore / device. Shrike then signs with the fork's opt-in sighash (hash type 0x21). Do this before you spend.
Shrike enforces the fork from its activation height (block 961,640), and cross-checks that against a connected Knots node if you run one.
Good to know
Freshly mined coins show as immature until they can be spent. How long that takes is set by the chain and its node software, and it has changed: since block 973440 it is about 45 days, not the old 100 confirmations, and further changes are announced. The notice at the top of every page has the current rule. And it stays non-custodial the whole way: the pool and this server never hold your coins or your keys.
Stuck?
Ask in Telegram, or see the wallet notes at bitcoinxor.org/wallet. Ready to mine? Head to Connect.
Not your keys, not your coins. You alone control your wallet — Bitcoin Xor is non-custodial and never holds, moves, or can recover your funds. Write your seed words down offline and keep them secret; if you lose them, no one (including us) can restore your coins. Shrike is independent third-party software — verify your downloads yourself. Use of the pool, this wallet, and our server is entirely at your own risk, with no warranty; Bitcoin Xor accepts no responsibility for lost or stolen funds, user mistakes (such as mining to an exchange address), or third-party software.