Get started
Get started with BitcoinII
Pick the path that fits you. Each one is a few short steps, and you don’t need to be technical for the first two.
BitcoinII is also a practical place to learn Bitcoin skills: holding your own keys, using the Core wallet, encrypting and backing it up, cold storage, running a node and mining. It uses the same tools and address formats, so what you learn carries over to Bitcoin. As the whitepaper puts it, the “knowledge and tools built for Bitcoin can be applied seamlessly to BitcoinII.” New here? Read about BitcoinII.
Before you start: BC2 is not BTC. BC2 addresses look identical to Bitcoin addresses. Always confirm the network before sending. Never send coins from one network to an address on the other.
Setup wizard
Your personal checklist
The wizard needs JavaScript. The three paths below cover the same steps.
Answer two or three questions to get the exact steps for your computer and miner.
Your steps
-
Download BitcoinII Core v31.1.0 from the official release page. Pick
BitcoinII-v31.1-Win64-Qt.zipBitcoinII-Core-v31.1-arm64.zipBitcoinII-Core-v31.1-x86_64-apple.zipBitcoinII-v31.1-Linux-Qt.tar.gz(orBitcoinII-v31.1-Linux-CLI.tar.gzfor a server). -
Check the file. In a terminal, in the download folder, run
certutil -hashfile BitcoinII-v31.1-Win64-Qt.zip SHA256shasum -a 256 BitcoinII-Core-v31.1-arm64.zipshasum -a 256 BitcoinII-Core-v31.1-x86_64-apple.zipsha256sum BitcoinII-v31.1-Linux-Qt.tar.gzand compare it with the official checksum once the release publishes one. How to verify -
Install and sync.
Unzip it and run the BitcoinII Core app.Unzip it and open the BitcoinII Core app.Extract it with
tar xzfand run the BitcoinII Core app from the folder. Pick a data folder and keep the app open until it is up to date. - Encrypt and back up the wallet. Set a strong passphrase, write it down, and save a wallet backup to offline storage. Wallet setup
- Create a receiving address on the Receive tab. This is where your pool pays you.
- Get BC2. Buy on an exchange, then withdraw to your own address. Send a small test amount first.
- Pick one of the ten pools: CapsPool.io (featured), 1Miner, Kryptex, Letsmine, Mining-Dutch, MolePool, NitroPool, SneakAttack, SoloFury or SoloHash. Note its stratum host and the port for your hardware (many pools have a low-difficulty port for Bitaxe; CapsPool.io uses
3337). Compare the ten pools - Set up the Bitaxe. Open its web page (AxeOS) at the device’s IP address, go to Settings, and enter the pool’s stratum host and port, your BC2 address as the user, and
xas the password. Save and restart. - Set up the Antminer. Open the miner’s web page at its IP address, go to Miner Configuration, and set pool 1 to
stratum+tcp://POOL_HOST:PORT, worker = your BC2 address, password =x. Save and apply. - Set up the Whatsminer. Open the miner’s web page at its IP address (or use the maker’s setup tool), open the pool configuration, and set pool 1 to
stratum+tcp://POOL_HOST:PORT, worker = your BC2 address, password =x. Save and restart the miner. - Set up the Avalon. Open the miner’s web page at its IP address (or the maker’s app), find the pool settings, and set pool 1 to
stratum+tcp://POOL_HOST:PORT, worker = your BC2 address, password =x. Save and restart the miner. - Check it works. After a few minutes your address should appear on the pool’s dashboard. Estimate earnings with the mining calculator.
- Open port 8338 on your router if you want to accept incoming connections, and keep RPC local. Node setup and safety
- Leave it running. Every node that checks the rules makes the network stronger. Watch the chain on the network page.
- Say hello in the community if you get stuck.
Never use a Bitcoin (BTC) address for BC2. The formats look the same.
Or pick a path
I want to hold BC2
- Get a wallet and back it up.
- Buy BC2, then withdraw it to your own wallet.
- Join the community for help and news.
I want to mine
- Get a wallet so you have a BC2 address for payouts.
- Pick a pool, such as CapsPool.io, and point your SHA-256 ASIC or Bitaxe-class miner at it.
- Join the community to compare notes with other miners.
I want to run a node
- Download BitcoinII Core (it is both the wallet and the full node).
- Set up and secure your node (ports, data folder, RPC safety)
A few words you’ll see
- Node
- A computer running BitcoinII Core. It keeps a copy of the blockchain and checks every block and transaction against the rules.
- Wallet
- Software that holds your keys and lets you send and receive BC2.
- Address
- A string you share so people can pay you, like an account number. It is safe to share.
- Seed phrase
- A list of words that can restore a wallet. Anyone who has it can take your coins. Never share it, never type it into a website.
- Pool
- A service that combines many miners’ hashrate and shares out the rewards.
- Stratum
- The protocol miners use to talk to a pool. A stratum URL looks like
stratum+tcp://host:port. - Solo
- A payout type where you only get paid if your own hardware finds a block, and then you get that block’s reward minus the pool fee.
- PPS
- “Pay per share”. The pool pays you a steady amount for each valid share you submit, whether or not the pool finds a block.