Claim Your BCH2

If you held BC2 (BitcoinII) at block 53,200 you have an equal amount of BCH2 waiting. This guide walks you through claiming it, step by step.

Am I Eligible?

BCH2 forked from BC2 at block 53,200. Every BC2 address with a balance at that block has an identical BCH2 balance.

You ARE eligible if:
You held BC2 in any wallet before block 53,200 — whether legacy, SegWit, wrapped SegWit, Taproot, or paper wallet.

You are NOT eligible if:
You only bought or received BC2 after the fork, or held BC2 on an exchange that hasn't credited BCH2.

What Wallet Were You Using?

Select the wallet you used to hold BC2. We'll show you exactly how to export your keys and claim.

Advanced 💻

Bitcoin Core / BC2 Core

BitcoinII-Qt or bitcoinIId

Easy ⚡

Electrum

Electrum desktop wallet

Easy 📱

Mobile Wallet

Trust Wallet, Exodus, Coinomi, etc.

Advanced 🔒

Hardware Wallet

Ledger, Trezor, Coldcard

Easy 📄

Paper Wallet / WIF Key

Printed private key or WIF

🏦

Exchange

Centralized exchange

Supported Address Types

All BC2 address types are claimable. Your address format tells you which type you have.

Type	Starts With	Example	Claimable
Legacy (P2PKH)	`1...`	`1A1zP1eP5QG...`	Yes
Script Hash (P2SH)	`3...`	`3J98t1WpEZ7...`	Yes
Native SegWit (P2WPKH)	`bc1q...`	`bc1qw508d6q...`	Yes (recovery tx)
Taproot (P2TR)	`bc1p...`	`bc1pxyz...`	Yes (recovery tx)

SegWit & Taproot users: BCH2 doesn't support SegWit, but your fork balance is still there. The web wallet automatically creates a special "recovery transaction" that moves your coins to a standard BCH2 address. No extra steps required on your part.

Claiming from Bitcoin Core / BC2 Core

Choose a method below. Method A uses the web wallet and is simpler. Method B uses only the BCH2 full node CLI — no web wallet needed.

1 Export Your Wallet Descriptors

Open a terminal and run the following command with your BC2 Core (or Bitcoin Core) CLI. This exports all private keys from your wallet in descriptor format.

bitcoinII-cli listdescriptors true

If your wallet is encrypted, unlock it first:

bitcoinII-cli walletpassphrase "your-passphrase" 60

Security: The output contains your private keys (xprv). Never share this with anyone. Only paste it into the BCH2 web wallet running locally in your browser.

If you're using Bitcoin Core (not BC2 Core), substitute bitcoin-cli for the command name.

2 Open the BCH2 Web Wallet

Go to wallet.bch2.org in your browser.

aClick "Claim Airdrop" (or the gift icon) in the wallet sidebar.

bSelect "Bitcoin Core" as your wallet type.

3 Paste Your Descriptors & Scan

Paste the entire JSON output from Step 1 into the input field, then click "Scan for Balance".

The wallet will scan all derivation paths (BIP44 legacy, BIP84 SegWit, BIP49 wrapped SegWit, BIP86 Taproot) and find every address with a balance at the fork.

Scanning takes 10–30 seconds. It checks up to 20 addresses per derivation path, including both external and change addresses.

4 Review & Claim

The wallet displays each address found with its BCH2 balance. Review the amounts, then:

aSelect the addresses you want to claim (all are selected by default).

bEnter a BCH2 destination address — your BCH2 wallet's receive address.

cClick "Claim" to broadcast the consolidation transaction.

Your BCH2 will appear in your wallet within seconds.

This method requires no web wallet. You will install the BCH2 full node, import your BC2 private keys directly, and spend your BCH2 using the command line. This is the most trust-minimized approach — you verify everything yourself.

1 Download & Install BCH2 Node

Download the latest BCH2 release for your platform from GitHub:

                        
                        # Linux x86_64

                        wget https://github.com/BitcoincashII/bitcoincashII-core/releases/download/v27.0.0/bitcoincashII-27.0.0-linux64.tar.gz

                        tar xzf bitcoincashII-27.0.0-linux64.tar.gz

                        sudo cp bitcoincashII-v27.0.0-linux-x86_64/bin/* /usr/local/bin/

Or download the Qt GUI installer for Windows / macOS / Linux.

2 Sync the Blockchain

Start the BCH2 daemon and let it sync. The chain is small (~2 GB) so this is fast.

# Start the node in the background
bitcoincashIId -daemon

# Check sync progress (wait until "initialblockdownload": false)
bitcoincashII-cli getblockchaininfo

Sync time: Typically 10–30 minutes on a modern connection. You can continue to Step 3 while syncing — the rescan in Step 4 will handle the rest.

3 Create a BCH2 Wallet

Create a new wallet on the BCH2 node to hold your claimed coins. Use a legacy wallet for compatibility with importprivkey.

# Create a legacy (non-descriptor) wallet for easy key import
bitcoincashII-cli createwallet "claim" false false "" false false

If you set a passphrase, unlock it before importing:

bitcoincashII-cli -rpcwallet=claim walletpassphrase "your-passphrase" 3600

4 Export Keys from Your BC2 Wallet

On your BC2 Core (or Bitcoin Core) node, export the private keys for each address that held BC2 at the fork.

Option A — Export a single key by address:

# Unlock the BC2 wallet if encrypted
bitcoinII-cli walletpassphrase "your-passphrase" 60

# Export the private key for a specific address
bitcoinII-cli dumpprivkey "1YourBC2AddressHere..."

This outputs a WIF private key like L1aW4aubDFB7yfDYk...

Option B — Export all keys at once (dump file):

# Dump the entire wallet to a file
bitcoinII-cli dumpwallet "/tmp/bc2-wallet-dump.txt"

Security: The dump file contains ALL your private keys in plain text. Keep it secure and delete it after import. Never share it.

Option C — Export descriptors (for descriptor wallets):

bitcoinII-cli listdescriptors true

If using Bitcoin Core instead of BC2 Core, substitute bitcoin-cli for the command.

5 Import Keys into BCH2 Node

Now import your BC2 private keys into the BCH2 wallet you created in Step 3.

Import a single WIF key:

# Import one private key (triggers a rescan of the blockchain)
bitcoincashII-cli -rpcwallet=claim importprivkey "L1aW4aubDFB7yfDYk..." "bc2-claim" true

The third argument (true) triggers a blockchain rescan to find your balance. This may take a few minutes.

Import multiple keys efficiently:

                        
                        # Import multiple keys without rescanning each time (faster)

                        bitcoincashII-cli -rpcwallet=claim importprivkey "L1key1..." "" false

                        bitcoincashII-cli -rpcwallet=claim importprivkey "L2key2..." "" false

                        bitcoincashII-cli -rpcwallet=claim importprivkey "L3key3..." "" false

                        # Rescan once after all keys are imported

                        bitcoincashII-cli -rpcwallet=claim rescanblockchain 0

Import from a wallet dump file:

# Import all keys from the dump file at once
bitcoincashII-cli -rpcwallet=claim importwallet "/tmp/bc2-wallet-dump.txt"

Rescan time: A full rescan takes 1–5 minutes depending on your hardware. During rescan, getbalance may show 0 — wait until it completes.

6 Verify Your Balance

After the rescan completes, check your BCH2 balance:

# Check total balance
bitcoincashII-cli -rpcwallet=claim getbalance

# List all unspent outputs with details
bitcoincashII-cli -rpcwallet=claim listunspent

You should see your BC2 fork balance reflected as BCH2. Each UTXO corresponds to a pre-fork BC2 output.

7 Send Your BCH2

Your BCH2 is now fully under your control in the BCH2 node wallet. Send it wherever you like:

# Send to your main BCH2 wallet address
bitcoincashII-cli -rpcwallet=claim sendtoaddress "bitcoincashii:qYourAddress..." 10.0

# Or send entire balance (subtract fee from amount)
bitcoincashII-cli -rpcwallet=claim sendtoaddress "bitcoincashii:qYourAddress..." 10.0 "" "" true

The last argument (true) subtracts the fee from the amount, useful for sweeping the entire balance.

Get a new receive address for the BCH2 wallet:

bitcoincashII-cli -rpcwallet=claim getnewaddress

8 Clean Up

Once you've confirmed your BCH2 is safely in your destination wallet:

# Delete the wallet dump file
rm /tmp/bc2-wallet-dump.txt

# Lock the wallet
bitcoincashII-cli -rpcwallet=claim walletlock

SegWit / Taproot addresses: If your BC2 was in SegWit (bc1q...) or Taproot (bc1p...) addresses, the full node CLI method requires extra steps to spend those UTXOs because BCH2 has no SegWit support. For those address types, the web wallet (Method A) is strongly recommended — it handles recovery transactions automatically.

Claiming from Electrum

1 Find Your Seed Phrase

Open Electrum, go to Wallet → Seed (you may need to enter your password). Write down the 12-word seed phrase.

Electrum uses a non-standard seed format. If your Electrum seed doesn't work in the BCH2 wallet, you'll need to export individual private keys instead (see next step).

2 Alternative: Export Private Keys

If your seed is Electrum-format (not BIP39), export WIF keys instead:

aIn Electrum, go to Wallet → Private Keys → Export.

bSelect CSV or copy individual WIF private keys for each address that held BC2.

cA WIF key looks like: 5KN7MzqK5wt2TP1f... or L1aW4aubDFB7y...

3 Open the BCH2 Web Wallet

Go to wallet.bch2.org and click "Claim Airdrop".

aIf using a BIP39 seed: Select "Electrum" and paste your 12-word seed.

bIf using WIF keys: Select "Paper Wallet / WIF" and paste one key at a time.

4 Scan & Claim

Click "Scan for Balance". The wallet will check all address types derived from your key. Review the balances found, enter your BCH2 destination address, and click "Claim".

Claiming from a Mobile Wallet

1 Find Your Recovery Phrase

Most mobile wallets (Trust Wallet, Exodus, Coinomi, BlueWallet, etc.) use a 12 or 24-word BIP39 recovery phrase. Find yours in your wallet's backup/security settings:

•Trust Wallet: Settings → Wallets → (i) → Show Recovery Phrase

•Exodus: Settings → Security → View Secret Recovery Phrase

•Coinomi: Settings → Show Recovery Phrase

•BlueWallet: Tap wallet → ••• → Export/Backup

Never enter your seed phrase on a website you don't trust. The BCH2 web wallet runs entirely in your browser — your keys are never sent to any server. Verify the URL is exactly wallet.bch2.org.

2 Open the BCH2 Web Wallet

On a desktop browser (recommended), go to wallet.bch2.org and click "Claim Airdrop".

aSelect "Mobile Wallet" as your wallet type.

bEnter your 12 or 24-word recovery phrase.

3 Scan for Balance

Click "Scan for Balance". The wallet scans all standard derivation paths:

•m/44'/0'/0' — BIP44 legacy addresses (1...)

•m/44'/145'/0' — BIP44 BCH addresses

•m/84'/0'/0' — BIP84 native SegWit (bc1q...)

•m/49'/0'/0' — BIP49 wrapped SegWit (3...)

•m/86'/0'/0' — BIP86 Taproot (bc1p...)

Up to 20 addresses per path are scanned, including change addresses.

4 Review & Claim

Review the addresses and balances found. Enter your BCH2 destination address and click "Claim". Your BCH2 will arrive within seconds.

Don't see your balance? Some wallets use non-standard derivation paths. Try the "Other" wallet type option and enter your specific derivation path if you know it.

Claiming from a Hardware Wallet

Important: Hardware wallets (Ledger, Trezor, Coldcard) do not support BCH2 directly. You need to use your 24-word recovery seed to claim. Your hardware wallet remains safe — only the pre-fork BC2 balance is affected.

1 Locate Your Recovery Seed

Find the 24-word BIP39 recovery phrase you wrote down when you first set up your hardware wallet. This is usually on a paper card or metal backup.

Do NOT enter your seed into your hardware wallet device. You are entering it into the BCH2 web wallet only. If you're concerned about exposing your seed, first move your BC2/BTC off the hardware wallet to a new seed, then use the old seed for the BCH2 claim.

2 (Recommended) Secure Your BC2 First

Before entering your seed anywhere, move your remaining BC2 (and any BTC if shared seed) to a new wallet with a new seed. This ensures your hardware wallet funds stay safe even if your old seed is somehow compromised.

aCreate a new wallet on your hardware device (or any other wallet).

bSend all BC2/BTC from the old wallet to the new one.

cNow it's safe to use the old seed for BCH2 claiming — it holds nothing else.

3 Claim via Web Wallet

Go to wallet.bch2.org, click "Claim Airdrop", select "Hardware Wallet", and enter your 24-word recovery phrase.

Click "Scan for Balance". The wallet scans all derivation paths used by Ledger, Trezor, and Coldcard.

4 Review & Claim

Review the balances found, enter your BCH2 destination address, and click "Claim".

Claiming from a Paper Wallet / WIF Key

1 Get Your Private Key (WIF Format)

Your paper wallet or backup should have a private key in WIF (Wallet Import Format). It looks like one of these:

                    # Uncompressed (starts with 5)

                    5KN7MzqK5wt2TP1fQCYyHBtDrXdJuXbUzm4A9rKAT...

                    # Compressed (starts with K or L)

                    L1aW4aubDFB7yfDYk56V1NW3LLwQ...

2 Open the BCH2 Web Wallet

Go to wallet.bch2.org, click "Claim Airdrop", and select "Paper Wallet / WIF".

3 Enter Your Key & Scan

Paste your WIF private key and click "Scan for Balance".

The wallet derives all possible address types from your single key (legacy, SegWit, wrapped SegWit, Taproot, P2PK) and checks each for a balance.

4 Claim

Enter your BCH2 destination address and click "Claim". Done.

Multiple paper wallets? Repeat this process for each WIF key. Each key is scanned independently.

Claiming from an Exchange

! Exchange Users: Contact Your Exchange

If your BC2 was held on a centralized exchange at the time of the fork, you do not control the private keys. This means you cannot claim BCH2 yourself.

You must contact the exchange and ask if they plan to credit BCH2 to your account. The exchange holds the keys and only they can access the fork coins.

There is nothing the BCH2 project can do in this case — the distribution is on-chain, and only the key holder can move the coins.

For future reference: Always withdraw your crypto to a personal wallet before a fork to ensure you can claim both sides. "Not your keys, not your coins."

If the exchange gives you a withdrawal: Once you have your BC2 private keys or seed phrase, come back here and follow the appropriate wallet guide above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it safe to enter my seed phrase into the web wallet?

The BCH2 web wallet runs entirely in your browser. Your seed phrase and private keys are never sent to any server. All key derivation, balance checking, and transaction signing happens client-side. You can verify this by checking the source code or using browser developer tools to monitor network activity. For maximum security, you can disconnect from the internet after the page loads and before entering your seed.

I had BC2 in a SegWit (bc1q...) address. Can I still claim?

Yes. BCH2 doesn't support SegWit, but your pre-fork balance is still on the BCH2 chain. The web wallet automatically creates a special "SegWit recovery transaction" that moves your coins from the SegWit script to a standard BCH2 address. This happens transparently during the claim process.

I had BC2 in a Taproot (bc1p...) address. Can I still claim?

Yes. Same as SegWit — the web wallet handles Taproot recovery automatically. Your Taproot balance at block 53,200 is fully claimable.

Is there a deadline to claim?

No. Your BCH2 sits on the blockchain indefinitely. There is no expiration. You can claim at any time — today, next month, or years from now.

I moved my BC2 after the fork. Can I still claim BCH2?

Yes. The BCH2 and BC2 blockchains are completely independent after block 53,200. Moving BC2 after the fork does not affect your BCH2 balance. As long as you still have the private keys from the snapshot, you can claim.

Can I claim using the BCH2 full node instead of the web wallet?

Yes. Download the BCH2 node from GitHub releases, sync the blockchain, then import your private keys:

bitcoincashII-cli importprivkey "your-WIF-key" "" true

The node will rescan the blockchain and find your balance. This method requires ~2GB of disk space and may take time to sync.

The scan found 0 balance. What's wrong?

Common causes:
• Wrong seed/key: Double-check you're using the wallet that held BC2, not a different wallet.
• Non-standard derivation path: Some wallets use custom paths. Try the "Other" option and manually specify your derivation path.
• Electrum seed format: Electrum uses its own seed format, not BIP39. Export individual WIF keys instead.
• Post-fork balance only: You may have acquired BC2 after the fork, which doesn't generate BCH2.
• Already claimed: Check if you (or someone with your keys) already claimed.

What is the BCH2 address format?

BCH2 uses CashAddr format: bitcoincashii:qp... for P2PKH and bitcoincashii:pp... for P2SH. The web wallet handles this automatically. You don't need to worry about address conversion.

Do I need to pay a fee to claim?

A small standard transaction fee (typically < 0.001 BCH2) is deducted from the claimed amount to pay miners. This is the normal blockchain fee, not a service charge. There is no claim fee.