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Multisig Setup

Checklist

Electrum multisig with hardware wallets: step by step

Last reviewed: October 2026

TL;DR

Electrum can build the same kind of 2-of-3 as the setup guide: a multi-signature wallet, 2 of 3, three hardware wallets, native segwit multisig (p2wsh). Verify the download with GPG first. Two catches: Electrum can’t import a descriptor, and it won’t show a multisig address on a Ledger. The guide itself uses Sparrow. I haven’t built this in Electrum myself: the steps follow Electrum’s documentation and source code, checked October 2026.

Before you start

Electrum has been around since 2011 and supports multisig with Trezor, Ledger, BitBox02, Jade, Coldcard and other devices. If you’re choosing between the two, read Sparrow vs Electrum first. This page is for people who already know Electrum, or who want a second app that can open the same wallet.

  • Your signing computer (step 2) with Gpg4win from gpg4win.org.
  • Three hardware wallets from three makers, initialized as in step 4, seeds on metal (step 5).
  • On the Ledger: the Bitcoin app, version 2.1 or later. On the Trezor: a 24-word backup, not the 20-word default.

Verify the download

Fake Electrum sites have been around for years. Type electrum.org into the address bar yourself; Electrum’s own docs say to download only from there and check the signature every time. The current version is 4.8.2 (September 11, 2026). For the Windows installer, download electrum-4.8.2-setup.exe and the matching .asc file. Get Thomas Voegtlin’s key, ThomasV.asc, from the pubkeys folder of the spesmilo/electrum repository on GitHub.

gpg --import ThomasV.asc
gpg --fingerprint 6694D8DE7BE8EE5631BED9502BD5824B7F9470E6
expected: 6694 D8DE 7BE8 EE56 31BE  D950 2BD5 824B 7F94 70E6
gpg --verify electrum-4.8.2-setup.exe.asc electrum-4.8.2-setup.exe

You want Good signature from “Thomas Voegtlin (https://electrum.org)” with the fingerprint above. Electrum says its Windows files are signed by several builders, so gpg may also mention signatures it can’t check because you don’t have those keys. The warning that the key “is not certified with a trusted signature” is normal. No good signature from that key? Don’t install.

Steps

  1. Start Electrum, choose File → New/Restore and give the wallet a short name.
  2. Choose Multi-signature wallet. Set the sliders so it reads Require 2 signatures and From 3 cosigners.
  3. For the first keystore choose Use a hardware device, connect and unlock the first device (on the Ledger, open the Bitcoin app) and select it.
  4. Under Script type and Derivation path, choose native segwit multisig (p2wsh). The path should read m/48’/0’/0’/2′. Leave it.
  5. Electrum then asks you to add a cosigner. Choose Cosign with hardware device and connect the second device. Do the same for the third. The script type now follows the first device.
  6. Set a password that encrypts the wallet file. Like Sparrow’s, it protects the file on this computer, not your keys.
  7. Open Wallet → Information and write down each fingerprint next to its device letter.

Check an address

In the Receive tab or the Addresses tab, the menu has Show address on followed by the device name. How much that proves depends on the device:

DeviceIn Electrum
BitBox02Registers the multisig and shows the address. This is your real check.
Trezor Safe 5Shows the address from the setup Electrum sends. An extra check only, as in Sparrow.
Ledger Nano S PlusNot for multisig. Electrum shows addresses on a Ledger only for single-sig wallets.

So with the guide’s three devices, Electrum leaves you one device that checks against a registered multisig, where Sparrow gives you two. The Ledger still signs: Electrum asks it to approve the multisig when you sign. Compare its fingerprints with your notes before you accept. More on why this matters in step 8.

Sign and send

Fill in the Send tab and click Pay. Electrum builds a PSBT and asks a connected device to sign; check the amount, address and fee on the device screen. Connect the second device and click Sign again in the transaction window, then Broadcast. Test with a small amount first (step 9).

Back it up without a descriptor

Electrum can’t import a descriptor. To rebuild this wallet after losing a seed, Electrum needs the three master public keys plus the exact settings. So next to each seed backup, keep:

  • The three master public keys from Wallet → Information. For p2wsh Electrum writes them starting with Zpub; that’s the same key as Sparrow’s xpub with a different prefix.
  • Each fingerprint and the path m/48’/0’/0’/2′.
  • The rule: 2 of 3, native segwit multisig (p2wsh).

A good extra check: build the same wallet from the same three devices in Sparrow and compare the first receive address. Both apps sort the keys the same way, so the addresses should match. If they do, you can also keep Sparrow’s descriptor PDF as a second backup (step 7).

Common mistakes

  • Picking legacy multisig (p2sh) or p2sh-segwit. You’d get a different wallet with different addresses and higher fees.
  • Clicking a search ad for “Electrum download” instead of typing electrum.org.
  • Treating the Ledger’s missing address check as fine. Check addresses on the BitBox02.
  • Keeping the master public keys only inside the Electrum wallet file.
  • Forgetting to unlock the passphrase wallet on a device that uses one.

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