Bitcoin Staking onboarding docs

Guide 1 of 2

Set up Leather multisig with Ledger

Create and verify the Bitcoin and Stacks vault accounts your team will use for Bitcoin Staking. No capital moves during this guide.

Begin setup
Leather Multisig dashboard showing the Create vault action
Start at app.leather.io/multisig after connecting Bitcoin and Stacks with your Ledger device.
1. Set up Leather multisigCreate and verify both vault accounts.2. Enroll in Bitcoin StakingFund the accounts and enroll.Enrollment RecordFill in your details and results.

01 · Prepare

Get your team and devices ready.

Your organization decides who controls the accounts. The Enrollment Record keeps that decision and the bond values in one place.

Member
A person whose Ledger account belongs to the multisig.

Vault
A vault organizes one or more vault accounts that share the same members and blockchain.

Vault account
The on-chain multisig address created inside a vault. It holds assets and has its own signing threshold.

Signer-manager
The protocol operator chosen later. It is a contract.

VaultShared members and one blockchain
Vault accountsSeparate addresses and signing thresholds
  • One Ledger device for each member
  • Bitcoin and Stacks apps installed on each Ledger device
  • Leather extension in each member's browser profile
  • Approved members and signing threshold
  • Your Stacks Endowment agreement and Enrollment Record template
  • Your Stacks Endowment contact
Ready: the members and threshold are approved, and every required Ledger device is available.

02 · Connect each Ledger device

Connect each member's Bitcoin and Stacks accounts.

Who: every member, in their own browser profile. This identifies the personal Ledger accounts that will become members of both vaults.

  1. Plug the member's Ledger device into the computer and unlock it.
  2. Open app.leather.io/multisig. Under Get started with Leather Multisig, select Connect Stacks.
  3. On the Ledger device, open the Stacks app. In Leather, select the Stacks account approved for this member, select Confirm, then approve the authentication message on the Ledger device.
  4. On the Ledger device, close the Stacks app and open the Bitcoin app. In Leather, select Connect Bitcoin, choose the Bitcoin account approved for this member, then select Confirm.
  5. Open Leather's network menu and confirm Mainnet is selected for both Bitcoin and Stacks.
  6. Share the complete addresses with the coordinator through your trusted team channel.
  7. Repeat for every member.
Wrong network? Stop if Leather shows a test network. Never identify the correct account from a shortened address alone.
Complete: the coordinator has one complete Bitcoin address and one complete Stacks address for every member.

03 · Create both vaults

Create your Bitcoin vault and your Stacks vault.

Who: the coordinator. A separate vault is required for each blockchain.

It doesn't matter what order you create the vaults in. You just need to go through the process with both.

  1. Select Create vault and enter a clear name.
  2. Select Bitcoin multisig.
  3. Add every member's complete Bitcoin address and a recognizable member name.
  4. Double-check that you have everyone you intend to include. You cannot change the vault's members after you create it.
  5. Select Create vault.
  6. Repeat with Stacks multisig and the same approved members' Stacks addresses.
Complete: both vaults appear under My vaults and show the intended members as pending.

04 · Accept invitations

Have every member join both vaults.

Who: every member. Each member accepts one Bitcoin vault invitation and one Stacks vault invitation.

  1. The coordinator opens a vault and selects Share invite for a pending member.
  2. Send the invitation through your trusted team channel.
  3. The member opens it in the browser profile containing the matching Ledger account.
  4. They review the vault name, inviter, chain, member count, and roster.
  5. They select Accept invitation, then repeat for the other vault.
Complete: both vaults show all members joined.

05 · Create vault accounts

Create the two on-chain accounts.

Who: the coordinator. A vault contains the members. A vault account is the actual on-chain multisig account with its own signing threshold.

  1. Open the Bitcoin vault and select Create new account.
  2. Give it a recognizable name and select the threshold from the Enrollment Record.
  3. Select Create vault account.
  4. Repeat inside the Stacks vault.
  5. Copy both complete vault account addresses into the Enrollment Record to use for registration later. For a quick visual check, a Mainnet Bitcoin vault account begins with bc1q..., and a Mainnet Stacks multisig vault account begins with SM....
Complete: one Bitcoin vault account and one Stacks vault account exist, with complete addresses recorded.

06 · Add to wallet

Add both vault accounts to Leather.

Who: the coordinator with a second reviewer. This makes the accounts available in Leather's account selector and to the Bitcoin Staking app.

  1. Open the Bitcoin vault account and select Add to wallet.
  2. On the Ledger device, open the Bitcoin app and review the account information.
  3. Approve on the Ledger device only if the chain, threshold, members, and complete address agree with the Enrollment Record.
  4. Repeat for the Stacks vault account with the Stacks app open on the Ledger device.
  5. Open Leather's account selector and confirm both named accounts appear.
If anything differs, reject it on the Ledger device. Rejecting costs nothing. Compare the complete values before trying again.
Complete: both named vault accounts appear in Leather and match the Enrollment Record.

07 · Record and whitelist

Have the Stacks vault account whitelisted.

Who: the coordinator and your Stacks Endowment contact. Funding happens in Guide 2, after whitelisting is confirmed.

  1. Have a second person compare both complete vault account addresses with Leather.
  2. Send the complete Stacks vault account address to your Stacks Endowment contact.
  3. Ask them to confirm the exact address and bond number in writing.
  4. Record the confirmation in the Enrollment Record.
Send the vault account addressDo not send a member's personal Stacks address. The correct address was created in Step 5 and now appears as the named Stacks vault account in Leather.
Do not fund yet. Guide 2 starts with a final check of the Enrollment Record, whitelisting, approver availability, and support coverage.
Guide 1 complete: both accounts match the Enrollment Record and the Stacks vault account is confirmed as whitelisted.

Troubleshooting

Leather cannot connect to the Ledger device

Close Ledger Live and other Leather windows. Reconnect the Ledger device, unlock it, open the correct chain app on the device, approve the browser USB prompt, and retry.

A member cannot accept an invitation

Confirm they opened the invitation in the browser profile containing the exact Ledger account added to the vault. Resend that member's invitation if needed.

Failed to add the vault account to Leather

Refresh Leather Multisig, open the matching Bitcoin or Stacks app on the Ledger device, and retry from the vault account page. Contact your Stacks Endowment contact if it still fails.

The address shown on the Ledger device is different

Reject the request on the Ledger device. Compare the complete account address, members, and threshold with the Enrollment Record before trying again.

Guide 2

Fund the accounts and enroll.

Continue with the completed Enrollment Record and every required Ledger device and approver available.

Open Guide 2