How to set up a bitcoin wallet, step by step from the Blockstream and Trezor guides
How to set up a bitcoin wallet, step by step
A self-custody bitcoin wallet is set up by installing the app, generating keys, writing down a 12 or 24 word recovery phrase and checking it. Blockstream's app guide lists 4 steps; Trezor says its hardware setup takes about 15 minutes and wipes the device after 16 wrong PINs.
Piece published Reviewed by CryptoGuardz Register Desk, editorial desk
To set up a bitcoin wallet you install a wallet app, let it generate the keys, write down the 12 or 24 word recovery phrase on paper, and confirm you copied it correctly. Blockstream's help centre lists 4 steps for its phone app. Trezor says its hardware wallet setup "takes about 15 minutes". The backup is the only step that cannot be skipped safely.
The steps below are taken from Blockstream's and Trezor's own help pages, read on 14 October 2026, in the order the providers give them. Both make self-custody wallets: the keys sit on the user's device, not with the company. Nothing here is investment advice.
Which kind of bitcoin wallet are you setting up?
One of two kinds in this guide. A phone app holds the keys on the phone; a hardware wallet holds them on a separate device and needs an app beside it. An exchange account is a third kind, where the exchange holds the keys and there is nothing to set up beyond the account. The differences are in what is a bitcoin wallet and on cold vs hot wallets.
| Step | Blockstream app (phone) | Trezor Safe 3 (hardware) |
|---|---|---|
| Device cost | None beyond the phone | US$59 at trezor.io |
| Get the software | App store, "Get Started" | trezor.io/start, Trezor Suite |
| Unlock | Biometrics, or a PIN | PIN of 4 to 50 digits |
| Recovery phrase | 12 or 24 words | 12 or 20 words by default |
| Backup check | "verification check" | Pick words from the backup |
| Wipe on wrong PIN | not stated | After 16 attempts |
The Trezor price is the US price in the product page data on 14 October
- Other hardware prices are in what is a hardware wallet.
How to make a bitcoin wallet on a phone
Blockstream's guide, in its own order:
- Open the Blockstream app and tap "Get Started". Owners of a Jade hardware device choose "Connect Jade" instead.
- Tap "Setup Mobile Wallet". The app secures the wallet with the phone's biometrics by default, or a PIN if biometrics are unavailable. "Restore from backup" is for a phrase made elsewhere.
- The app generates the private keys. Tap "Continue".
- The wallet is ready to receive.
That is a working wallet, and an unprotected one. Blockstream's guide warns that the keys exist only on that phone until a backup is made. The backup sits under the Security tab, where a "Backup Now" notice appears until it is done. The app shows the recovery phrase, asks the user to write it down, then runs a "verification check" that the words were recorded in order.
Blockstream's recovery phrase article describes the phrase as "a list of 12 or 24 words, derived from BIP39, that stores all the information needed to restore your wallet", and states who holds the copy:
Blockstream does not have a copy of your recovery phrase, so it is the user's responsibility to maintain their backup
The same page: "Never save it on an internet-connected device". A photo in the camera roll counts.
How to set up a bitcoin wallet on a hardware device
Trezor's Safe 3 guide, in its order:
- Check the package. The guide asks the buyer to confirm the holographic seal was intact and the device came from a trusted source.
- Go to trezor.io/start and download Trezor Suite, or use the web app. Plug in the device by USB-C and click "Set up my Trezor".
- Install firmware. "Your Trezor ships without firmware for security." Choose Standard or Bitcoin-only firmware.
- Let Suite run the authenticity check, which the guide says "confirms your Trezor Safe 3 was genuinely made by Trezor and hasn't been altered."
- Choose "Create a new wallet". Recover is only for restoring an existing backup.
- Pick the backup length. The default is 12 or 20 words depending on the backup card in the box; "20-word backups allow you to upgrade to multi-share later."
- Write the words, in order, on the card. "If the words are lost or written incorrectly, your wallet cannot be recovered."
- Verify: the device asks for specific words from the backup.
- Set a PIN of at least 4 and up to 50 digits. After 16 wrong attempts "the wallet will be erased from the Trezor device", which is survivable only with the backup.
Trezor's guide gives one rule for the phrase that covers most thefts:
Never enter your backup anywhere other than directly on your Trezor device.
What does it cost to set up a bitcoin wallet?
The help pages read list no fee for creating either wallet. The costs come later. The hardware device is US$59 for the Safe 3 at Trezor's shop. Every outgoing bitcoin payment pays a network fee to miners, priced in satoshis per virtual byte; one bitcoin is 100,000,000 satoshis, per bitcoin.org. At 11:41 UTC on 14 October 2026 mempool.space recommended 1 sat/vB for every priority level. That figure moves with demand, and bitcoin.org warns that a fee "below what the network is currently prioritizing" can delay confirmation. Buying bitcoin inside either app goes through third-party providers with their own fees, not covered here.
What can go wrong during setup?
Three things, all permanent.
A fake setup page. A web search for Trezor's start page run on 14 October 2026 returned no result on trezor.io; the results were pages on teachable.com, sites.google.com and wasmer.app titled "Trezor.io/start". Type trezor.io/start by hand. A page that asks for the recovery words in a browser is a theft attempt.
A lost or wrong backup. Bitcoin.org: if the recovery phrase is lost, no developer, miner, wallet provider or exchange can restore a self-custodied wallet. Blockstream support "will never ask for your recovery phrase."
An irreversible first payment. "A Bitcoin transaction cannot be reversed, it can only be refunded by the person receiving the funds," per bitcoin.org. Sending a small test amount first to a new receive address, then checking it arrived, costs one extra network fee. Bitcoin.org also notes "an address should ideally be used only once to receive funds."
The register records which other wallets support Bitcoin, who holds the keys and what each set of terms says, on the wallet register. The phrase itself is explained in what is a seed phrase.
Quick answers
How do I set up a bitcoin wallet?
Install the wallet app, let it generate keys, write down the 12 or 24 word recovery phrase and complete the backup check. Blockstream's guide lists 4 steps; Trezor's hardware setup takes about 15 minutes. Wallet register.
Is it free to make a bitcoin wallet?
The Blockstream and Trezor setup guides list no fee for creating a wallet. A Trezor Safe 3 costs US$59, and each payment sent pays a network fee, 1 sat/vB at mempool.space's reading on 14 October 2026.
Can I recover a bitcoin wallet without the recovery phrase?
Not a self-custody one. Blockstream says it has no copy of the phrase, and a Trezor erases itself after 16 wrong PINs. Theft cases go to the scam recovery page.
Where do I download Trezor Suite?
From trezor.io/start, according to Trezor's own guide. Search results on 14 October 2026 included imitation "Trezor.io/start" pages on other domains.
Sources
- Blockstream help centre, set up a new wallet, retrieved 14 October 2026
- Blockstream help centre, back up wallet, retrieved 14 October 2026
- Blockstream help centre, what is a recovery phrase, retrieved 14 October 2026
- Trezor, start page, retrieved 14 October 2026
- Trezor guide, get started with the Trezor Safe 3, retrieved 14 October 2026
- Trezor Safe 3 product page, US price, retrieved 14 October 2026
- Bitcoin.org, some things you need to know, retrieved 14 October 2026
- Bitcoin.org, vocabulary, retrieved 14 October 2026
- mempool.space recommended fees API, read 11:41 UTC 14 October 2026
- CryptoGuardz wallet register
About this piece
Compiled by the CryptoGuardz register team from the sources listed above. Research and drafting are AI-assisted and reviewed by a named editor before publication. Nothing here is a recommendation to gamble. If a figure or a reading is wrong, tell us and the correction is logged in public.