Setting Up Zelcore for the First Time

Self-custody starts with a single decision: you generate the key, and you keep it. Zelcore is a non-custodial, multi-chain wallet that runs on mobile, desktop, and as a browser extension, so that decision happens once and then works everywhere. This guide walks you through a first-time Zelcore setup the careful way — the version that still has your funds in it a year from now.

Before You Start

A few things to understand before you tap anything:

• Zelcore is non-custodial. There is no email, no password reset, and no company account. The 24-word seed phrase you generate during setup is the wallet. If you lose it, nobody — including Zelcore's team — can recover your funds.
• It's multi-chain. A single seed unlocks Bitcoin, Ethereum, Flux, and 80+ other networks inside the same app. That convenience is also a responsibility: one seed, many ledgers, one thing to protect.
• It's available almost everywhere. iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux, and a browser extension. You can install on multiple devices later using the same seed, but keep it to one device for your first setup.

Before you begin, gather:

• A device you trust (not a shared or public machine).
• About 15 quiet minutes without interruptions.
• Pen and paper, or a metal seed plate if you have one.
• A physical place to store the backup that is not your phone, not a cloud drive, and not a photo.

If you're new to the idea of what a wallet actually stores, skim that first. It will make every step below make more sense.

Step 1 — Download Zelcore From the Right Source

Fake wallet apps are a known attack vector, and the quickest way to lose money in crypto is to install the wrong binary. Only use official sources:

1. Desktop: go to zelcore.io/download and grab the installer for your OS — .dmg for macOS, .exe for Windows, .AppImage or .deb for Linux.
2. Mobile: search the Apple App Store or Google Play for "Zelcore" and confirm the publisher reads InFlux Technologies. Anything else is a clone.
3. Verify the URL. It's zelcore.io, not zelcore.app, zelcore-wallet.com, or anything with extra words. Typosquatting is how these attacks start.

Install normally. Zelcore does not need admin tricks, root, or exotic permissions. Biometrics are optional and can be enabled later. Skip the browser extension for now — pick one device and use its app as your primary setup surface.

Step 2 — Create a New Wallet

Open Zelcore. On first launch you'll see two options: Create new wallet or Restore wallet. Choose Create new wallet unless you already have a 24-word BIP-39 seed phrase from a previous Zelcore or another compatible wallet.

As of January 1, 2026, Zelcore creates only 24-word BIP-39 seed phrases for new wallets — the older username/password option has been retired. Twenty-four words gives you roughly 256 bits of security, the same grade of entropy the rest of the industry has standardized on.

A few things happen on this screen that you should know:

• The 24 words are generated locally on your device. They are never sent to a server, and Zelcore's staff cannot see them. Not now, not ever.
• You'll be asked to set a local PIN and optionally enable biometrics. This unlocks the app day-to-day but is not a backup. If you lose the device and the PIN is all you have, your funds are gone.
• Do not screenshot, photograph, or paste the seed into Notes, Notion, Evernote, iCloud, or any app that syncs to a cloud. Those surfaces are the single most common way seeds leak.

If the concept of "the seed is the wallet" feels abstract, it helps to understand the private key the seed is ultimately protecting — that's the actual signer for every transaction you'll ever send.

Step 3 — Back Up Your Seed Phrase

This is the one step you cannot redo. Take it slowly.

1. Write all 24 words in order, numbered 1 through 24, on paper or a metal plate.
2. Double-check spelling against the words Zelcore shows on screen. BIP-39 words can differ by only a few letters (abandon vs absent, rent vs rental). A single transcription error breaks recovery.
3. Confirm on device. Zelcore will ask you to re-enter a subset of the words in order. This is your only forced checkpoint — treat it as a real test, not a formality.
4. Store the paper somewhere fire-, water-, and theft-resistant. A home safe, a metal seed plate, or the phrase split across two trusted physical locations are all reasonable. A sock drawer is not.

What to avoid:

• Cloud drives (Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox).
• Email drafts, Notes, Notion, screenshots, photos.
• Telling anyone the words — ever. Zelcore support will never ask, and anyone who does is a scammer.

A BIP-39 passphrase (the "25th word") adds a second layer on top of the seed and is covered later in this series. Skip it for now; you want one thing working correctly before stacking more on top.

Step 4 — Verify Your Setup Worked

After you confirm the phrase, Zelcore opens the main wallet view. You'll know it worked when:

• You see a list of chains — Bitcoin, Ethereum, Flux, and many more — each with a zero balance.
• Tapping any asset reveals a receive address. You don't need to send anything yet (that's Part 3); seeing the address proves the seed derived correctly.
• Settings shows an app version that matches the current release on zelcore.io. Zelcore ships updates often, so check early.

One last sanity check: close Zelcore, reopen it, and enter your PIN. You are now looking at a wallet that exists only because of 24 words on a piece of paper. Sit with that for a moment — it's the whole point of self-custody, and it's worth internalizing before you move any real money in.

If you're coming from an exchange and want a longer-term view on why that PIN-and-paper setup is stronger than what you had before, a hardware wallet is the next rung up the ladder and worth reading about early.

If Something Goes Wrong

• App won't install on macOS. Right-click the .dmg and choose Open to bypass Gatekeeper, or check System Settings → Privacy & Security for a blocked-app prompt you can approve.
• App won't install on Linux. Make the .AppImage executable with chmod +x Zelcore.AppImage, or install the provided .deb / .rpm package for your distribution.
• Seed confirmation keeps failing. You almost certainly transcribed a word wrong. Recheck your written list against the BIP-39 wordlist, paying attention to near-identical words (find vs fine, rent vs rental).
• You closed the app mid-setup before writing the seed down. Delete the wallet and start fresh. Never keep a wallet whose seed you didn't record — it's an unbacked-up account, which is worse than no account.
• You suspect you downloaded a fake app. Uninstall immediately. If you entered a seed or imported keys, assume that wallet is compromised and move nothing into it.

For anything else, docs.zelcore.io and the official Discord are good resources. But the rule never changes: no legitimate support channel will ever ask for your seed phrase.

Key Takeaways

• Zelcore is non-custodial — your 24-word seed is the wallet, and there is no recovery mechanism outside of it.
• Only download from zelcore.io or official app stores, and confirm InFlux Technologies is the publisher on mobile.
• Write the seed on paper or metal, confirm it, and store it offline in a place that survives fire, water, and theft.
• A device PIN protects daily use; it does not protect against loss of the device.
• You now have a secure empty wallet. That's the foundation everything else in this series builds on.

Next up in Zelcore Essentials: adding your first coins, understanding which networks auto-appear in the app, and deciding what to fund first.