Easily Send Siacoins with the Ledger Nano X or Nano S

Nate

Published in

Sia Central Blog

7 min readJan 14, 2020

February 2022: this guide has been updated for the Nano X. You can also refer to the official support doc here: https://support.sia.tech/sia-integrations/using-the-sia-ledger-nano-app-sia-central

What is a Ledger Nano?

The Ledger Nano X and Ledger Nano S are hardware wallets created by Ledger. A hardware wallet stores the private keys to cryptocurrency on a separate device, making it harder for malicious parties to steal them. In addition, the private keys never leave the hardware wallet, so they will remain secure even if the device is connected to a compromised computer. As a result, an attacker can’t steal your funds as long as you follow best practices when using your hardware wallet.

Hardware wallets are an essential part of the crypto ecosystem, and they’re one of the best ways to secure your coins. So we’re happy to be working with Ledger to offer our official Sia app for use on both the Ledger Nano X and Ledger Nano S.

To send and receive Siacoin on a Ledger device, we will be using Sia Central’s web wallet through the latest version of the Google Chrome browser. Sia Central’s web wallet only supports Siacoin; sending and claiming Siafund dividends are not yet supported. Users should always access the web wallet from https://wallet.siacentral.com. This article will be using a Ledger Nano X with Bluetooth, but the steps are similar for USB or the Ledger Nano S.

Things you’ll need

Using Sia on a Ledger device requires a few things. You will need:

Your Ledger device
The Sia app installed on your device
A desktop browser to access Sia Central’s web wallet

Supported browsers

The web wallet only supports Ledger wallets on some desktop browsers:

Set up your device

Let’s make sure your hardware wallet is ready to use.

Ledger Nano X

Initialize your Ledger Nano X. This gets the hardware wallet set up and ready to use.
Download Ledger Live Desktop onto your computer. Ledger Live is the app you use to manage your Ledger device.
Install the latest firmware on your Nano X. This ensures compatibility with the Sia app.

Ledger Nano S

1. Initialize your Ledger Nano S. This gets the hardware wallet set up and ready to use.

2. Download Ledger Live onto your computer. Ledger Live is the app you use to manage your Ledger device.

3. Install the latest firmware on your Nano S. This ensures compatibility with the Sia app.

At this point, you’re ready to install apps on your Ledger device. Remember to store your 24-word recovery phrase in a safe place because you’ll need it to recover your funds if your device is lost or damaged.

Install the Sia Ledger app

Now, we’ll install the Sia app onto your Ledger hardware wallet.

Open the Manager in Ledger Live.

2. Connect and unlock your Ledger device via USB. You will be prompted on the device to allow the manager.

3. Search for Sia in the app catalog.

4. Click the Install button. Your device will display “Processing…”

5. When the main menu reappears, the Sia app has been successfully installed.

Wallet Setup

Sia Central’s web wallet is a lite, non-custodial wallet that allows you to send and receive Siacoin without downloading the blockchain. After the Ledger wallet is imported, you can view your balance almost immediately.

1. Access the wallet at https://wallet.siacentral.com

2. If you have never used the wallet before, you will be prompted to set a password. This password is used to encrypt your data and is required to unlock your wallets in the future.

3. Create a new wallet

4. Click Ledger Wallet to add a new Ledger wallet.

You will now need to connect your device and import an address to send Siacoins. You can choose either USB or Bluetooth when connecting, depending on your browser’s support.

6. Connect and unlock your device, then open the Sia app.

7. Click the green Connect button in the wallet. The status should change to “Connected.”

If you have never connected your device to this computer before, you may need to confirm the pairing on the device.

8. Click the Add Address button. Confirm that you want to generate the address on your device by pressing the right button once. The screen should now read “Approve.” Press both buttons together to confirm.

9. The address is now imported. Verify that the address in the box matches the address displayed on the device. If you have used this device before, your balance will update.

10. Optionally, you can add additional addresses by clicking the Add Address button again and confirming on the device.

11. After you have imported your addresses, click the Done button at the bottom. You will now have a new wallet in your dashboard.

Receiving Siacoin

After the initial setup is complete, you can send Siacoin to your wallet. First, select your wallet from the list on the right, then click the *Receive* button right under the balance.

Before sending Siacoin to an address, it is essential to verify that it belongs to your wallet.

Connect your Ledger Nano, unlock it, and open the Sia app.
Click the green *Connect* button above the QR code.
Click the green *Verify* button next to your address.
Confirm that you want to generate the address on your device.
Manually check that the address displayed on the device matches the address in the text box.

After verifying the address, you can send Siacoin to this address. If this is the first time you have sent Siacoin to a hardware wallet, try a small amount first to make sure everything is set up correctly. When you receive Siacoin, it will be marked as an unconfirmed transaction for 10 minutes to an hour. You will have to wait for at least one confirmation before you can spend your Siacoin.

Checking balance

You can view your wallet’s balance and last 500 transactions at any time by selecting the wallet from the list on the left of the dashboard. You do not need your Ledger to view your balance, only to verify addresses or send transactions.

Sending Siacoin

To send a transaction, you will need your device. Select your wallet from the list on the left; click Send. A dialog will pop up, allowing you to input the recipient’s address and the amount of Siacoin to send them. You can enter the amount in your display currency or Siacoin.

Once you have entered the address and amount, click the Send button. You will now need to verify the transaction and sign it with your device.

Connect your Ledger device, unlock it, and open the Sia app.
Press the green Connect button; the Sign button should enable.

3. Click the green Sign button.

4. You will now need to confirm the transaction details on your device.

5. Verify that the “SC Output #1” displayed on your device matches your intended recipient. To confirm on the device: scroll to page 2 by pressing the right button, then press both buttons simultaneously.

6. Next, the device will display the send amount; verify it matches the amount you wish to send. Then confirm by pressing both buttons at the same time.

7. Verify that “Miner Fee #1” matches the amount displayed on the screen. Confirm by pressing both buttons at the same time.

8. After confirming the transaction details are correct, sign the transaction. Press the right button once; the device should now say “Approve.” Next, press both buttons at the same time to confirm the signature.

9. The Send button should appear in the lite wallet. To broadcast your transaction and send your Siacoin, press Send. The amount will be deducted from your balance and sent to your recipient.

Be very careful when sending Siacoin, transactions are nonreversible.

If the transaction broadcasts successfully, you should now have a new unconfirmed transaction in your transaction list, deducting the amount and transaction fee from your wallet. Your recipient will have to wait between 10 minutes to an hour to confirm the transaction. Depending on how many UTXOs are in your wallet, you may have to wait for at least one confirmation before being able to send another transaction.