What a crypto wallet is
A crypto wallet does not store coins themselves — it stores the keys to them. The coins always “live” on the blockchain; the wallet has an address — something like an account number you can safely share — and a secret key that lets you spend the money. Whoever holds the key owns the coins.
FlowHash pays out earnings in two cryptocurrencies (you can also send them straight to your Steam balance by login — no wallet needed for that):
- Bitcoin (BTC) — the first and best-known cryptocurrency, accepted by every exchange. Transfers on the Bitcoin network cost more and take longer, so the minimum withdrawal is $50.
- Litecoin (LTC) — one of the oldest cryptocurrencies, with fast and cheap transfers. The minimum withdrawal is $5.
Both coins have a floating price, like any cryptocurrency. If you plan to exchange them for regular money, keep in mind the rate can move either way while you wait.
Exchange or your own wallet
There are two kinds of wallets, each with its own advantages.
| Exchange wallet | Your own wallet (app) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who holds the keys | The exchange | Only you |
| If you forget the password | Support can restore access | Restore with the seed phrase — without it, access is gone |
| Cashing out | Right there on the exchange | Send to an exchange or exchanger first |
| Risks | Account freezes, identity checks, problems at the exchange itself | Losing the seed phrase or phone with no backup |
| Best for | People who cash out right away | People who want full control |
For a beginner who just withdraws earnings and cashes out immediately, an exchange wallet is simpler. If you want to save up and depend on no one, use your own wallet — for example Trust Wallet or another well-known app from an official store.
How to set up your own wallet, step by step
- Install the app only from an official store (Google Play, App Store) or the developer’s website. Fake wallets with similar names are a common way to steal funds.
- Tap “Create a new wallet”. The app shows a seed phrase — 12 or 24 words.
- Write the seed phrase down on paper in the right order and keep it somewhere safe. Do not photograph it or store it in notes, email or the cloud.
- Confirm the phrase — the app will ask you to pick the words in order.
- Find the coin you need: Bitcoin or Litecoin. Tap “Receive” — that is your address.
Your seed phrase is your money. Anyone who learns it can take all your coins, and they cannot be recovered. Support teams, exchanges and FlowHash never ask for it. Anyone asking for your seed phrase is a scammer.
What a correct address looks like
- Bitcoin — starts with
bc1(the modern format, 42 characters or more),1or3(older formats, 26–35 characters). FlowHash accepts all three. - Litecoin — starts with
ltc1,LorM.
If an address starts with 0x, it belongs to a network like Ethereum or BNB Smart Chain — not Bitcoin or Litecoin. Exchanges often let you deposit BTC and LTC on several networks, for example as BEP20 tokens. For a FlowHash payout, pick the Bitcoin network for BTC and the Litecoin network for LTC on the exchange deposit page.
Fees and transfer times
On the Bitcoin and Litecoin networks the fee is paid in the same coin you send. You do not need to keep a separate coin for fees, as some other networks require.
- Bitcoin. The fee depends on how busy the network is, not on the amount: it is small at quiet times and rises noticeably at peak hours. A new block is found about every 10 minutes, so a transfer usually confirms within 10 minutes to an hour, and longer when the network is congested. Because of the fee, the minimum BTC withdrawal is $50 — on small amounts it would eat a noticeable share.
- Litecoin. A block comes about every 2.5 minutes and the fee is usually a fraction of a cent, which makes LTC convenient for small amounts — withdrawals start at $5.
Exchanges credit coins after several network confirmations, so a transfer may show up on your exchange balance a little later than it appears in a block explorer. The fee for withdrawing from an exchange is set by the exchange itself and is shown on its withdrawal page.
Mistakes that cost people money
Address poisoning in your history
Scammers send tiny transfers to your wallet from addresses whose first and last characters match those of your real contacts. They hope that next time you copy an address from your history and miss the swap. Always copy the address from its source — the exchange dashboard or the “Receive” screen — and check the whole thing, not just the beginning and end.
Clipboard malware
Some malware replaces a copied crypto address with the attacker’s. After pasting, compare the address with the original. How to find malware on your computer is covered in “Hidden miner: find and remove”.
The wrong network
The most common beginner mistake is picking the wrong network on an exchange: for example, taking a BEP20 deposit address for BTC instead of a Bitcoin-network one, or pasting a Litecoin address where a Bitcoin address is expected. Always check that the coin and the network match on both sides.
Fake “support”
On Telegram and social media, “support agents” message people who ask questions and request their seed phrase or ask them to “connect a wallet” on a website. Real support never messages first and never asks for keys. More on common schemes in “Mining scams: how to spot them”.
How to get your first FlowHash payout
- Copy a Bitcoin or Litecoin address from the “Receive” section of your wallet or from your exchange deposit page (network: Bitcoin or Litecoin).
- In your FlowHash dashboard, press “Withdraw”, choose the same coin and paste the address. The minimum is $50 for Bitcoin and $5 for Litecoin.
- Double-check the address: a transfer to the wrong address cannot be reversed.
- Requests are reviewed manually. Once the payout is sent, the transaction hash appears in your dashboard — use it to find the transfer in a block explorer (for example, mempool.space for Bitcoin and litecoinspace.org for Litecoin).
Tip: if you are new to crypto, start with Litecoin and a small amount. Once you see the coins arrive, withdraw with confidence. And if you want to spend your earnings on Steam, choose “Steam balance” when withdrawing and enter your login — no wallet needed.
What to do with the coins next — for example, how to turn them into games and DLC — is covered in “From mining to Steam”.
Bottom line
For payouts you need a Bitcoin wallet (address starts with bc1, 1 or 3; withdrawals from $50) or a Litecoin wallet (address starts with ltc1, L or M; withdrawals from $5). An exchange is handier for quick conversion, your own wallet gives you full control. The key rules: the seed phrase goes on paper and to nobody, the address is copied from the source and checked in full, and the coin and network are checked on both sides.
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