How do I migrate from one federation to another?

Updated November 06, 2026 19:42

"Migrating" to a new federation is a bit of a misnomer as it simply refers to the process of joining a new federation and moving your entire wallet balance, including any Stable Balance & Multispend funds, over from the original federation before leaving it.

Funds are never moved on their own, so migration is a manual process that you must complete if a federation you belong to is closing or nearing its end date, has regular reliability issues, or if you've simply found another one that better suits your needs.

Before you start, update the Fedi app to the latest version, which you can find in What is in the latest version of the Fedi app? Following the update, write down or take a screenshot of your balances in the original federation so you can check that all funds arrive in the new one.

Step 1: Join the New Federation

The first step is to join the new federation you will be "migrating" your funds and activity to. To do so:

Tap the Scan/Paste button at the bottom center of the screen.
Scan or paste the invite code of the federation you'd like to join; then tap Continue.
If you don't have a specific federation in mind, you can choose one featured in the Discover tab.
To do this, tap the + at the top right of the Wallet tab and tap Join next to your federation of choice.
Review the federation's welcome message & terms of service (if any); then tap Join Federation.

Note – You should only use invite codes from sources you trust, such as your original federation's official announcement channels, a close friend, or the Discover tab. That said, no federation listed in the Discover tab is specifically endorsed by or related to Fedi.

Step 2: Withdraw from Multispend Groups (As Applicable)

For Multispend groups where the underlying shared wallet is provided by the original federation, funds will have to be withdrawn if the original federation is closing. Funds in these wallets are not part of your personal balance, so you will have to request the share you'd like to withdraw (more on this here).

Your request will have to be approved by a threshold of the group's voters. Once this happens, the funds will be returned to your Stable Balance in your wallet provided by the original federation.

Note – Withdrawals need the approval of the group's voters, so start this step early. If your group wants to keep using Multispend, create a new group in the new federation once everyone has moved.

Step 3: Move Funds from Stable Balance (As Applicable)

The next step is to transfer any funds you may have in the Stable Balance of the original federation's wallet back to your Bitcoin balance. To do so:

In the Wallet tab, navigate to the wallet provided by your original federation.
Toggle from Bitcoin to USD (or other display fiat currency) to bring up your Stable Balance.
Tap ↑ Send and ensure that To my BTC wallet is selected at the top of the screen.
Enter the amount of your entire Stable Balance (denominated in fiat) and tap Send.
Review the details if desired; then tap Withdraw and subsequently Okay.

Note – Moving funds from Stable Balance to your Bitcoin balance can take up to 10 minutes. You can check the status of the transfer in your history.

Step 4: Transfer your Entire Bitcoin Balance On-Chain

Fedi recommends moving funds on-chain for reliability, as on-chain transfers settle directly on the Bitcoin network and don't depend on Lightning routing.

On the Wallet tab, navigate to the new federation and tap ↓ Receive on your Bitcoin Balance.
Toggle to On-chain at the top of the Receive Bitcoin screen; tap Copy to copy the Bitcoin address.
Back on the Wallet tab, switch to the original federation and tap ↑ Send on your Bitcoin Balance.
Tap Paste at the bottom of the screen & enter the amount of your entire Bitcoin balance.
Ensure the original federation is the sending wallet & tap Continue; tap Send on the next screen.

Note – There is no "Max Send" button. If you enter more than you can send once fees are taken into account, the app shows The max you can send is X sats in red. Tap the amount in that message to autofill the amount that will allow you to move your entire balance. Proceed with the transaction.

Keep in mind the following when moving funds on-chain:

On-chain sends carry a 0.5% Fedi app fee, a variable network fee, and any fees charged by the guardians of the original federation.
Receiving on-chain carries a deposit fee of 100 sats & a network fee of several hundred to a couple thousand sats (subject to network conditions); both are deducted from the tx amount before it lands in the new federation.
You should send your funds within 24 hours of generating the on-chain address; never send more than one transaction to any address you generate.
Deposits need 11 confirmations before they're credited to your balance, which may take up to several hours. You can follow the status of your transfer in your transaction history.

Note that fees make up a larger share of smaller transaction amounts. On-chain sends also have a minimum tx amount the app will show if you enter an amount below it. For small transfers, or if on-chain txs are unavailable in either federation, you can send funds over Lightning instead (more here).

Step 5: Move Funds into Stable Balance (If Desired & Available)

Once your funds make it from the original federation to the new one, the next step is to allocate a portion of your bitcoin balance back into Stable Balance if you'd like and if the feature is available in the new federation. If the option is present:

In the Wallet tab, navigate to the wallet provided by your new federation.
Toggle from Bitcoin to USD (or other display fiat currency) to bring up Stable Balance.
Tap ↓ Receive and ensure that From my BTC wallet is selected at the top of the screen.
Enter the amount you want to add to your Stable Balance (denominated in fiat) and tap Next.
Review the details if desired; then tap Deposit and subsequently OK.

Note – Moving funds to Stable Balance from your Bitcoin balance can take up to 10 minutes. You can check the status of the transfer in your history.

Step 6: Download your Transaction History

When you leave a federation, your transaction history in that federation is removed from your device. Since transactions are specific to each wallet, your history wouldn't carry over to the new federation. Before you leave the original federation, therefore, you should download & save a copy of each tx history:

Federation Wallet – Tap your profile icon at the top right of any tab to access the Settings screen > tap the original federation under Federations > select Export transactions to CSV.
Multispend Groups – Open the relevant chat group > tap Multispend > tap the Transactions List icon > tap the Export icon at the top right. Repeat for each applicable Multispend group.

For additional context, see How can I see and download my wallet transaction history? and How can I see and download my Multispend group transactions?

Step 7: Leave the Original Federation (If Desired or Necessary)

Once your funds have been transferred and you've downloaded your tx histories, compare your balances in the new federation with the numbers you wrote down at the start to ensure they match (less fees).

Your bitcoin balance & Stable Balance in your original federation wallet should now be 0. Once you've verified all this, the last step is to leave the original federation if you'd like or need to. To do so:

Tap your profile icon at the top right of any tab to access the Settings screen.
Scroll to the original federation under Federations > tap it to show options > tap Leave Federation.
Tap Yes on the pop-up asking if you are sure you'd like to leave the federation.

Note – The Fedi app does not prevent you from leaving a federation that still holds funds, so make sure your balances have zeroed-out before you tap Leave Federation.