Why is my federation closing?

Federations can close for a number of reasons. Some are temporary by design; some are moving their users to a new federation built on Manifold; and others are winding down because the infrastructure they run on is being retired. Whatever the reason, the steps you need to take as a user are the same: move your entire balance out of the federation before the end date to avoid any funds being lost.

How You'll Know

If your federation is closing, the Fedi app shows its end date as a countdown that reads Federation ends in X, which you can also see in the Federation Details page. Your federation's admins may also post a message with more details, including a link to the new federation if your community is moving to one.

What Happens on the End Date

Your federation keeps working normally until its end date. After that, the app marks it as Ended and disables the ability to Send and Receive, so you can no longer move funds in or out of it. Any funds still in the federation at that point will be managed at the discretion of its guardians.

What You Need to Do

Fedi does not move funds for you. Before the end date, move your entire balance, including any Stable Balance and Multispend funds, to another federation or Bitcoin wallet. Fedi recommends moving your funds on-chain for reliability. For step-by-step instructions, see How do I migrate from one federation to another?.

Don't wait until the last day to transfer your funds. On-chain deposits to a federation can take several hours to arrive since they require 11 confirmations, and withdrawal requests from a Multispend group need approval from a threshold of the group's voters.

If your community is moving to a new federation, only join it through links in the Discover section of the Fedi app or in your federation's official communication channels – such as chat groups in associated spaces. Ignore links from people you don't know, and never share your seed phrase with anyone.

What Stays the Same

Your recovery phrase, chats, contacts and joined spaces belong to your Fedi account – not to a federation – so they stay the same when you move, and you don't need a new backup. 

Transaction history is the exception: it's tied to the federation and is removed from your device when you leave the federation, so download it first if you'd like to keep a copy (more here).