Time to Claim Your DOT

This claims process only applies to DOT (old) that were purchased in the form of DOT Allocation Indicators on Ethereum before June 30, 2020.

If you bought your DOT tokens more recently or from another source, this process does not apply to you. You do not need to claim. If you have any questions about DOT, please contact us at support.

Start Claim

If you have not yet claimed your DOT, you must claim and attest

Attest Only

If you have already claimed your DOT, you will only need to attest

Step 1

Check Your Ethereum
Address

Claim Status:
unknown
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Step 2

Generate a Polkadot Address

There are several ways to generate a Polkadot address

If you have any problems, please contact the Polkadot Address Generation Help channel on the Web3 Foundation’s Element Server or visit our Support Page.

What Will Be Generated

A key concept to understand is that you are actually generating two keys (strings of characters), one public (the address) and one private (your seed). A useful analogy is a mailbox at the post office. Anybody with your address can send you mail or put mail in your mailbox, but you need your private key to open your mailbox and move your mail. Similarly, anybody with your Polkadot address can send you DOT, but to do anything with the DOT in your account, you will need to have your seed (or an application in which you have already entered it).

Your Polkadot address can be shared publicly, but you should never reveal your seed. If somebody has your address, they could send you DOT or associate your real-world identity with on-chain actions. However, this information will not allow them to harm your account or do anything in your name.

If somebody has access to your seed, they have complete control over your account! This means that they can do anything that you could do, including transfer all of your DOT to a different account. Neither Web3 Foundation nor anyone else will be able to recover your DOT in such a situation.

We recommend that you do not store your seed anywhere on a digital device that can be connected to a network. It should be written down on paper and only entered when necessary. It should never be shared with anybody — again, if anyone has access to your seed, they will have complete control over your account.

Parity Signer (Air-Gapped)

Parity Signer is a secure way of storing your DOT on an air-gapped device. It is highly recommended that you turn off wifi, cellular network, Bluetooth, NFC, and any other communications methods after installing it. If you have any communications methods turned on, you will see an "unshielded" icon in red on the top-right corner that indicates your connection may not be secure.

Get more info and download Parity Signer here: https://www.parity.io/signer

Create account

Click "Create" to create an identity, or "recover" if you have previously backed up the recovery phrase. You can have multiple identities on one device. Each identity can manage multiple addresses on different networks.

Name Account

Input the name for your identity and then click "Create".

Backup Account

Parity Signer will then generate a recovery phrase for you and display it in the form of 12 or 24 words.

You should write down this recovery phrase on paper and store it somewhere safe, secret, and secure. If you cannot access your account via your phone for some reason, you can simply re-enter your recovery phrase on another phone that has Parity Signer installed, and have access to your account once again. This is the only way to recover your account, and anyone who has access to these words will also have access to your account. Therefore, it is a good idea to write them down and store them in multiple secure places!

Please see above for information on storing your key safely.

Set PIN

After confirming that you have backed up your seed, a new textbox will appear in which you can set a PIN. The PIN code should contain at least 6 digits. If the PIN codes do not match, it will not allow you to create an account. The PIN code will be used for when signing any transaction, or to protect sensitive operations such as deleting an identity or revealing the recovery phrase.

Note that if someone knows the 12/24 words in your recovery phrase, they will still have control over your account, even if they do not know the PIN.

Get Address

Choose which network you would like to create an address on by clicking the name of the network. For example, if you select "Polkadot", a new Polkadot address will be created for you under this identity.

Note that if someone knows the 12/24 words in your recovery phrase, they will still have control over your account, even if they do not know the PIN.

Your Address

The address will be shown as a QR code. You can import your address to the PolkadotJS Apps by going to the Accounts page on an Internet-connected computer and click "Add via QR", and following the instructions to add the account. An account created this way will always require you to sign messages with your Parity Signer device. It will do this only by scanning and displaying QR codes, leaving even someone with total control of your internet-connected computer a very small and limited scope for interacting with the Parity Signer device, which can continue to keep your key safe.

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Polkadot.js browser plugin

This method provides a reasonable balance of security and convenience. It involves installing the polkadot.js plugin and using it as a “virtual vault," separate from your browser, to store your private keys. It also allows signing of transactions and similar functionality.

It is still running on the same computer you use to connected to the internet with and thus is less secure than using Parity Signer or other air-gapped protocols.

Install browser plugin

Chrome and Chromium-based browsers
Firefox

If you would like to know more or review the code of the plugin yourself, you can find the Github source repository here.

After installing the plugin, you should see the orange and white polkadot.js logo in the menu bar of your browser.

Accounts

Navigate to polkadot.js.org/apps and click on "Accounts". This is located in the sidebar on the left side of your screen.

Create account

Open the polkadot.js browser extension by clicking the logo on the top bar of your browser. You will see a separate browser window open. If you have used this extension before, you may see a list of previously generated accounts. In any case you will see two buttons: “Create New Account - With new seed” and “I import an Account - I have a pre-existing seed"

Click “Create New Account - With new seed”.

Create account

The polkadot.js plugin will then use system randomness to make a new seed for you and display it to you in the form of twelve words.

WARNING: You should back up these keys. It is imperative to store the seed somewhere safe, secret, and secure (see the next slide how). If you cannot access your account via polkadot.js for some reason, you can simply re-enter your seed, and have access to your account once again.

Store the key somewhere safe

The seed is your key to the account. Knowing the seed allows you, or anyone else who knows the seed, to re-generate and control this account.

It is imperative to store the seed somewhere safe, secret, and secure. If you lose access to your account, you can re-create it by entering the seed. This also means that somebody else can have control over your account if they have access to your seed.

For maximum security, the seed should be written down on paper or another non-digital device and stored in a safe place. You may also want to protect your seed from physical damage, as well (e.g. by storing in a sealed plastic bag to prevent water damage, storing it in a fireproof safe, etc.) It is recommended that you store multiple copies of the seed in geographically separate locations (e.g., one in your home safe and one in a safety deposit box at your bank).

You should definitely not store your seed on any kind of computer that has or may have access to the internet in the future.

Name account

You are not able to edit the seed words. However, you should add a descriptive name for this account in the lower textbox (e.g. “Bob”, “Jane”, or “Office Account”).

Enter password

After typing a name for the account, a new textbox will appear in which you can enter a password. When you start typing, a new textbox will appear underneath it. Enter the same password in the second textbox. If your passwords do not match, the plugin will not allow you to generate the account.

Note that this password will protect your data in the plugin, and any backup file you export from the plugin. It does NOT protect your seed phrase. If someone knows the twelve words in your mnemonic seed, they still have control over your account even if they do not know the password.

Review account

Once both of your passwords match, the program will display information about the account that will be generated for you.

Review account

Click on “Add the account with the generated seed”. You will be taken back to the main page of the plugin, which should now include your generated account.

Set Address for Polkadot Mainnet

Now we will ensure that the addresses are displayed as Polkadot mainnet addresses.

Click on "Options" at the top of the plugin window.

Set Address for Polkadot Mainnet

In the "DISPLAY ADDRESS FORMAT FOR" dropdown, select "Polkadot (live)" and click outside of the window with options to close it.

Get address

Verify that your address has a “1” as the first character. This indicates that it is a Polkadot mainnet address.

Click on the icon representing your account (the colorful hexagon of differently-colored dots) - this will copy your Polkadot address to your clipboard. Alternatively, you can double-click the text representation of the address and copy it using your system copy command (e.g. Control-C on Linux or Windows, Command-C on OS X).

Get address

You can now paste the address from the address textbox, and you will have a plain-text copy of your Polkadot mainnet address.

Note that an address in a different format can always be converted to a Polkadot address, since the same public key can be used for generating addresses on different networks. However, for ease of use and understanding, it is best to ensure that you are always using Polkadot mainnet addresses.

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Subkey

Subkey is recommended for technically advanced users who are comfortable with command line and compiling Rust code. Subkey allows you to generate keys on any device that can compile the code. Subkey may also be useful for automated account generation, using an air-gapped device other than one running iOS or Android or other specific purposes. It is not recommended for general users.

If you wish to use subkey, detailed build and usage instructions are here.

Directly from polkadot.js

WARNING: This is the least secure method of generating an address. It should only be used if there are no other options available and you are aware of the risks involved, up to and including total loss of any DOT or kusamas stored in the account.

It is possible to generate an address directly from the polkadot.js app, without any additional security measures.

Go to polkadot.js
> Accounts

Navigate to polkadot.js.org/apps and click on "Accounts". It is located in the sidebar on the left side of your screen.

Start generation of the account

Click on the “Add Account” button.

Start generation of the account

You should see a pop-up that looks like the one here. The required text fields to complete are highlighted in pink.

Start generation of the account

You can ignore the Advanced creation options; the defaults are fine. You will have to enter an Account Name and a password to protect your account. Be sure to select a secure and hard-to-guess password. Note that anything will be accepted as a password here. Please note: There are no checks to see if it is long enough or secure. You will need this password for any future interaction with or transaction from this account.

When you have entered valid information for both, the color of the text boxes will turn from pink to white.

Store the key somewhere safe

The seed is your key to the account. Knowing the seed allows you, or anyone else who knows the seed, to re-generate and control this account.

It is imperative to store the seed somewhere safe, secret, and secure. If you lose access to your account, you can re-create it by entering the seed. This also means that somebody else can have control over your account if they have access to your seed.

For maximum security, the seed should be written down on paper or another non-digital device and stored in a safe place. You may also want to protect your seed from physical damage, as well (e.g. by storing in a sealed plastic bag to prevent water damage, storing it in a fireproof safe, etc.) It is recommended that you store multiple copies of the seed in geographically separate locations (e.g., one in your home safe and one in a safety deposit box at your bank).

You should definitely not store your seed on any kind of computer that has or may have access to the internet in the future.

Create and backup account

Click “Save” and your account will be created. It will also generate a backup file that you should save to your computer. Ideally, you would also save it on an external hard drive or thumb drive, or print it out and be able to re-enter it later. You should not store it in cloud storage, email it to yourself, etc.

You can use this backup file to restore your account. This backup file is not readable unless it is decrypted with the password.

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Storage Providers

  1. Please email your preferred custody or storage provider in order to receive your DOT address.
  2. When you have received your DOT address from your provider, follow these steps in order to add your address to the Polkadot Claims App.
  3. Once your address is added to the Claims App, please proceed to Step 3 “Claim & Attest” below.

After you successfully claimed your tokens, your DOT balance will appear in your account with your provider.

PLEASE NOTE: You can only claim your tokens to a custodial or storage account if you have not previously claimed them. If you have previously claimed your tokens to a different address, you can only transfer them to your provider once transferability has been enabled on the network. Please refer to our launch roadmap for more information.

Minimum: 1,000 DOT
Contact: [email protected]

Minimum: 500 DOT
DOT/KSM claim instructions

Step 3

Claim Your DOT

If you participated in a previous DOT sale and received your DOT allocation indicator tokens, you can now claim your DOT, i.e. connect the address where your DOT indicators have been stored on Ethereum with a native Polkadot address. The claims process will ensure that your DOT allocation is denoted in Polkadot's genesis block.

Make sure to use the Ethereum key you used for your DOT allocation indicator tokens during this process. You can check your Ethereum key in Step 1.

If you don’t have a Polkadot address, you will need to generate one. You can generate a Polkadot address in Step 2.

Claim and attest my DOT

These instructions will help you sign a message and claim your DOT. MyCrypto is a flexible and secure Ethereum wallet that supports many different key storage formats. You will not need to spend any ether to claim your DOT.

Click on the pink arrow to find the step-by-step instructions.

Download MyCrypto

MyCrypto is a versatile wallet that supports a variety of storage methods for your Ethereum account.

It is a good choice in case you have stored the key to the Ethereum account holding your DOT indicator tokens on a hardware device like a Ledger Nano S. It also supports raw private keys, mnemonics, and Parity signer.

Go to their downloads page and ensure that you download the latest version for your operating system. This is important because the latest version will always have the latest security patches.

Open the polkadot.js claims app

The polkadot.js Claims app helps you sign a message from MyCrypto.

Once you've downloaded MyCrypto and have it running locally, you can start by navigating to the Claims app on polkadot.js Apps.

Select the account you would like to claim the DOT into and click the blue "Continue" button to proceed.

Select your Ethereum Address

Now you will need to provide the Ethereum address that is associated with the DOT indicator tokens that you will claim.

Enter the Ethereum address into the box and click "Continue".

Attesting to the statement

You should now see the screen with the statement that you’re going to sign in the next step.

Review the statement and follow the copy/paste instructions.

The hex-encoded string that follows the sentence: "Pay DOT to the Polkadot account:" is the hex-encoded public key of your Polkadot account, minus the 0x prefix.

Open MyCrypto

The next step is to go to the MyCrypto application and click on "Sign & Verify Message" tab.

This will prompt you to select a method for unlocking your wallet.

Signing the message in MyCrypto

After unlocking your wallet, paste the message you just copied from polkadot.js into the "Message" box. Then click “Sign Message”.

Copy the JSON output

This will generate your signature as a JSON output in a box underneath.

Copy the complete content of the signature box and go back to the polkadot.js Claims app.

Paste the JSON output

Paste the JSON output of the signed message from MyCrypto into the input box in the polkadot.js Claims app and click "Confirm Claim."

Issuing the claim transaction

You will now see a green message displaying the amount of DOT to claim from your Ethereum account.

Click on the "Claim" button inside that green message box.

Authorize transaction

This will bring up a pop-up message that asks you to authorize this transaction.

Click on "Submit (no signature)" to complete the claim.

CONGRATULATIONS, you have successfully claimed your DOT!

Viewing your claim

You can now check your DOT balance in your Polkadot account.

Having trouble? Get support in the DOT Claims Support channel or visit our Support Page.

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Attesting to a statement

Since you already claimed your DOTS before Polkadot went live, you only need to do this one step in order to finalize your claim.

Click on the pink arrow to find the step-by-step instructions.

Open polkadot.js apps

Proceed to polkadot.js Apps. You will need to grant Apps access to your account in some way. One way would be to go to the Accounts page and "create" a new account, replacing the generated seed or mnemonic with the one belonging to your account.

The other way is by using the polkadot.js extension and entering your seed or mnemonic there, which is generally safer than entering it directly to the Apps page.

Making the attestation

After entering your account, you should see a red counter appear on the "Claim Tokens" tab on the left navigation drawer.

Click on the "Claim Tokens" tab and you will see a large notification at the top of the page that tells you that you need to sign an attestation.

The notification will display one or more Polkadot addresses that you have loaded in polkadot.js that you need to sign.

Select your Polkadot account

Select a Polkadot account with a claim using the drop down selection.

If you don't see a notification or don't see the selector, please double check that the account has been loaded into polkadot.js and that it has already been claimed during the pre-claim period.

As always, feel free to reach out for help in the Claims Support channel.

Sign the statement

Once you selected your account, click "Continue" and you will see a green box appear on the right, which contains the statement to sign.

Read and agree

After reading through it, please click “I agree”.

Authorizing the transaction

After clicking "I Agree" you will see a pop-up message asking you to authorize this free attest transaction.

After a few seconds, when the transaction is confirmed and included in a block, you will see a green success box appear in the upper right corner.

Congratulations! You have successfully claimed your DOT!

Viewing your claim

You can now check your DOT balance in your Polkadot account.

Having trouble? Get support in the DOT Claims Support channel or visit our Support Page.

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Step 4

Verify Your Claim

Allocation Address:
unknown
Polkadot Address:
none
Public Key:
none
Index:
none
Vesting:
none
Balance:
0 New DOT
Attested:
unknown

FAQs

Any other questions?