Electrum Secure Messaging Guide

Published on June 26, 2025

Use the same public-key cryptography that secures your Bitcoin to send and receive truly private, end-to-end encrypted messages.

While most communication today happens over channels that are encrypted in transit, they are rarely end-to-end private. Service providers can often access, scan, or be compelled to turn over your messages. For truly secure communication, you need a system where only the intended recipient can decrypt the message.

The public-key cryptography built into your Bitcoin wallet provides exactly this capability. By using your Bitcoin public key as a "digital lock" and your private key as the only "key," you can ensure your messages remain confidential. This guide shows you how to use this powerful feature within the Electrum wallet.

A Note on Other Cryptocurrencies: This guide uses the Electrum wallet for Bitcoin as a specific example, but the principle of using public/private keys for messaging is a feature common to many cryptocurrencies. Wallets for networks like Ethereum, Monero, and others often include similar end-to-end encrypted messaging capabilities. The core concepts you'll learn here apply broadly across the crypto ecosystem.

The Core Concept: Asymmetric Encryption

This process relies on a key pair that is mathematically linked:

Step 1: Get The Recipient's Public Key

To send an encrypted message, you first need the public key of the person you want to send it to. The recipient can get this from their Electrum wallet.

  1. In Electrum, go to the Addresses tab.
  2. Right-click the receiving address you want to use for messages and select Details.
  3. Electrum wallet showing the details of a Bitcoin address, including its public key.
    The "Public keys" field contains the value you need to share.
  4. The recipient copies the string from the Public keys field and sends it to you. This key can be shared openly and does not compromise their funds or security.

Step 2: Encrypt Your Message

Now that you have the recipient's public key, you can encrypt a message that only they can read.

  1. Open the encryption dialog by right-clicking any address and selecting Encrypt/decrypt message.
  2. Type your plain text into the Message field and paste the recipient's public key into the Public key field.
  3. Electrum's Encrypt/Decrypt dialog with a message and a public key entered, before encryption.
    The dialog is now ready for encryption.
  4. Click the Encrypt button. The encrypted ciphertext will appear in the Encrypted field.
  5. Electrum's Encrypt/Decrypt dialog showing the final encrypted ciphertext.
    The resulting ciphertext is ready to be copied.
  6. Copy this block of encrypted text and send it to the recipient over any channel (email, chat, etc.).
Pro Tip: Electrum uses a probabilistic encryption scheme called ECIES. This means every time you click "Encrypt" on the same message, you will get a different-looking ciphertext. This is a powerful security feature that prevents an attacker from guessing your message by encrypting common words themselves and comparing the results.

Step 3: Decrypt a Received Message

If someone has sent you an encrypted message using your public key, you can decrypt it using the private key stored securely in your wallet.

  1. Go to the Addresses tab. Right-click on the exact address whose public key was used for the encryption and select Encrypt/decrypt message.
  2. Paste the encrypted ciphertext you received into the Encrypted field.
  3. Pasting a received ciphertext into the Encrypted field in Electrum.
    Pasting the received ciphertext, ready for decryption.
  4. Click the Decrypt button. Because your wallet holds the private key for this address, Electrum can perform the decryption, and the original plain text will appear in the Message field.
  5. The original message is revealed after successful decryption.
    Success! The original message is revealed.

Security Beyond Finance

This powerful feature demonstrates that the cryptographic tools securing the Bitcoin network are not limited to financial transactions. They provide a foundation for individual sovereignty over data and communication.

Understanding and managing these cryptographic keys is fundamental to security. Nanar Consulting provides expert key management solutions and training to ensure your organization can leverage these technologies safely and effectively.