Xaman Wallet Tutorial: Set Up, Activate And Secure Your XRP Wallet

Xaman, which used to be called Xumm, is a self-custody phone wallet for the XRP Ledger made by XRPL Labs. Setting it up means creating an account, writing down its secret numbers on paper, and activating it with at least 1 XRP. Unlike XRP on an exchange, nobody else holds the keys.

That control comes with one hard rule: if you lose your account secret, nobody can restore it. This guide covers setting up Xaman, backing it up properly, activating the account, adding trust lines, signing safely and the hardware card option. App screens change between versions, so menu labels may differ slightly in the version you install.

What is Xaman and how is it different from an exchange?

Xaman is a self-custody wallet. Self-custody means your account lives on the XRP Ledger under an address only your secret can control. On an exchange, by contrast, your balance is an entry in the company’s records, and the company holds the XRP.

Xaman is built by XRPL Labs. It also runs small add-on apps, called xApps, inside the wallet. Xaman’s help center describes xApps as third-party applications, and says they go through a review before they are published in the app.

How do you create a Xaman account?

You create an account in a few minutes, and most of that time is spent writing down your backup. According to Xaman’s help center, the steps are:

1. Install Xaman from your phone’s official app store and open it.
2. Choose to create a new account. On a fresh install there is a button on the first screen. Otherwise it’s under the accounts section of Settings.
3. Read the warning about your account secret and confirm.
4. Write down your secret numbers. Xaman shows 8 rows, A to H, with 6 digits each. Write each row on paper, in order.
5. Re-enter all the numbers. Xaman checks them against what it showed you. This catches copying mistakes.
6. Note your public address. It starts with “r” and is safe to share. It’s how people send you XRP.
7. Pick a security level and give the account a label.

Xaman offers two security levels:

Level	How you sign	Xaman’s suggested use
Standard	6-digit passcode, or biometrics	Everyday spending
Extra	A separate signing password	Long-term storage

Xaman can also import an existing account from a family seed (a 29-character string starting with “s”, as both Xaman and the XRP Ledger docs describe) or a 12, 16 or 24-word mnemonic.

How should you back up your secret numbers?

On paper, offline, and nowhere else. Xaman says the secret numbers are used to generate your private keys and must be recorded correctly, and that it cannot display or recover an account secret. The same numbers in someone else’s hands give them full control.

• Write them by hand. Don’t photograph them, screenshot them or store them in notes, email or cloud storage.
• Keep the paper somewhere safe from fire and water, and consider a second copy in a separate secure place.
• Never type them into a website, a form, a chat or a “wallet validation” page. No real support team will ask for them.
• Xaman’s help center has a page on testing your account secret. Use the app’s own tools for that, not a third-party site.

How do you activate a Xaman account?

You activate it by receiving at least 1 XRP. Until then, your address doesn’t exist on the XRP Ledger. Xaman’s help center says all XRP Ledger accounts need at least 1 XRP to be activated, and the app shows an activation option on a new account.

That 1 XRP is the base reserve. It stays in your account and can’t be spent while the account exists. Every object you add later, such as a trust line, reserves another 0.2 XRP. Our XRP reserve explainer covers what counts and how to free it.

If you’re sending from an exchange, send a small test amount first and confirm it arrives. For a brand-new account the first send must be at least 1 XRP, and a little more leaves room to move funds. You don’t need a destination tag when sending to your own Xaman address. The Coinbase walkthrough shows the sending side.

How do trust lines work in Xaman?

A trust line lets your account hold a token other than XRP, such as a stablecoin. You add one in Xaman for each token you want to hold, and each one reserves 0.2 XRP until you remove it.

A trust line is tied to a specific issuer address, not just a token name. Anyone can create a token with any name. Before adding one, compare the issuer address character for character with the address the issuer publishes on its own website. Our trust line reserve article explains this in more detail.

How do you sign requests safely?

You read every request before approving it, and you only sign what you started. Xaman sends sign requests from websites and xApps, and a signature can move funds or change account settings. Xaman’s help center gives these rules:

• Never sign something you don’t fully understand.
• Never sign a transaction you didn’t start yourself.
• If you can’t explain it in one sentence, don’t sign it.
• Ignore “claim” requests. Xaman says it will never ask you to claim anything. “Connect your wallet and sign to claim” is a common wallet-drainer pattern.

Xaman also checks destinations against a blacklist and other threat feeds and shows warnings, but it says it can’t control what a third-party site asks you to sign. The final check is you. Our wallet drainers explainer shows how these scams work.

What is the Xaman hardware card option?

Xaman supports NFC chip cards made by Tangem. As of October 2026, Xaman’s help center still describes the cards and a Get Cards xApp for ordering them inside the app; check that xApp for current availability. According to Xaman’s help center, the card’s chip generates a private key the first time you use it, and that key never leaves the chip. When you approve a transaction, Xaman sends the details to the card, the card signs them, and Xaman submits the result. You tap the card to your phone each time.

Feature	Phone account (secret numbers)	Xaman Tangem card
Where the key lives	In the app, backed up by your secret numbers	On the card’s chip only
Can the key be exported?	Yes, through your secret numbers	No
Backup	Paper copy of secret numbers	A second backup card, or a recovery account linked to the card
Signing	Passcode, biometrics or password	Tap the card to your phone

Each card has its own address, so it is a separate account from your phone account. Xaman suggests using a phone account for spending and a card account for savings. Without a backup card or recovery account, a lost or damaged card means lost access to its funds.

Xaman setup checklist

• Install Xaman only from your phone’s official app store.
• Write the secret numbers on paper, in order, and re-check them.
• Choose Extra security for an account you plan to hold long term.
• Activate with at least 1 XRP, plus a little extra if you plan to add trust lines.
• Send a small test transaction before moving anything meaningful.
• Verify issuer addresses before adding trust lines.
• Sign only requests you started and understand.

What to check next

Wallet apps update often. Before you rely on any step, check Xaman’s own help center at help.xaman.app for the current screens and features. Then review your account every few months: remove trust lines you no longer use, and confirm your paper backup is still where you left it.

Sources

• Xaman Help Center: How to create an XRP Ledger account
• Xaman Help Center: Activating an account (XRPL)
• Xaman Help Center: I’ve lost my account secret
• Xaman Help Center: Airdrop Scams
• Xaman Help Center: All about Xaman (Tangem) cards
• XRP Ledger docs: Reserves