Simple Byteball Guide & Common Issues

Byteball is a promising new cryptocurrency!

After seeing the same questions over and over again on the huge bitcointalk thread I figured a guide for some common issues may be helpful. Of course, many questions can be answered by simply reading the first post of that thread or a quick visit to the official website. However, there are a few things even they don’t cover and I decided to compile this short guide. I am in no way a power user but this guide offers some tips that go beyond others I have seen. Good luck and thanks for reading!

Getting Started

Wallets - The full wallet takes a long time to synchronize - a really long time - I gave up after letting it go a couple of days. Therefore, you will probably want to use the light version of the wallet.

Switching between full and light wallet is possible! If you start with the full wallet but realize it is not for you, you not only have to reinstall the client but be sure to delete the associated data files. On my Mac the file was in: [your mac username]/Library/Application Support/byteball The Library folder may be hidden so you may need to unhide hidden folders to see it. Once deleted, when you open the application you’ll be given the option to install a light wallet.

Linking Your Addresses for Distribution

You can receive Byteball by linking your existing Bitcoins(BTC). Keep in mind you are linking addresses, not wallets, and you can link multiple BTC addresses to one Byteball address, but don’t link the same BTC address to multiple Byteball addresses.

You can track your linked addresses and how much you should expect to receive by chatting with the transition bot in the chat tab of the wallet. Just type “Hi” or something similar and your current linked addresses and how much you should expect to receive will be sent to you. There is also a website that allows you to track how much total has been linked.

While there are two ways to link your BTC address - sending a micro transaction or signing an address - signing your address is probably preferable. First it is free and second it avoids your wallet creating change addresses.

Common Issue: Wallet Change Addresses -> I sent a micropayment and now I see a 0 BTC balance! This is because when you sent your micropayment to verify your ownership of the address your BTC wallet created a change address. You need to move your BTC back to the original address. This is just part of the way Bitcoin works and you can read more about change addresses if you are particularly interested. This is also why signing a message is probably the better way to go.

Signing a message may sound intimidating but there is really nothing to it. The exact steps depend on the wallet you are using but you’ll send your address to the bot, the bot will tell you what to sign (in this case your Byteball address), you’ll enter that into your wallet, and send back the code your wallet gives you as your “signature.” Note there have been some issues with BTC addresses that don’t start with 1.

What you Get!

At the time of this writing, you get .0625 gigabyteballs (the unit that is traded on Bittrex) per BTC. You will also receive Blackbytes for your linked BTC. You also get .2 Byteballs for each Byteball you hold. While your Bitcoins must be linked, your Byteballs do not, they can simply be in your wallet. Note these amounts may change in the future. Also, it is anticipated that there will only be three or four more rounds as of the time of this writing (August, September, and October).

Now, Blackbytes are a little more complex. For you to get Blackbytes for your Byteballs, the Byteballs need to be in an address that is linked to a bitcoin address, even if that bitcoin address is empty.

The DROP!

The drop happens at every full moon.
IMPORTANT: The snapshot block is the first block mined AFTER the full moon. So the countdown timer on byteball.org is not exact, that is the countdown to when the next block will be the snapshot.

Byteballs are distributed a few hours to a day after the snapshot block is taken. Blackbytes take a lot longer...

Common Issue: Where are my Blackbytes? --> Blackbytes take a few days to distribute. You have to be patient. Someone will usually post in the Bitcointalk thread when the distribution is done.

The transition bot will be down for a few days during the drop as well, this is normal.

Community

Slack seems to be the best place to get in touch with the developers, get an invite!

Slack is also where you can trade blackbytes.