The VeChain Mainnet has launched. The token swap process is currently under way. VeChain is moving their ERC-20 VeChain to VeChainThor. To migrate to VeChainThor, you need to complete a swap process. My goal is to describe how to perform this swap securely. I will walk you through the process and explain the precautions you should take before performing this coin swap. If you had your VeChain on an exchange that was performing the swap, congratulations, you don’t need to do anything. There is inherent risk in leaving your crypto on an exchange but if you believe that doesn’t fit into your threat model then go right ahead (The dangers of leaving crypto on an exchange have been addressed many times over the years so I won’t spend time on this subject.) The process needs a mobile device to perform the swap so I will walk through the securitzation process for the mobile device.

NEVER transfer ETH or any ERC20 token (including ERC20 VEN) from an Ethereum wallet (such as MEW, imToken) to a VeChainThor Address, and vice versa. Even though the address format is similar, Ethereum and the VeChainThor Blockchain are separate blockchains.

Before beginning this swap on a mobile device there are a few steps you should perform to ensure a safe environment for your mobile wallet.

Choosing the correct device:

What ever device you are using, it should be a dedicated device for this swap. It should not have any information linked to you (if the device does have information or data linked to you, I will address how to fix this in “Securing the device”).

Possible examples of devices that you may use are (devices that have access to the iOS store or Google Play Store)

Apple iPod Touch, cell Phones that are no longer in use with an active phone number attached, tablets

Securing the device:

Be sure to back up any personal data you might need from the device before you factory reset it

To reset your device you can follow these links for your specific device: Apple products: Apple erasure, Android products: Android erasure

The device should be wiped clean before performing any part of the swap. After this swap, you can keep this device to perform any other swap that uses a mobile wallet. The device should have the most recent updates for the operating system. The network you are connected to should be in your control and segregated from the normal internet traffic

Why take these precautions?:

You may be wondering why you need to take these steps just to make a mainnet swap. These precautions are taken to the extreme to avoid any possible security issues that someone trying to perform this swap might experience. As far as the documentation goes, I have not seen any present hacks around the VeChainThor wallet, but that does not prevent a vulnerability from being discovered, so you err on the side of caution.

You are wiping the device to avoid any malicious software that might have been sitting on the device as well as erasing any identifiable information from the device so a targeted attack would be much less likely

You are updating the device to make sure that you have the most recent security patches

You are making sure you download the correct VeChainThor Mobile wallet from the correct developer as you don’t want to download software that isn’t published by the correct developers. This could lead to malicious software that looks just like the software that you want to download, but instead produces addresses that you don’t control.

Google play app

Apple iOS app

To swap your VeChain the process is as follows:

*The ratio for the Swap is a VeChain to VeChainThor ratio of 1:100**

Download the VeChainThor Mobile Wallet from the Google Play Store or the iOS App Store. Setup Login password — I suggest avoiding touch ID or FaceID if using iOS Click on “Create a wallet” Create a strong password (preferably randomly generated) Write down your mnemonic phrase — Copy this down on paper, you should not plan to store your funds in your mobile device for the long term, but if you need to get back into this account, you will NEED this 12 word mnemonic phrase. Make sure to there are no cameras in the present area that may get a glimpse of the seed you are writing down. Be sure to copy them down correctly. Your wallet is now created — Now that you have a VeChainThor wallet on your mobile device, you can now perform the swap. Click on the “Me” tab Select “VET Token Swap Service” — The Token Swap Service agreement will walk you through what the swap process consists of Agree to the terms and select “Start” Select the VeChainThor Wallet you have just created following this process Enter your VeChain ERC-20 public address that is holding the VeChain that you are planning on swapping — Be sure to cross-verify that the address you have input is the correct ERC-20 Address Click “Ethereum VEN wallet verification” Read the “Instruction of VET Token Swap Service” and select “Understood, start binding” You will be shown a screen that shows the VeChain ERC-20 public address you input in step 11. The VeChainThor Mobile wallet will also show you a “Receiver’s address” Which is the intermediary address that is owned by the VeChain Foundation. They will be performing the swap for you. Copy that “Receivers address” and send EXACTLY 0.01 VEN to the receivers address from your VeChain ERC-20 wallet You will have to wait at least 10 minutes for the transaction to verify. When the transaction is successful, you can transfer the rest of your tokens by repeating step 15, and sending your remaining balance to the same intermediary address that your VeChainThor Mobile wallet gave you. After your transaction it could be between 6–12 hours before your new VET are in your VeChainThor Mobile Wallet. You should then move your VET to a hardware wallet/offline device for long term storage or another secure wallet as you decide what you are doing with your VET.

This VeChain mobile wallet video walks you through the process mentioned above.

After completing the swap for your VET, you can use VeForge alongside a Ledger Nano S to store your assets easily in an offline storage device as they have just recently added support for the hardware device.

If you have any questions regarding security around the VeChainThor swap mentioned in this post or any regards relating to cryptocurrency security, please feel free to reach out to me at J@cryosecurity.io.