The short answer
How did MultiBit work?
In the early 2010s, using Bitcoin meant running Bitcoin Core — a program that downloaded and verified the entire blockchain, which was already several gigabytes and growing fast. MultiBit took a different approach: it was built on the bitcoinj library and used Simplified Payment Verification (SPV).
Instead of storing every transaction, an SPV wallet downloads only the block headers (a tiny fraction of the data) and asks other nodes for the parts of the chain that concern your addresses. This made MultiBit fast, light, and practical for everyday users — the trade-off being that you trusted the network rather than verifying everything yourself.
Why was MultiBit so popular?
MultiBit arrived at the right moment. Bitcoin was growing faster than people could safely manage it, mobile wallets barely existed, and the default client was intimidating. MultiBit offered a genuinely friendly desktop experience and was open source, which mattered a lot to the early community.
- It was recommended on bitcoin.org for several years alongside Bitcoin Core, Electrum and Armory.
- At its peak around 2013–2014 it managed roughly 1.5 million Bitcoin addresses.
- It treated Bitcoin like a file you personally guarded — a concept that helped normalize self-custody for non-technical users.
Two versions: MultiBit Classic and MultiBit HD
People often say "MultiBit" when they mean one of two very different wallets:
- MultiBit Classic (2011–2017) — the original wallet. It generated a "bag" of individual private keys, stored them in a
.walletfile, and had no seed phrase. Every address had to be backed up separately. - MultiBit HD (2014–2017) — a hierarchical deterministic wallet. One 12-, 18- or 24-word seed phrase generated every address, and the wallet data was stored encrypted in an
mbhd.wallet.aesfile.
This difference matters because the way you access your bitcoin depends on which version you used. See the full comparison in our Classic vs HD guide.
Is MultiBit still supported?
No. KeepKey acquired the MultiBit project in 2016, and in July 2017 announced the discontinuation of both MultiBit Classic and MultiBit HD. There are no security updates, no bug fixes, and synchronization with today's Bitcoin network is unreliable.
The important part: discontinued does not mean empty. The private keys and seed phrases created by MultiBit are still valid Bitcoin keys. You can export them and import them into a modern wallet such as Electrum — which is exactly what our step-by-step guides walk you through.
Should you use MultiBit today?
Only for one thing: accessing funds you already hold. Never use MultiBit to store new bitcoin, and never download it from unofficial sites — the current multibit.org domain is not the original archive, so only use preserved original release records. The recommended path is:
- Identify which version you used (Classic or HD).
- Export your private keys or find your seed phrase using our guides.
- Import everything into a maintained wallet like Electrum.
- Keep your keys and seed phrase offline and private.