How to use MWEB
TUTORIAL · 6 MIN
How to use MWEB
Three actions: peg-in, confidential transactions, peg-out. This guide walks through each one with the exact prompts you'll see in LiteWallet.
Using MWEB in Lite Wallet takes three actions: peg-in (move LTC from the standard Litecoin ledger into MWEB), transact confidentially (send or receive inside MWEB), and peg-out (move LTC from MWEB back to the standard ledger). Each action is a signed transaction that confirms with standard Litecoin block times — about 2.5 minutes per block. This guide walks through each step with specific prompts you'll see in Lite Wallet v3.16.0 across all platforms.
Before you start
You'll need: Lite Wallet v3.16.0 or later installed on your device; a standard Litecoin balance to peg into MWEB (any amount works — start small for your first peg if you're new); roughly 10 minutes for the full peg-in/transact/peg-out flow across confirmation times. If MWEB is completely new to you, read /guides/mweb first for the conceptual background — this page is the hands-on how-to.
Step 1: Peg-in (standard → MWEB)
Move LTC from your standard Litecoin balance into the MWEB extension block.
Open the MWEB tab
In Lite Wallet, locate the MWEB section on the main wallet screen. On desktop, this is a dedicated tab or sidebar option; on mobile, scroll to the MWEB card in the wallet overview.
Choose 'Peg in'
Tap or click the 'Peg in' action. Lite Wallet displays your available standard-ledger Litecoin balance and the destination MWEB balance.
Enter amount
Type the LTC amount you want to peg in. For a first test, a small amount (e.g., 0.01 LTC) is fine. Lite Wallet shows the resulting balances — what will be in standard and what will be in MWEB after the operation.
Review the fee
The peg-in carries a standard Litecoin network fee. Lite Wallet shows the fee before you confirm. Adjust fee tier if needed (economy, standard, priority).
Sign and broadcast
Confirm. Lite Wallet signs the transaction locally using your paper-key-derived private key and broadcasts it to the Litecoin network.
Wait for confirmation
The peg-in confirms when a block includes it — typically 2.5 minutes for the first confirmation. You can check the status in your transaction history. Once confirmed, your MWEB balance shows the pegged amount.
Step 2a: Send confidentially inside MWEB
Now that your LTC is inside MWEB, you can send it confidentially. The recipient needs an MWEB address — if they're using Lite Wallet, Cake Wallet, or Litecoin Core, they have one.
Get the recipient's MWEB address
Ask the recipient to share their MWEB address. MWEB addresses are longer than standard Litecoin addresses and start with a distinct prefix — Lite Wallet visually distinguishes them.
Choose 'Send' from the MWEB tab
In the MWEB tab, tap 'Send'. Lite Wallet recognizes this is an MWEB-to-MWEB send based on the address format.
Enter the amount
Type the LTC amount to send. Lite Wallet displays the remaining MWEB balance, the fee, and the total.
Sign and send
Confirm. The transaction is signed and broadcast. From the chain's perspective, an MWEB transaction happened — the amount and the address are hidden.
Recipient receives
The recipient's wallet detects the incoming MWEB transaction on its next scan. Typical detection is seconds after the transaction confirms in a block.
Step 2b: Receive confidentially inside MWEB
On the receiving side: in the MWEB tab, tap 'Receive'. Lite Wallet generates a fresh MWEB address for this incoming payment. Share this address with the sender. When the sender's MWEB transaction confirms, your MWEB balance updates. Each incoming payment can use a new MWEB address — Lite Wallet generates them automatically from your paper key. You don't need to track which MWEB address holds which payment; the wallet reconciles balances from all your addresses and shows you one unified MWEB balance.
Step 3: Peg-out (MWEB → standard)
When you want to move LTC back to the standard Litecoin ledger — to send to an exchange, a merchant who only accepts standard LTC, or any other use case — peg out.
Open the MWEB tab → 'Peg out'
In the MWEB section, tap 'Peg out'.
Enter the standard-ledger destination
Type or paste the standard Litecoin address where you want the LTC to arrive. This can be your own standard-ledger Lite Wallet address or an external destination.
Enter the amount
Type the LTC amount to peg out. Lite Wallet shows the resulting balances and the fee.
Sign and broadcast
Confirm. The peg-out transaction is signed and broadcast. From the chain's perspective, an amount appears on the standard ledger at the destination address.
Wait for confirmation
Typical confirmation is one block, 2.5 minutes. The LTC is now on the standard Litecoin ledger at the destination address and behaves like any standard Litecoin balance.
Privacy best practices
Delay between peg-in and peg-out
The time between peg-in and peg-out is a linkability signal. If you peg 1 LTC in at 10:00 AM and peg 1 LTC out at 10:05 AM, an observer can guess with high confidence that you are both ends of that flow. Delaying by hours, days, or longer — and ideally mixing with other transactions inside MWEB — weakens that link.
Peg out to a different address than you pegged in from
If you peg in from wallet A and peg out to wallet A, the on-chain trail visibly connects A to its own MWEB usage. Peg out to a fresh standard Litecoin address — even one controlled by the same wallet but not the same address — to break the direct link.
Split amounts
Pegging in 1.0000 LTC and pegging out 1.0000 LTC after a delay is still suspicious by exact-amount matching. Breaking amounts into pieces (peg in 1 LTC, later peg out 0.3, 0.2, and 0.5) reduces this signal.
Use MWEB consistently, not occasionally
A single MWEB transaction in a year of standard Litecoin use is a privacy highlight for observers — it stands out. MWEB works best as your default for transactions that warrant privacy, not as a rare switch. That said, MWEB is not appropriate for payments to counterparties that require standard Litecoin (most exchanges); use judgment.