# Wallet Setup Guide

## Looks like you're ready to start

This guide takes you from a new Voltage team to a development wallet that is ready for test payments and API integration.

You will:

- Create an environment for staging work.
- Create a development wallet with no real-world value.
- Confirm the wallet is ready before generating environment-scoped API credentials.

## Description of terms

**Environment:** An environment separates staging and production workflows. Wallets, payment activity, API keys, and webhooks belong to the selected environment.

**Wallet:** A wallet is where balances and payment activity are managed. The creation flow first asks whether you are using Development or Production.

### Choose the correct Development wallet

- **Mutinynet Bitcoin:** Use for any Bitcoin-backed implementation, including both node-backed Bitcoin and credit-backed Bitcoin solutions.
- **Mutinynet USD:** Use when testing a USD line-of-credit implementation. Payments move over Bitcoin or Lightning while the wallet is denominated in USD.
- **Voltage Cash:** An experimental test wallet for Voltage's stablecoin solution. It is not currently live for production use because the intended Tether-backed asset has not yet been minted.

All three Development options have no real-world value.

If Voltage has already configured an environment and wallet for your team, proceed to the Developer Guide. Otherwise, use the following flow to create your first development wallet.

## Your first wallet

1. From the team overview, select **New Environment**.
2. Enter a descriptive name, such as `Staging`, and select **Create**.
3. After the environment is ready, select **Go to Environment**.
4. Select **Add New Wallet**.
5. Enter a wallet name and select **Continue**.
6. Keep **Development** selected and choose **Mutinynet Bitcoin**, **Mutinynet USD**, or **Voltage Cash** according to the definitions above.
7. Select **Create** and wait for the wallet overview to load.

![Empty New Environment form in the Voltage dashboard](/images/03-new-environment-empty.png)

*Start from the team overview and create a separate environment for staging work.*

![New Environment form filled with the name Staging](/images/04-new-environment-filled.png)

*Use a descriptive environment name that makes its purpose clear.*

![Newly created Staging environment in the Voltage dashboard](/images/05-environment-created.png)

*Open the environment after creation to add its first wallet.*

![Development wallet name entered in the Add New Wallet flow](/images/08-wallet-name-filled.png)

*Give the wallet a name that identifies its test purpose.*

![Development wallet choices showing Mutinynet Bitcoin selected with Mutinynet USD and Voltage Cash unselected](/images/39-wallet-type-development-options-neutral.png)

*Choose Mutinynet Bitcoin for Bitcoin-backed tests, Mutinynet USD for USD line-of-credit tests, or Voltage Cash only for experimental stablecoin testing.*

![Staging environment with two ready Development wallets](/images/29-staging-environment-settled.png)

*Wait until the wallet is available in the staging environment before continuing.*

The wallet overview shows the current network, balance, test-credit usage, payment actions, and activity. You can now test a payment and create an environment-scoped API key.

![Empty Development wallet overview with Send and Receive actions](/images/11-wallet-overview-empty.png)

*The wallet overview is the starting point for test payments and wallet activity.*

[Developer Guide →](/developer-guide)