Scoutinternal

Changing or Updating an Email Address on a BitGo Account

Changing or Updating an Email Address on a BitGo Account

Problem

Customers request to change the primary email address associated with their BitGo account. Common reasons include leaving an employer (losing access to a corporate email), company domain migrations, consolidating email addresses, or correcting an email used during initial registration. BitGo does not offer a self-service email change feature in the platform UI, so customers contact support. The process, eligibility, and steps vary significantly depending on account type (contracted institutional customer, FTX creditor, PayGo/Starter, or third-party platform user such as Swan).

Diagnostics

  • Identify the account type and pricing plan. Look up the user's email in the admin tool (admin.bitgo.com) and check the enterprise pricing plan (e.g., employee, starter, mysten-bento-in-salesforce, PayGo, Business, etc.). Email changes performed by BitGo support are generally only available to contracted institutional (Business-plan or equivalent) customers.
  • Check enterprise ownership. Determine whether the requesting user is an enterprise Owner, Admin, or member. Identify how many other owners/admins exist on the enterprise and on each wallet.
  • Determine wallet types. Check whether the user is on self-managed hot wallets (SMHW), custodial wallets, or Go wallets. For SMHW, BitGo can only add/remove users at a Viewer permission level; the customer must manage Admin/Spender roles themselves.
  • Check video verification status. Verify whether the user or another authorized person on the enterprise has a video ID on file. Look in the Google Drive verification folder or admin tool notes.
  • Confirm access to old email. Ask the customer whether they still have access to the current registered email. This affects the available resolution path.
  • FTX creditor check. If the customer is an FTX creditor, confirm whether the email change has already been made on the FTX Claims Portal side. A mismatch between the FTX portal email and the BitGo account email can prevent distributions.
  • Check if the new email already has a BitGo account. The new email address generally cannot already be registered as a BitGo user if a backend email swap is being performed.

Resolution

Scenario: change-email-address-primary#institutional-customer-email-change

Trigger: The customer is on a contracted institutional/Business plan and requests an email change for one or more users.

Signals: enterprise customer, institutional, email change, video verification, domain migration, corporate email, password reset required

Steps:

  1. Confirm the customer is on a contracted institutional plan (not Starter or PayGo). Email changes are only provided to contracted institutional customers.
  2. Confirm the new email address does not already have an existing BitGo account.
  3. Schedule a video verification call. Send the customer the Calendly link: https://calendly.com/bitgo-client-delivery/videoid. Instruct them to reference their ticket number when scheduling and to bring a government-issued photo ID.
  4. If the requesting user is not already video-verified, a previously verified person on the enterprise must join the call to authorize the identity of the new user.
  5. After successful video verification, escalate to the Trust/Operations team (e.g., Nandish) to perform the backend email change using the internal tool (e.g., bga user setemail -e {email} -v 1).
  6. Inform the customer that the email change forces a mandatory password reset. The user must reset their password at: https://app.bitgo.com/web/auth/forgot-password/recover-password.
  7. Critical warning for hot wallets: After a password reset, the user will need to be removed and re-added to all self-managed hot wallets and Go wallets they belong to before they can perform wallet actions (spend, approve, make changes). For SMHW, BitGo support can only add/remove users at a Viewer level — the customer's wallet admins must handle Admin/Spender re-additions.
  8. After the email change is completed, confirm with the customer that they can log in with the new email.

Notes: If the customer has multiple users undergoing a domain migration, each affected user typically requires their own video verification. A single verified enterprise owner may be able to authorize multiple changes in one call if pre-arranged. The email change also triggers a 2FA reset in some cases — confirm with the Trust team. For bulk changes, recommend the alternative approach (Scenario #2) to avoid operational disruption.

"A.) We can change the email addresses of each @erisx.com user to @cboe.com. This will require a video verification for the request. Once verified and we make the change, this will result in mandatory reset of each affected user's login password. This will also require that each affected user needs to be removed and then re-added to each wallet they are a part of before that user can use the wallets again. This will affect their ability to spend, make wallet changes, and provide approvals." "change email address [EMAIL] to [EMAIL] change Primary contact from [EMAIL] to [EMAIL] assign user as video verified user" "We have updated your email address as per your request, both the users will need to reset their login password using this link: https://app.bitgo.com/web/auth/forgot-password/recover-password"

Scenario: change-email-address-primary#recommended-add-new-remove-old

Trigger: The customer still has access to the old email, or the email change would cause operational disruption to hot wallets. This is the recommended alternative to a backend email swap.

Signals: add new user, invite email, remove old email, enterprise settings, self-service, domain migration, hot wallet

Steps:

  1. Instruct the customer to log in with their current (old) email.
  2. Navigate to Profile Icon (upper right) → Settings → Users tab and invite the new email address as an Owner of the Enterprise.
  3. The new email will receive an invitation. The new user must accept the invite, complete account setup (including KYC submission if required), and set up 2FA.
  4. Once the new email is an Owner on the Enterprise, log in with the old email and navigate to each wallet's Users tab. Invite the new email as an Admin (or the same permission level as the old email) on each wallet.
  5. Accept the wallet invitations by logging in with the new email.
  6. Cleanup — remove old email from wallets: Log in with the new email, go to each wallet's Users tab, and request removal of the old email. Then log in with the old email and accept those removal requests.
  7. Cleanup — remove old email from Enterprise: From the new email account, go to Enterprise Settings → Users and request removal of the old email from the Enterprise. Log in with the old email and accept the removal.
  8. Confirm the new email now has full access and the old email has been fully removed.

Notes: This is the recommended approach because it avoids the forced password reset and the need to remove/re-add users on hot wallets. It requires the customer to still have access to the old email to accept removal requests. This path does not require a video verification call. KYC for the new email user may need to be submitted and approved. For PayGo, Starter, or non-contracted customers, this is the only available path.

"While we can change this email address, it is our recommendation that [EMAIL] be added to the Enterprise and wallets as a new and separate user with the same permissions as [EMAIL]. Once this user has been added to the Enterprise and then added to the wallets, your team can log in as that user and have them request the removal of [EMAIL] from the wallets and the Enterprise." "You would login with your @gmail account, navigate to the users tab of each wallet, and request removal of your corporate account. Then login with your corp email and accept those removals. Once this is done, you can then request from your @gmail account the removal of the corp account from the Enterprise, in turn accepting this removal once again from the corp account."

Scenario: change-email-address-primary#non-institutional-or-paygo-denied

Trigger: The customer is on a Starter, PayGo, or non-contracted plan and requests a direct email change.

Signals: starter, paygo, individual, email change denied, non-institutional, not supported

Steps:

  1. Inform the customer that email address changes are only provided to contracted institutional customers.
  2. Direct the customer to the self-service approach: invite the new email address to the Enterprise and wallets, then remove the old email (see Scenario #2 above).
  3. If the customer has completely lost access to the old email and cannot perform the self-service approach, advise them to use their wallet keycard to recover funds if available. Direct them to the wallet's Settings page where they can find the Recover/Reset Wallet Password option.

Notes: Swan platform users cannot change their email through BitGo at all and must contact Swan directly. Users under third-party enterprise umbrellas (e.g., Swan/Electric Solidus) are not considered independent customers for email change purposes.

"Email Address Changes are only provided to contracted Institutional Customers. You will need to add [EMAIL] as a secondary user to these account and then request the removal of our @gmail.com account." "Email changes are only provided for contracted Institutional Customers." "We do not allow email addresses to be changed due to this being used as one of our many verifiers for ownership of the account."

Scenario: change-email-address-primary#ftx-creditor-email-change

Trigger: The customer is an FTX creditor requesting an email change on their BitGo account used for FTX distributions.

Signals: FTX, creditor, distribution, ftx-faq, email mismatch, FTX Claims Portal

Steps:

  1. Inform the customer that BitGo does not currently support direct email changes on FTX accounts.
  2. The email address linked to the BitGo distribution account must match the primary email address registered with the FTX Claims Portal.
  3. Instruct the customer to first update their email on the FTX side by contacting FTX Support.
  4. Once FTX has confirmed the email change, the customer should either:
    • Create a new BitGo account using the updated FTX email and complete onboarding via https://www.bitgo.com/ftx/ or https://www.bitgo.com/ftx-digital-sign-in-page/, or
    • Contact BitGo support with the FTX confirmation so BitGo can update the email on their platform.
  5. Note: Multiple enterprises can exist under the same email address, so existing non-FTX accounts are not affected.
  6. Direct the customer to https://www.bitgo.com/ftx-faq for additional information.

Notes: If the customer changes their BitGo email without updating FTX first, their claim distributions may not be credited due to the email mismatch. KYC information cannot be deleted from BitGo due to regulatory requirements (minimum three-year retention).

"We do not support email changes for FTX users directly on BitGo. To update your email, please first update it on FTX, and then create a new BitGo account using your new email address for the FTX claim." "The email address linked to your distribution must match the primary email address registered with the FTX Claims Portal. Therefore, if you wish to change your email address for this process, you must first complete the change on the FTX end."

Scenario: change-email-address-primary#lost-access-old-email-no-enterprise

Trigger: The customer has lost access to their old email entirely and cannot log in or perform self-service steps. They are not a contracted institutional customer.

Signals: lost access, no email access, cannot login, IP verification, wallet keycard, fund recovery

Steps:

  1. Confirm that the customer no longer has access to the registered email address.
  2. Inform the customer that BitGo cannot change the email address for non-institutional accounts.
  3. Ask whether the customer has their wallet keycard.
  4. If yes, direct them to use the BitGo Wallet Recovery Wizard (WRW) tool to recover their funds. They should use the latest version of the WRW tool.
  5. If the customer can still log in but is blocked by IP verification emails, this is a separate issue — the email must be accessible to approve the IP verification. Without email access, fund recovery via keycard is the fallback.
  6. If the old email domain is controlled by a former employer, suggest the customer ask the former employer to temporarily reactivate the email to complete the transfer process.

Notes: In exceptional cases for institutional customers who have lost access to the old email, BitGo Trust may require confirmation from the original email domain owner or grant clearance after extended review. This is handled on a case-by-case basis.

"Unfortunately we cannot change the email address of your account. If you have lost access to this email address the only other option is to recover you funds by you wallet key card. Do you have your wallet keycards?" "The trust team have stated they cannot do the email change without an email from your original email address stating that you would like an email change and the reasons for it."

Scenario: change-email-address-primary#update-mailing-or-billing-address

Trigger: The customer wants to update a physical mailing/billing address (not their login email address).

Signals: mailing address, billing address, invoice address, physical address, company address

Steps:

  1. Ask the customer to provide the original address and the new address it should be changed to.
  2. Escalate internally (e.g., via Slack to the billing/operations team) to have the address updated on the account and associated invoices.
  3. Confirm with the customer once the update is complete. Note that all mail from BitGo is digital — there is no paper mail.
  4. For address/country-of-residence updates (e.g., FTX creditors who relocated), request a government-issued ID or proof of residence document in PDF format to update the account.

Notes: This scenario covers physical address updates only, not email/login changes. Billing address changes are handled by BitGo internal teams, not by the customer in the UI.

"To my knowledge, all mail is digital."

Scenario: change-email-address-primary#change-primary-contact-enterprise

Trigger: The customer wants to change the primary contact on their enterprise (not necessarily the login email of a user).

Signals: primary contact, enterprise owner, change ownership, primary owner

Steps:

  1. Confirm the current primary contact by reviewing the enterprise in the admin tool.
  2. The new primary contact email must first be added as an owner of the enterprise by the current owner via Enterprise Settings → Users → Add User.
  3. Once the new owner is added and confirmed, BitGo support can update the primary contact designation internally.
  4. A video verification call may be required depending on the nature of the change and whether it involves a Board Resolution Letter.
  5. Escalate to the Trust team (e.g., Nandish) if unsure whether additional authorization is required.

Notes: Changing the primary contact does not necessarily change the login email of any user — it changes who BitGo considers the main point of contact for the enterprise. Both actions may be requested simultaneously.

"Upon reviewing the details, we see that the current primary contact for the enterprise is [EMAIL], and this email address [EMAIL] is already a member of the enterprise. If you would like to update the primary contact to [EMAIL], please first ensure that this user is added as an owner of the enterprise."

Scenario: change-email-address-primary#hot-wallet-key-decryption-limitation

Trigger: The customer uses self-managed hot wallets and asks if email changes can be done without disrupting wallet operations.

Signals: hot wallet, key decryption, limitation, cannot add remove admins, painful operation

Steps:

  1. Inform the customer that changing an email address triggers a password reset, and the new password will not work for existing hot wallets due to key decryption dependencies.
  2. After the password reset, affected users must be removed and re-added to all hot wallets and Go wallets.
  3. For self-managed hot wallets (SMHW), BitGo support cannot add or remove users at Admin or Spender levels — only Viewer. The customer's own wallet admins must handle the re-addition.
  4. Recommend the add-new-user/remove-old-user approach (Scenario #2) to avoid this disruption entirely.

Notes: This limitation has been a persistent platform constraint. There is no backend workaround to preserve hot wallet key access after an email/password change.

"Unfortunately that is still the way to move forward as this is a limitation in case of hotwallets because of key decryption. From our end we are not able to add/remove admins and spenders on hotwallets thus we are not able to help add the new emails or remove the old emails." "While email addresses can be updated, doing so triggers a password reset. After resetting the login password, the new password will not work for hotwallets, requiring the users to be removed and re-invited to hot wallets, and the same applies to Go accounts."

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