The Anoncoin client will normally download the blockchain from the network by synching with the other clients. Currently, the blockchain is about 400 Mb in size, but it will continue to grow with time. The first time that Anoncoin is run, full synchronization could take from 3 hours on clearnet to more than 12 h if I2P-only is used. Fortunately, this process can be speeded up substantially by use of a bootstrap file.
To use a bootstrap file to speed up initial network synchronization, follow these simple steps.
The official Anoncoin bootstrap file can be downloaded either from the Anoncoin web site or from the i2p BitTorrent port i2psnark (filename: anoncoin.bootstrap.tar.xz). The compressed file is currently about 100 Mb in size. After uncompressing the file, locate the file bootstrap.dat and verify its SHA1 and MD5 checksums and GPG detached signature.
Before importing the bootstrap.dat file, you will need to copy it to the correct location on your computer. If you have never used the Anoncoin software before, please start it once and then exit to create the required data directories. If the data directories already exist, please ensure that the Anoncoin software is not running.
Place the bootstrap.dat file into the Anoncoin data folder. The location of this folder depends upon your platform.
Open explorer, and type into the address bar:
%APPDATA%\Anoncoin
Open the Finder by pressing [shift] + [cmd] + [g] and then enter:
~/Library/Application Support/Anoncoin/
The directory is hidden in your User folder. Go to:
~/.anoncoin/
To import the bootstrap file, simply start the Anoncoin client software. When the wallet appears, you should see the text “Importing blocks from disk” in the lower left corner of the wallet. This process should take about 20 minutes, and after this, the client will begin to download the most recent blocks that were not in the bootstrap.dat file.
Yes, the above method is safe. The download contains only the raw blockchain data and the client verifies this when it is imported. Do not download the blockchain from unofficial sources.