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Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the first ever cryptocurrency, and it's very versatile with 2 ways to hold it. Explore your options for using Bitcoin below.
Onchain
Onchain Bitcoin is the standard form of Bitcoin. Many wallets from the Multichain list support onchain Bitcoin, but I don't have any Bitcoin-specific wallets to tell you about.
NOTE
Have a Bitcoin software wallet you want to tell me about? Look at the main page for my contact info.
NOTE
Wondering where Burner went? There's a separate page for hardware wallets now.
Lightning Network
Onchain Bitcoin has problems with speed and transaction cost. Lightning Network allows you to use Bitcoin with high speed and low cost. Some merchants are accepting it now, either through their own wallets or using processors like Square.
Many exchanges support Lightning, but they may only accept Lightning invoices instead of an actual Lightning address, mostly because Lightning addresses look like email addresses and many crypto exchanges allow sending between users by email or phone.
IMPORTANT
Custodial wallets are very common on the Lightning Network!
With a custodial wallet, you do not control the wallet's private keys.
If you're going to be holding a lot of Bitcoin for a long time, it's better to use a native Bitcoin wallet or a multichain wallet that supports Bitcoin (see the Multichain page). Think of a Lightning wallet as a prepaid debit card that you load with money to spend, and an onchain Bitcoin wallet as long-term storage for the bulk of your funds.
Wallets that use the Spark network for Lightning self-custody are becoming more common, but it's still recommended to hold Bitcoin savings onchain. Using a hardware wallet is also recommended for maximum security of bulk storage.
TIP
Square is auto-enabling Bitcoin Lightning payments for all merchants soon!
Square, one of the largest small business PoS systems, has said that they are going to be rolling out Bitcoin payments by default to their merchants starting at the end of March 2026.
If you're a Square merchant, your customers can pay in Bitcoin and it will settle to local currency. You can also opt to receive Bitcoin directly, or if you really wish not to participate, disable Bitcoin entirely.
See this Tweet from Square to learn more.
TIP
Spark wallets can use the same seed phrase to share balances.
Lightning self-custody wallets that use the Spark network are interoperable. You can use the same seed phrase between Spark wallets to view the same balance.
TIP
The Breez SDK is common for integrating the Spark network into Lightning wallets.
Breez enables some noteworthy features of Spark such as Privacy Mode (obscures public transaction metadata) by default. Visit https://breez.technology to learn more. Wallets that use the Breez SDK will be labeled as "Spark with Breez".
Blitz Wallet
Blitz is a wallet that takes full advantage of the Spark network. They allow you to get a free custom Lightning address with NIP-05 support for Nostr.
While Blitz does support Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) for use in Nostr apps, NWC uses a separate balance from your main balance. Some Nostr apps such as YakiHonne support zapping with Blitz without NWC.
Blitz does have some features that make Bitcoin proponents mad, such as the ability to hold a USD balance and optional support for Spark's BTKN system (which enables token creation similar to ERC-20 or SPL).
Wallet Type: Self-Custody (Spark with Breez)
Platforms: iOS, Android
Additional Features: Nostr Wallet Connect, Free Custom Lightning Address, NIP-05, USD Balance, Spark BTKN
Primal
Primal is not just a Lightning wallet (self-custody with Spark), it's also a Nostr app. If you use the Primal wallet, there's no need to set up NWC since the wallet is built-in.
Primal is one of the most popular Nostr clients out there, and while they have had a wallet service for a while, with their 3.0 release they have switched to a self-custody system with the Spark network and Breez SDK.
Sadly to get a NIP-05 name and custom Lightning address, you have to pay for a Primal Premium membership.
Wallet Type: Self-Custody (Spark with Breez)
Platforms: iOS, Android
Wallet of Satoshi
Wallet of Satoshi is probably the most common self-custody wallet for the Lightning Network. Sadly it doesn't support Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC), which is needed to allow you to tip or be tipped (called “zapping” by the Nostr community). It can receive assets from other Lightning users or from an onchain Bitcoin wallet, but it's better to use Lightning-to-Lightning when you can.
WoS also has a Point Of Sale (POS) mode for using in your business, and even a separate POS app for shared devices that can only receive funds.
This wallet does use Spark for self-custody, but they do not enable Spark's privacy mode, meaning the metadata of your transactions are visible on Spark explorers such as https://sparkscan.io.
Wallet Type: Self-Custody (Spark)
Platforms: iOS, Android
Rizful
An account owned by Rizful replied to my first Nostr post asking me about connecting a wallet so they could “zap” me, so I made an account with them so they could do that. I would only recommend this to people who use Nostr. Also you can just make a wallet from within some mobile Nostr clients like YakiHonne.
Rizful also gives its users a free Lightning address (someone@rizful.com), which can also be used as a NIP-05 username on Nostr.
Wallet type: Custodial
Platforms: Web App
Additional Features: Nostr Wallet Connect, Free Custom Lightning Address, NIP-05
Cashu
Cashu is a Chaumian ecash system primarily designed around Bitcoin. It's open-source, and uses blind signatures to protect user privacy during transactions. It's also instant and features minimal fees. It features a system of custodial mints that anyone can run, with Lightning Network integration for moving funds between mints themselves or between a mint and a non-Cashu wallet.
Since Cashu wallets rely on custodial mints, it's best to use them as low-value spending wallets. Bulk storage should always be onchain, preferably on a hardware wallet.
Minibits
Minibits is currently one of the more popular options for a Cashu wallet, and they run a very popular Cashu mint. They offer a custom Lightning address (for a small fee), a contacts system, and an extremely simple interface built with cross-platform tools.
In recent updates Minibits has gained support for sending Cashu payments over NFC, to apps like Numo (a point of sale system) that support it.
Minibits also features an extremely simple point of sale mode, but dedicated apps for point of sale are recommended to protect personal wallets.
Minibits also makes an API system called Ippon designed for use by AI agents, but realistically it could be used by any app that wants to transact using Bitcoin with Cashu or Lightning because of its simple REST API.
While Minibits does support Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC), I would not recommend using Minibits as a NWC wallet.
Platforms: iOS, Android
Additional Features: Custom Lightning Address, PoS Mode, Cashu Tap-To-Pay (NFC)
Sovran
Sovran is an iOS-exclusive Cashu wallet with a clean design featuring Apple's Liquid Glass textures. It also features support for Cashu Tap-To-Pay with NFC.
Sadly Sovran began to glitch out on my iPhone so I had to fall back to Minibits for my Cashu needs. I've already pinged Sovran and its creator on Nostr to see if they have anything to say.
Sovran also features an integration with Routstr to enable pay-per-prompt AI chat, and their own global eSIM plan system for users with unlocked phones who want to get a foreign data plan for traveling. Sovran's eSIM features can be accessed at their website with no need to be using the Sovran app itself.
Platforms: iOS only
Additional Features: Cashu Tap-To-Pay (NFC)
Macadamia
Macadamia is another iOS-exclusive wallet, although much simpler than Sovran. It also supports NFC for sending to point-of-sale devices.
Platforms: iOS only
Additional Features: Cashu Tap-To-Pay (NFC)
cashu.me
https://cashu.me is a very simple Cashu wallet in a web browser. You can run it as a PWA on mobile or in a browser window on a desktop.
It also supports Nostr Wallet Connect, although the wallet has to stay open in the background and any payments made with NWC have to be confirmed manually in the wallet interface.
Platforms: Web
Additional Features: Nostr Wallet Connect