piriya on Nostr: # My Quick Non Custodial Lightning Wallet Comparison After the recent incident with ...
# My Quick Non Custodial Lightning Wallet Comparison
After the recent incident with Wallet of Satoshi (npub1hcw…h9rq) decision to exit the us app store. (Thank you for not forcing draconian KYCs on your users and being transparent about the decision) A lot of people have been looking for alternative solutions for their zapping needs, but each solution has its own tradeoffs so here's a quick run down of what I've been playing with recently.
## Move to a Different Custodial Wallet
There are a few options available, the one I think has the most complete feature set for Nostr user is Alby (npub1get…0nfm) as you can use it to log in to Nostr services, create lightning address to receive zaps, send zaps on desktop, and use Nostr Wallet Connect feature to send zaps from many mobile clients. It provides a good set of features, also can handle keys for your on-chain wallet (non-custodial) But with the recent growth and attention it has been receiving, Alby is also a target for regulations and government attacks.
I'd still say this is fine for users who are not tech savvy, it takes a few seconds to set up and should answer all of your zapping needs, at least for now, but be aware that it faces the same risk WoS faces.
## Move to a Non-Custodial Wallet
So you want to completely eliminate the risk of censorship and surprises and decided to go non-custodial, not your keys, not your Bitcoins, it should be simple, right?
Well, not really. You see, lightning is not Bitcoin, to truly operate a lightning wallet without and third party you'd need to run your own Bitcoin node along with your own Lightning implementation of choice and a whole bunch of other stuff, and if you are already doing that, I bet you're feeling pretty superior right now.
### So, what about all these 'non-custodial lightning wallets' then?
Compared to just Bitcoin, things get a little bit more complicated for Lightning, you'll need to open channels, manage liquidity, ensure connectivity, and be online to use the network. Non custodial lightning wallets are wallets that lets you create, and keep your own keys (or what normal people would call seed, or the 12-words) but will do all the other stuff on your behalf, tasks such as creating and funding channels, routing payments, managing liquidity are done by the service providers and as of now, there are no established standards on how this is done and each wallet will have their own set up.
### wait, why should I care about all of that?
Well, to put it simply, you might not always be able to recover your wallet in any other wallets, Lightning is complicated and it requires more than your seed backups to restore your wallets as channels and channels balances are stored separately, this might change in the future but it is the current reality, so, just be aware!
## These are the non-custodial wallets I've tried for this note.
1. Phoenix
One of the oldest non-custodial lightning wallet, a simplified version of Eclair, also made by the same company, ACINQ. In phoenix, you create and store your own keys, but the wallet will use your keys to open channels and sign transactions for you. Recovery is simple enough as I've moved my phoenix wallet from phones to phones many times without any difficulty, just use the twelve-word backup phrase on their app. But if you need to recover the wallet in a different app then that will be a problem as you'll need the channel backups to close your channel and I can't find any ways to export that from the app. The app is available as apk though if it ever gets removed from playstore. Also, while simple, phoenix offers no special features for Nostr users.
**pros**
- Simple, clean interface.
- Channel splicing is great, no more dead channels with useless liquidity, simple management
- ACINQ runs onw of the largest Lightning node.
- transparent policies regarding channel opening fees, swap-in wallets, etc.
**cons**
- no Nostr wallet connect, but can still be used to send zaps.
- ACINQ is stingy with routing fee
- no lnUrl, lnAddress support
2. Breez
Just like Phoenix, Breez offers a clean user interface and a simple back up solution, instead of a seed back up phrase, Breez backsup your wallet to a cloud service, of your choice, which is a bit unnerving, but you can encrypt the file and recovery is easy enough, just re-link the back up and your wallet is back on a new phone. No Nostr specific feature though.
**pros**
- easy to use
- connects with a lot of services
- transparent
**cons**
- no lnUrl, lnAddress
- though can be transparent, most advanced information are hidden in the advanced section
- no back up phrases for on-chain wallet / keys
3. ZEUS (npub1xnf…lpr5)
This is perhaps the most feature packed wallet on the list, but unfortunately, also the most difficult to get started. The playstore version does not support embedded node so you'll need to be running a node somewhere and use Zeus to connect to it. However, if you go to their website and download the Latest beta you can run a neutrino node on your phone and use it to manage your own channels. But you;ll need to manage your own channels, so that's a bit difficult for most people, or maybe I'm just missing something. Zeus supports NIP-05 generation, lnAddress (semi-custodial) so it can be used for Nostr.
**pros**
- feature packed
- connects to your own node
- does lnAddress magic
- also nip05
- node on your phone!
**cons**
- need to install apk or testflight (as of now)
- connects to your own node
- need to open / close channels
- node on your phone!
4. Mutiny Wallet (npub1mut…23vg)
I really like Mutiny. One thing that sets it apart from other wallets is that it's a web app (but it runs locally on your phone.) So you'll never have to worry about it being removed from any appstore, ever. Just go to their website with your browser and click start using Mutiny and it'll install a web app on your phone. The set up is simple, seed phrase back up and your are ready. The minimum funding to start using the wallet is a bit high though, at 100,000 sats so it's not great for onboarding newbies, and they charge a 40k sat fees if you wanted to fund the wallet with another lightning wallet. (funding it with on-chain wallet can be cheaper, depending on the network. Mutiny supports Nostr Wallet Connect so you can use it to easily send zaps, but does not have lnAddress for receiving zaps.
** pros **
- cool design
- no app store
- runs anywhere
- simple to set up
- has NWC
**cons**
- high initial funding tx fee
- no lnAddress
- can be confusing at first for people used to appstore.
### notable mentions
Blixt is also interesting, it runs a neutrino node on your phone and offers the same benefits as zeus, but the UX is quite confusing and difficult to use and does not support any Nostr specific features.
## Conclusion
I don't see a clear winner here but.
**if you just want to keep you zaps safe for the moment** -> Phoenix or Breez
**if you want to use it mainly for sending zaps** -> Mutiny, Phoenix, Breez are fine, Mutiny has NWC
**if you want to use it to receive zaps** -> Zeus (grab the v8.0 beta version) and learn to use it.
**if you want to send and receive zaps now and don't really care about going non custodial** -> Alby
If anyone has further suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments!
Stay free!
After the recent incident with Wallet of Satoshi (npub1hcw…h9rq) decision to exit the us app store. (Thank you for not forcing draconian KYCs on your users and being transparent about the decision) A lot of people have been looking for alternative solutions for their zapping needs, but each solution has its own tradeoffs so here's a quick run down of what I've been playing with recently.
## Move to a Different Custodial Wallet
There are a few options available, the one I think has the most complete feature set for Nostr user is Alby (npub1get…0nfm) as you can use it to log in to Nostr services, create lightning address to receive zaps, send zaps on desktop, and use Nostr Wallet Connect feature to send zaps from many mobile clients. It provides a good set of features, also can handle keys for your on-chain wallet (non-custodial) But with the recent growth and attention it has been receiving, Alby is also a target for regulations and government attacks.
I'd still say this is fine for users who are not tech savvy, it takes a few seconds to set up and should answer all of your zapping needs, at least for now, but be aware that it faces the same risk WoS faces.
## Move to a Non-Custodial Wallet
So you want to completely eliminate the risk of censorship and surprises and decided to go non-custodial, not your keys, not your Bitcoins, it should be simple, right?
Well, not really. You see, lightning is not Bitcoin, to truly operate a lightning wallet without and third party you'd need to run your own Bitcoin node along with your own Lightning implementation of choice and a whole bunch of other stuff, and if you are already doing that, I bet you're feeling pretty superior right now.
### So, what about all these 'non-custodial lightning wallets' then?
Compared to just Bitcoin, things get a little bit more complicated for Lightning, you'll need to open channels, manage liquidity, ensure connectivity, and be online to use the network. Non custodial lightning wallets are wallets that lets you create, and keep your own keys (or what normal people would call seed, or the 12-words) but will do all the other stuff on your behalf, tasks such as creating and funding channels, routing payments, managing liquidity are done by the service providers and as of now, there are no established standards on how this is done and each wallet will have their own set up.
### wait, why should I care about all of that?
Well, to put it simply, you might not always be able to recover your wallet in any other wallets, Lightning is complicated and it requires more than your seed backups to restore your wallets as channels and channels balances are stored separately, this might change in the future but it is the current reality, so, just be aware!
## These are the non-custodial wallets I've tried for this note.
1. Phoenix
One of the oldest non-custodial lightning wallet, a simplified version of Eclair, also made by the same company, ACINQ. In phoenix, you create and store your own keys, but the wallet will use your keys to open channels and sign transactions for you. Recovery is simple enough as I've moved my phoenix wallet from phones to phones many times without any difficulty, just use the twelve-word backup phrase on their app. But if you need to recover the wallet in a different app then that will be a problem as you'll need the channel backups to close your channel and I can't find any ways to export that from the app. The app is available as apk though if it ever gets removed from playstore. Also, while simple, phoenix offers no special features for Nostr users.
**pros**
- Simple, clean interface.
- Channel splicing is great, no more dead channels with useless liquidity, simple management
- ACINQ runs onw of the largest Lightning node.
- transparent policies regarding channel opening fees, swap-in wallets, etc.
**cons**
- no Nostr wallet connect, but can still be used to send zaps.
- ACINQ is stingy with routing fee
- no lnUrl, lnAddress support
2. Breez
Just like Phoenix, Breez offers a clean user interface and a simple back up solution, instead of a seed back up phrase, Breez backsup your wallet to a cloud service, of your choice, which is a bit unnerving, but you can encrypt the file and recovery is easy enough, just re-link the back up and your wallet is back on a new phone. No Nostr specific feature though.
**pros**
- easy to use
- connects with a lot of services
- transparent
**cons**
- no lnUrl, lnAddress
- though can be transparent, most advanced information are hidden in the advanced section
- no back up phrases for on-chain wallet / keys
3. ZEUS (npub1xnf…lpr5)
This is perhaps the most feature packed wallet on the list, but unfortunately, also the most difficult to get started. The playstore version does not support embedded node so you'll need to be running a node somewhere and use Zeus to connect to it. However, if you go to their website and download the Latest beta you can run a neutrino node on your phone and use it to manage your own channels. But you;ll need to manage your own channels, so that's a bit difficult for most people, or maybe I'm just missing something. Zeus supports NIP-05 generation, lnAddress (semi-custodial) so it can be used for Nostr.
**pros**
- feature packed
- connects to your own node
- does lnAddress magic
- also nip05
- node on your phone!
**cons**
- need to install apk or testflight (as of now)
- connects to your own node
- need to open / close channels
- node on your phone!
4. Mutiny Wallet (npub1mut…23vg)
I really like Mutiny. One thing that sets it apart from other wallets is that it's a web app (but it runs locally on your phone.) So you'll never have to worry about it being removed from any appstore, ever. Just go to their website with your browser and click start using Mutiny and it'll install a web app on your phone. The set up is simple, seed phrase back up and your are ready. The minimum funding to start using the wallet is a bit high though, at 100,000 sats so it's not great for onboarding newbies, and they charge a 40k sat fees if you wanted to fund the wallet with another lightning wallet. (funding it with on-chain wallet can be cheaper, depending on the network. Mutiny supports Nostr Wallet Connect so you can use it to easily send zaps, but does not have lnAddress for receiving zaps.
** pros **
- cool design
- no app store
- runs anywhere
- simple to set up
- has NWC
**cons**
- high initial funding tx fee
- no lnAddress
- can be confusing at first for people used to appstore.
### notable mentions
Blixt is also interesting, it runs a neutrino node on your phone and offers the same benefits as zeus, but the UX is quite confusing and difficult to use and does not support any Nostr specific features.
## Conclusion
I don't see a clear winner here but.
**if you just want to keep you zaps safe for the moment** -> Phoenix or Breez
**if you want to use it mainly for sending zaps** -> Mutiny, Phoenix, Breez are fine, Mutiny has NWC
**if you want to use it to receive zaps** -> Zeus (grab the v8.0 beta version) and learn to use it.
**if you want to send and receive zaps now and don't really care about going non custodial** -> Alby
If anyone has further suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments!
Stay free!