Blockstream Bitcoin Wallet vs Proton Wallet

Buy, send, and secure your bitcoin with no sign-up required. The Blockstream app is a self-custodial wallet that works across all three layers of Bitcoin: On-chain, Lightning, and Liquid. Create your wallet, unlock with PIN or Face ID, and start in seconds. 100% open-source, built by Blockstream, the global leader in Bitcoin infrastructure. KEY FEATURES Transact Between Layers: Hold on-chain bitcoin, make instant Lightning payments, and use Liquid for fast, confidential transactions. Swap between networks directly inside the app. Buy Bitcoin: Purchase bitcoin in 200+ currencies using Apple Pay, card, or bank transfer. Funds arrive in your self-custodial wallet. No Sign-Up Required: Create a wallet with Face ID alone. No email, phone number, or personal information collected. Security That Grows with You: Start with a PIN. Store your recovery phrase when you're ready. Upgrade to a hardware wallet as your holdings grow. Each layer adds protection without switching apps. Hardware Wallet Ready: Pair with Blockstream Jade for cold storage that works seamlessly with Lightning and Liquid. Jade signs transactions while staying offline. Also supports Ledger, Trezor, Coldcard, and more through direct pairing or watch-only import. Lightning Without the Complexity: Lightning payments work through trustless atomic swaps. No channels to manage, no inbound liquidity to worry about, no node to run. Just scan and pay. Privacy First: No KYC. No mandatory personal data. Connect through Tor with a single tap. Route through your own Bitcoin node. Address rotation by default. Flexible & Functional: Liquid asset support. Replace-by-fee for stuck transactions. Custom fee settings. PSBT export for watch-only workflows. Testnet support for developers. Open Source: Every line of code is publicly auditable under GPL-3.0. Built on GDK, Blockstream's cross-platform wallet library.

Proton Wallet is a secure, easy-to-use crypto wallet that gives you sole control of your BTC. We designed Proton Wallet for Bitcoin newcomers, offering an intuitive experience while ensuring only you can access your BTC. Unlike other self-custodial wallets, Proton Wallet offers seamless multi-device support so you can use your wallet from any mobile device or web browser. Similar to how Proton Mail made encrypted email easy-to-use for 100 million users, we hope Proton Wallet can help everyone around the world safely use Bitcoin in a peer-to-peer and self-sovereign way. ** Not your keys, not your coins ** Proton Wallet creates your wallet using a BIP39 standard seed phrase, ensuring seamless recovery and interoperability with other self-custodial wallets, including hardware wallets. This also means you can easily import existing wallets or recover your Proton wallets on other services. Your encryption keys and wallet data are protected with end-to-end encryption, so no one else — not even Proton — can access them. Proton Wallet makes storing and transacting with Bitcoin simple while encrypting all your sensitive data, giving you financial sovereignty and privacy. Proton servers cannot access your BTC and do not even know your historic transactions and balances. ** Freely transact onchain ** The Bitcoin network is the most decentralized, censorship-resistant and secure financial network. Every transaction from Proton Wallet is mined by the Bitcoin network and recorded forever on the Bitcoin blockchain so no one can dispute it. You will pay the current network fee to Bitcoin miners to include your transaction in the blockchain, but no transaction fee is charged by Proton Wallet. Proton Wallet is free for everyone because we believe financial freedom and privacy should be available to all. ** Send Bitcoin via Email ** Bitcoin transactions are permanent and there's no bank you can call if you make a mistake. Copying the wrong 26-character Bitcoin address can be catastrophic. Proton Wallet's unique Bitcoin via Email feature means you only need to verify another Proton Wallet user's email instead, reducing the likelihood of errors. Each BTC address is cryptographically signed with PGP by the recipient's app, ensuring that it belongs to the recipient. ** Keep transactions and balances private ** Due to our incorporation in Switzerland, your data is protected by some of the world's strictest privacy laws. We also minimize data on servers by encrypting all transaction metadata (including amounts, senders, recipients, and notes) on user devices. Each time you receive BTC from someone with Bitcoin via Email, we automatically rotate your BTC addresses, protecting your privacy and making it difficult to connect your transactions on the public blockchain. ** Multiple BTC wallets and accounts ** Proton Wallet makes it easy for you to create multiple wallets, each with its own 12-word seed phrase for recovery. Inside each wallet, you can also create multiple BTC accounts to organize and separate your assets for better privacy. After the default wallet, subsequent wallet creations support an optional passphrase as another layer of protection. Free users can have up to 3 wallets and 3 accounts per wallet. ** Protect your Bitcoin with Proton ** Choose a crypto wallet that's transparent, open source, optimized for Bitcoin, and puts you in control. You can protect your wallet with two-factor authentication and activate Proton Sentinel, our AI-powered advanced account protection system that identifies and blocks malicious logins. Our 24/7 specialist support team is always ready to assist you. Download Proton Wallet now and start protecting your financial freedom. For more information, visit our website: https://proton.me/wallet To learn more about Bitcoin, read our guide: https://proton.me/wallet/bitcoin-guide-for-newcomers