BlueWallet Review: The Ultimate Bitcoin and Lightning Network Wallet Experience

BlueWallet is a popular Bitcoin and Lightning Network wallet, offering a user-friendly interface and a range of features designed to enhance the experience for both beginners and experienced Bitcoin users. BlueWallet allows for secure management of Bitcoin assets, supports Lightning transactions for fast, low-cost payments, and provides options for both on-chain and off-chain transactions. Its notable features include the ability to create and manage multiple wallets, compatibility with hardware wallets to enhance security, and a built-in marketplace for directly purchasing Bitcoin within the app. It is known for its focus on privacy and security, making it a preferred choice for many in the crypto community.

Advantages of BlueWallet

• Multiple Wallet Management: With BlueWallet, you can import compatible wallets from other Bitcoin platforms like Electrum and Bread, managing them directly on the BlueWallet app. Multi-wallet management also allows you to access wallets that do not have iOS apps.
• Simple User Interface: For those who believe in simplicity, BlueWallet is a fantastic tool. Its mobile wallet design is intuitive and visually appealing, fostering trust and control over cryptocurrency for users.
• Supports Lightning Network: The Lightning Network enables crypto wallets to process Bitcoin transactions outside the Bitcoin network, greatly speeding up most peer-to-peer transactions. BlueWallet allows you to set up a dedicated Lightning wallet to execute Bitcoin transactions in seconds.

Disadvantages of BlueWallet

• Lacks Two-Factor Authentication: One of the biggest drawbacks of BlueWallet is its lack of two-factor authentication (2FA), quickly becoming a staple feature in the crypto world for network security, putting BlueWallet at a disadvantage in terms of user security.
• Lacks Guidance and Educational Resources: Although user-friendly, BlueWallet may not be the best option for absolute beginners. Many crypto wallets offer guides and educational resources to help new investors learn how to trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Some even provide online courses. However, aside from brief setup guides, BlueWallet does not offer any educational resources.
• Supports Only Bitcoin: Currently, BlueWallet does not support any cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin. While Bitcoin remains the largest cryptocurrency, there are other popular coins like Ethereum, Tether, and USD Coin that you will not be able to store or trade on BlueWallet.

It’s worth noting that even if you do want to focus exclusively on Bitcoin, BlueWallet is not a cryptocurrency exchange, so you won’t be able to trade other currencies on the platform. However, a good workaround is to use BlueWallet in addition to one of the best cryptocurrency exchanges.

BlueWallet Crypto Wallet Pricing

Like many other online crypto wallets, downloading BlueWallet and creating your wallet is completely free. Moreover, BlueWallet does not directly charge fees for performing regular on-chain transactions, making it one of the most cost-effective crypto wallets on the market.

Remember, while BlueWallet does not directly charge you for transactions, you still need to pay fees to cryptocurrency miners to execute transactions. These transaction fees are calculated in real-time based on market conditions.

Before confirming a transaction, you can choose from three fee options corresponding to three different estimated transaction times: ten minutes, three hours, or one day. The higher the transaction speed, the higher the fee.

Availability

BlueWallet is an open-source software available in almost every country/region. You can download the desktop version of the app directly from the BlueWallet website, the iOS app from the App Store, and the Android app from the Google Play Store. Remember, if your country/region does not have a local app store or restricts the BlueWallet app, you might not be able to download BlueWallet on your mobile device.

BlueWallet supports over 30 languages, including English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian.

User Experience

The excellent user experience offered by BlueWallet is why we chose it as one of the best mobile crypto wallets for Bitcoin.

First, BlueWallet’s mobile-first design makes navigating the platform very easy on any mobile device.

Second, the limited scope of BlueWallet leads to a minimalist and tidy app. Since BlueWallet serves only as a wallet, you do not have to sort through multiple services; just open the app and get straight to business. Your wallets can also be used on desktop computers, allowing you to access them on a PC when more practical.

How Does BlueWallet Work?

BlueWallet is a Bitcoin wallet that allows you to receive and pay in Bitcoin. It is similar to a regular checking account, enabling you to share your account information with others to receive Bitcoin deposits and make payments to peers and businesses.

When you create a BlueWallet Bitcoin wallet, you will receive a public key and a private key. The public key is like a checking account number, as it will help others find your wallet for payments. The private key is similar to your PIN, as you need it to verify your identity to make payments from your wallet.

Financial Health of BlueWallet

Unlike other crypto wallets, BlueWallet is not a fintech company. Instead, it operates as open-source software under the MIT license. Its regular transactions are decentralized, meaning they are executed by miners on the Bitcoin network rather than BlueWallet nodes.

How Secure Is BlueWallet?

BlueWallet is a decentralized, open-source program. Regular transactions are executed on the Bitcoin network, making it as secure as any other Bitcoin wallet. You can enable additional security layers to enhance the protection level of your BlueWallet crypto balances, such as multi-signature vaults and linking hardware wallets. However, BlueWallet does not provide two-factor authentication—a popular security feature that can prevent phishing and hacking attacks.

Bottom Line

If you are looking for a purely Bitcoin wallet that offers a seamless mobile experience, BlueWallet might be an excellent choice. Its straightforward user interface, multi-wallet functionality, and compatibility with the Lightning Network make it a great application for those interested only in trading or storing Bitcoin.

However, for those looking for a more comprehensive cryptocurrency solution, BlueWallet is not the best option. For example, many popular crypto wallets also offer access to cryptocurrency exchanges and other services, such as crypto staking. BlueWallet does not allow you to exchange Bitcoin for other currencies or stake your Bitcoin, so you must rely on other trading markets and crypto staking platforms to access these services.