Nostr Web Client

The state of opensource bitcoin wallets for mobile is... TERRIBLE.

Nunchuk nostr:nprofile1qqsvxq03xdev3uxehjqcdkr5lfzl5vawmcf7vm6ps73m6ghwg8y4k2spz4mhxue69uhk2er9dchxummnw3ezumrpdejqz9nhwden5te0dehhxarj9eekcmm5dpujuamfdcq3yamnwvaz7tmsw4e8qmr9wpskwtn9wvuasnac is quite underrated. Feature-dense and good UI. It would be my pick.

Blockstream nostr:nprofile1qqsfy229w70e8lgtxavlz9t78k06yrel6fxyhreteafqet8kfxhhwmgpzemhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuurjd9kkzmpwdejhgqgewaehxw309ac8yetdd96k6tnswf5k6ctv9ehx2ap0dm7kcr is decent and very well worth a try

Electrum does the job well and it's quite functional

Bluewallet is really good for newbies. Probably the best to recommend to them.

Cove (iOS-only) has been making the rounds

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Discussion

Vitor Pamplona 4mo ago 💬 3

Nunchuck & Blockstream only exist to get users to join their premium multisig/inheritance bullshit services. It gets quite annoying as as base user. Not to blame the companies, I think they are great. But I hate this upselling bullshit.

Electrum on mobile is a joke.

Agree on BlueWallet. But they are also offering too much already.

Haven't tried Cove.

nunchuk_io 4mo ago 💬 2

Respectfully, the claim that we 'only exist to get users to join premium bullshit services' is the opposite of reality.

Since day one, we have been pouring huge resources into building and maintaining a professional-grade Bitcoin wallet and offer it for free. We led the way with standards like BIP129, advanced coin control and were first with features like encrypted group wallet and Taproot/MuSig2 support. We do this because we believe that if the majority of Bitcoin is not in self-custody, the project will fail. In fact, the vast majority of our users are free users, and we dedicate about 80% of our development efforts each year to free features.

Calling our premium services 'bullshit' is a mischaracterization. They solve critical, high-stakes problems for people who need them, and the revenue from those services is precisely what allows us to keep the core wallet free, private, and independent.

The alternative is VC funding, ads, or tracking users. We're committed to building a sustainable business on a Bitcoin standard, and we believe our model is the right one for our users and for Bitcoin itself.

DRE 4mo ago

I’m happy to pay for a KYC free inheritance solution, and I do.

Nunchuk offers great value all around. You can even manage your collaborative multisig wallet with Sparrow unlike Casa.

If you want better features and inheritance planning then you have to pay for it as we do for any service. The free wallet is plenty capable.

Vitor Pamplona 4mo ago 💬 4

Sorry, I didn't want to dismiss your services. I think they are great. It's just not that interesting for a wallet app for the general public.

But the upselling is annoying, even on your website. I wish the base app was paid as well so you didn't need to sell other stuff.

nunchuk_io 4mo ago

No worries at all, and thanks for the clarification. Finding the right way to present our paid services without being intrusive is a tough balance. It’s something we always try to improve on. Appreciate the feedback.

The idea of a paid base app is interesting, but we're committed to keeping the core tools free for all, for reason we highlighted above: we need as many people as possible to have access to safe and easy to use self-custody tools. If the base app is paid, we wouldn’t be able to achieve that goal.

smalltownrifle 4mo ago 💬 1

I have no issues at all with you guys selling me stuff.

But I'd appreciate a Nostr login option as an alternative to email. Is that something you've considered?

nunchuk_io 4mo ago

It’s on the roadmap, yes. We also have a major release coming soon. One of our best features to date. Stay tuned!

Vitor Pamplona 4mo ago 💬 1

Take a look at the 1Password model. No free layers. It's about piece of mind. All upsell-based models require marketing that centers on suggesting to base users that they are not doing enough. There is just no way around it. And that drives anxiety and makes them hate the free layer of your product, regardless of how good it is.

On the 1Password, I pay the base layer and I know I am as valuable as a customer as the other stuff they sell. They never offered more stuff to me because they don't need to and they do not want me thinking that I am not doing enough to secure my keys, even at the base layer. It makes a huge difference.

nunchuk_io 4mo ago

That's a valid point. Finding the right balance in our messaging is a constant challenge, and we take the responsibility to avoid creating that anxiety very seriously.

But for us, putting up a paywall isn't the answer, because 1Password, as great as they are, don’t solve the same existential threat we're focused on.

Bitcoin self-custody is already seen as "hard" by most people, and the massive push towards ETFs and custodial services makes it worse every day. Our core mission is to fight that trend. From day one.

What use are our services if the foundation itself gets destroyed? If 90% of Bitcoin ends up with custodians in 20 years, the project will have failed, and everything we've been building (which, btw, include networks like Nostr) will have been for nothing.

To win this battle, the best and most secure tools for self-custody must be free and accessible to the largest number of people possible. That's why the Nunchuk base app will always be free. It’s non-negotiable for us.

senf 4mo ago

I'd love an option to just pay you to disable your advertising of services I don't want to use. I liked your wallet when I tried it, but seeing that stuff in the UI bugged me so much that I stopped.

I know that you need to make money, but maybe you can make some this way too as an option.

smalltownrifle 4mo ago

I love the fact that wallets are selling me stuff. I want them to make money and be profitable by providing useful services.

But it's a personal preference thing which I can understand.

In fact, as a regular Amethyst user, I wouldn't mind at all if you asked me to pay for certain services or features. You and the other devs are doing great work. It's incredible that it's free. But it would be no less incredible if you guys got compensated for your hard work.

sati 4mo ago

nostr:nprofile1qqsfy229w70e8lgtxavlz9t78k06yrel6fxyhreteafqet8kfxhhwmgpr9mhxue69uhhqun9d45h2mfwwpexjmtpdshxuet59uq3vamnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwwpexjmtpdshxuet5uzhxm7 doesn’t have an inheritance service that I am aware….

franzap 4mo ago

Heard the Cove guy wanted to build for Android too

franzap 4mo ago

Tried nunchuk, bad UX

smalltownrifle 4mo ago

Hmm I get that

I like it though!

Judge Hardcase 4mo ago

Agreed on nostr:npub1cvqlzvmjercdn0ypsmv8f7j9lge6ahsnueh5rparh53wuswftv4q49yjt3. It works very well for me. There are upsell/account options available; but it's not at all in your face after your initial login "as guest". Though, as best I can tell, the iOS version isn't open source (no Github like there is for android or desktop)... Not a deal-breaker for me, though, since I don't use mobile wallets as the sole transaction signer, anyway.

I find nostr:npub1jg552aulj07skd6e7y2hu0vl5g8nl5jvfw8jhn6jpjk0vjd0waksvl6n8n way less intuitive (and way more cluttered with junk)... maybe I just need to be using it with a Jade. 🤷

Bluewallet was my first, and is a great simple ux, but I ultimately abandoned it completely due to no testnet support - which has become a huge pet peeve of mine for wallets in general (nostr:npub1cvqlzvmjercdn0ypsmv8f7j9lge6ahsnueh5rparh53wuswftv4q49yjt3 definitely handles testnet the best, IMO).

Cove looks like a very promising Bluewallet alternative, but is clearly not yet ready for prime-time.

smalltownrifle 4mo ago 💬 2

Being able to add a watch-only wallet is becoming a top-priority feature for me

Judge Hardcase 4mo ago

Absolutely! As far as I could tell, watch-only wasn't available on blockstream? (though, maybe a different story if I paired it with a Jade?) This IS a deal-breaker.

smalltownrifle 4mo ago 💬 4

Blockstream does have it now. But I don't think Nunchuk does.

Judge Hardcase 4mo ago

Nunchuk (iOS) definitely has it... I use it all the time. "Recover existing wallet" reveals several options including "... using QR code" and "... using BSMS/descriptors" - each of which will generate a 'watch-only' wallet (i.e. not a 'hot' wallet).

... I'll take another look at Blockstream.

smalltownrifle 4mo ago

Right, as long as the private keys are not on device, it's good

nunchuk_io 4mo ago

Nunchuk does support watch-only. You only need to pair a hardware signer with the app to make it watch-only.

smalltownrifle 4mo ago 💬 1

Can a watch-only wallet be set up for other hot wallets though?

nunchuk_io 4mo ago

Sure, you just need to export/import the wallet descriptors or BSMS file into Nunchuk (Nunchuk is built on open BIP standards).