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Aqua vs Atomic Wallet

Comparing
two wallets
Decided by
Editorial rating
Last reviewed
2026-08-26
Aqua3.6

A self-custodial Bitcoin, Liquid and Tether USDt wallet built for people who need cheap dollars on a phone, not only bitcoin.

Atomic Wallet1.2Warning

Do not keep bitcoin here: over 5,500 wallets were emptied in June 2023 and the cause was never published.

Verdict: Aqua

Aqua rates higher on our rubric: 3.6 against 1.2 for Atomic Wallet.

Criterion
Editorial rating
Aqua
3.6
Atomic Wallet
1.2

Aqua and Atomic Wallet, fact by fact

Every row is from the two reviews as of their review dates, with sources on each. A check marks the side a decidable criterion favours; rows without one are information, not a score.

Aqua and Atomic Wallet compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
FactAquaAtomic Wallet
Editorial rating3.6 (favoured on this row)1.2
StatusAvailableCaution: see the review
Made byJAN3Atomic Wallet
PriceFree downloadFree download
Who holds the keysself-custodial, with the seed stored on your device in Keychain on iOS or EncryptedSharedPreferences on Androidself-custodial, keys generated on your device and encrypted with your password
Bitcoin-onlyNoNo
Runs oniOS, AndroidiOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux
ScreenNot statedNot stated
ConnectivityOn-chain bitcoin, the Liquid Network, and Lightning through submarine swaps rather than channels of its ownNot stated
Released2024, by JAN32017
Countries on the maker's listNo published listNo published list
Last reviewed2026-08-252026-08-26

Pros and cons, side by side

Aqua

What works

  • Self-custodial, with the seed kept in the phone's own secure storage and no documents required to open a wallet
  • Bitcoin, Liquid and Tether USDt in one app, which is the point for anyone who is paid or saves in dollars
  • Aqua's own figures put a $100 USDt transfer at three cents over Liquid against eight dollars over Ethereum
  • Network fees on USDt can be paid in USDt, so there is no separate gas token to hold
  • Replace-by-fee support, so a stuck transaction can be bumped instead of waited out
  • Client source published on GitHub, and Aqua says it collects no personal data or transaction logs

What to watch

  • Not bitcoin only: a large part of the app is about stablecoins
  • Liquid balances are secured by the Liquid federation rather than by bitcoin's own mining
  • Lightning runs through third-party submarine swaps rather than channels Aqua manages
  • USDt transfers over Tron or Ethereum depend on SideShift's liquidity, as Aqua's own FAQ says
  • In-app bitcoin purchases are run by outside providers, so the country rules and the support queue are theirs
  • A prepaid card and lending are advertised as coming rather than shipped

Atomic Wallet

What works

  • Keys are held on your device, so a working install still lets you move your own coins out
  • Desktop builds are published for Windows, macOS, Ubuntu, Debian and Fedora, with a hashsum check for the download
  • One app covers bitcoin and more than a thousand other assets, which is why so many people kept so much in it

What to watch

  • More than 5,500 wallets were drained on June 2 and 3, 2023, for over $100 million by Elliptic's count
  • Atomic has never published a confirmed technical cause, offering four possibilities and picking none
  • No compensation has been paid to the people who lost money
  • Its first public statements put the damage at under 0.1% and then under 1% of users, which the on-chain evidence contradicted
  • The first class action was thrown out in 2024 on jurisdiction rather than on the facts, and a second is now pending in California
  • The homepage says nothing about the incident and still runs testimonials from a man who died in 2021

Frequently asked questions

Is Aqua or Atomic Wallet better?

Aqua rates higher on our rubric: 3.6 against 1.2 for Atomic Wallet. The rating follows the product rubric published on our about page; the rows above set custody, price and platforms side by side so you can check it.

Are Aqua and Atomic Wallet free?

Yes, both are free to download. What differs is who holds the keys: Aqua is self-custodial, with the seed stored on your device in Keychain on iOS or EncryptedSharedPreferences on Android; Atomic Wallet is self-custodial, keys generated on your device and encrypted with your password.

Is Aqua or Atomic Wallet bitcoin-only?

Neither: both support assets beyond bitcoin. Aqua: Multi-asset: bitcoin on chain, Liquid bitcoin, and Tether USDt on Liquid and several other chains. Atomic Wallet: Bitcoin plus more than 1,000 other coins and tokens, by Atomic's own count.

Does Aqua or Atomic Wallet carry a warning?

Atomic Wallet: On June 2 and 3, 2023, more than 5,500 Atomic Wallet users had their balances emptied in a single coordinated event. Elliptic put the total above $100 million and attributed it to North Korea's Lazarus Group. Atomic Wallet has never published a confirmed technical cause and no compensation has been paid. The first US class action was dismissed in September 2024 for lack of personal jurisdiction rather than on the facts, and a second was filed in California in June 2025. The company's own homepage carries no mention of any of it.

The full reviews: Aqua and Atomic Wallet, each with its sources, and every wallet we review.

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