Aqua vs Trust Wallet

Comparing: two wallets
Decided by: Editorial rating
Last reviewed: 2026-08-25

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

Trust Wallet2.9

Use the phone app, think twice about the extension: an attacker published a malicious build of it on December 24, 2025.

Verdict: Aqua

Aqua rates higher on our rubric: 3.6 against 2.9 for Trust Wallet.

Criterion: Editorial rating
Aqua: 3.6
Trust Wallet: 2.9

Aqua and Trust 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 Trust Wallet compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
Fact	Aqua	Trust Wallet
Editorial rating	3.6 (favoured on this row)	2.9
Status	Available	Available
Made by	JAN3	Trust Wallet
Price	Free download	Free download
Who holds the keys	self-custodial, with the seed stored on your device in Keychain on iOS or EncryptedSharedPreferences on Android	self-custodial, keys generated on your own device and never held by Trust Wallet
Bitcoin-only	No	No
Runs on	iOS, Android	iOS, Android, Browser extension
Screen	Not stated	Not stated
Connectivity	On-chain bitcoin, the Liquid Network, and Lightning through submarine swaps rather than channels of its own	Not stated
Released	2024, by JAN3	2017
Countries on the maker's list	No published list	228
Last reviewed	2026-08-25	2026-08-25

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

Trust Wallet

What works

Keys are generated on your device, and Trust Wallet's terms describe it as non-custodial software rather than an account
The mobile apps were untouched by the December 2025 browser extension compromise
Trust Wallet published a dated timeline that names its own leaked publishing key as the way in
It decided to reimburse affected users voluntarily and put the process in writing
One app holds bitcoin alongside Ethereum, Solana and hundreds of other chains

What to watch

An attacker shipped a malicious build of the Chrome extension directly to users, so installing it means trusting a publishing pipeline that has failed once
Trust Wallet counts 2,520 affected addresses against over 5,000 reimbursement claims, and reviews them case by case with no published deadline
Keys sit on an internet connected phone, so this is a hot wallet: savings belong on a hardware wallet instead
Bitcoin is one chain among hundreds, and the interface is built around tokens and dapps rather than around bitcoin
The Earn feature is unavailable in 33 countries and territories, including the United States, the United Kingdom and most of the European Economic Area

Frequently asked questions

Is Aqua or Trust Wallet better?

Aqua rates higher on our rubric: 3.6 against 2.9 for Trust 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 Trust 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; Trust Wallet is self-custodial, keys generated on your own device and never held by Trust Wallet.

Is Aqua or Trust 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. Trust Wallet: Bitcoin alongside Ethereum, Solana and hundreds of other chains and tokens.

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

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