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Atomic Wallet vs Electrum

Comparing
two wallets
Decided by
Editorial rating
Last reviewed
2026-08-26
Atomic Wallet1.2Warning

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

Electrum4.4Bitcoin-only

The oldest bitcoin wallet still in active development, and the one whose users are hunted by a fake-update scam running since December 2018.

Verdict: Electrum

Electrum rates higher on our rubric: 4.4 against 1.2 for Atomic Wallet.

Criterion
Editorial rating
Atomic Wallet
1.2
Electrum
4.4

Atomic Wallet and Electrum, 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.

Atomic Wallet and Electrum compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
FactAtomic WalletElectrum
Editorial rating1.24.4 (favoured on this row)
StatusCaution: see the reviewAvailable
Made byAtomic WalletElectrum Technologies GmbH
PriceFree downloadFree download
Who holds the keysself-custodial, keys generated on your device and encrypted with your passwordself-custodial, keys generated and encrypted on your own machine, with transactions checked by SPV
Bitcoin-onlyNoYes
Runs oniOS, Android, Windows, macOS, LinuxAndroid, Windows, macOS, Linux
ScreenNot statedNot stated
ConnectivityNot statedConnects to public Electrum servers or one you run yourself, verifying your transactions by SPV
Released2017November 2011, written by Thomas Voegtlin
Countries on the maker's listNo published listNo published list
Last reviewed2026-08-262026-08-25

Pros and cons, side by side

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

Electrum

What works

  • Continuously maintained since November 2011, which nothing else on this list can claim
  • Lightweight: it checks your transactions by SPV instead of downloading the whole chain
  • Reproducible builds, signed by several independent builders, with signatures published next to every download
  • Hardware wallet support for Ledger, Trezor and KeepKey, plus multisig and watch-only cold storage
  • MIT licensed, and anyone can run the server software it talks to, so no company controls the network
  • An official Android build on both Google Play and F-Droid

What to watch

  • Users are the target of a fake-update scam that ZDNet traced to more than 22 million dollars of thefts by October 2020
  • The interface assumes you already know what a change address and a derivation path are
  • Windows builds are often flagged by antivirus heuristics, which the project says it cannot do anything about
  • No iOS version, and no built-in way to buy bitcoin
  • Two-factor signing runs through a third party, Trustedcoin, rather than the wallet alone

Frequently asked questions

Is Atomic Wallet or Electrum better?

Electrum rates higher on our rubric: 4.4 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 Atomic Wallet and Electrum free?

Yes, both are free to download. What differs is who holds the keys: Atomic Wallet is self-custodial, keys generated on your device and encrypted with your password; Electrum is self-custodial, keys generated and encrypted on your own machine, with transactions checked by SPV.

Is Atomic Wallet or Electrum bitcoin-only?

Electrum is bitcoin-only; Atomic Wallet supports other assets too. Bitcoin plus more than 1,000 other coins and tokens, by Atomic's own count

Does Atomic Wallet or Electrum 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: Atomic Wallet and Electrum, each with its sources, and every wallet we review.

More comparisons

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