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Atomic Wallet vs Mycelium

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.

Mycelium3.7

One of the oldest bitcoin wallets still shipping, strong on Android with deep UTXO control, and an iPhone build nobody has verified.

Verdict: Mycelium

Mycelium rates higher on our rubric: 3.7 against 1.2 for Atomic Wallet.

Criterion
Editorial rating
Atomic Wallet
1.2
Mycelium
3.7

Atomic Wallet and Mycelium, 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 Mycelium compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
FactAtomic WalletMycelium
Editorial rating1.23.7 (favoured on this row)
StatusCaution: see the reviewAvailable
Made byAtomic WalletMycelium
PriceFree downloadFree download
Who holds the keysself-custodial, keys generated on your device and encrypted with your passwordself-custodial, keys generated and held on the phone, recoverable only from a backup you write down
Bitcoin-onlyNoNo
Runs oniOS, Android, Windows, macOS, LinuxiOS, Android
ScreenNot statedNot stated
ConnectivityNot statedOptional Tor, connection to your own Bitcoin node, NFC, and hardware wallet support for Trezor, Ledger and KeepKey
Released2017Android on July 1, 2013 and iPhone on December 17, 2014, per WalletScrutiny
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

Mycelium

What works

  • Shipping on Android since July 1, 2013, one of the longest unbroken runs of any mobile bitcoin wallet
  • Real UTXO control on a phone: unspent output visibility, fee bumping, watch-only and single-address savings accounts
  • Passed all seven of WalletScrutiny's wallet tests, including public source code and an unobfuscated binary
  • Hardware wallet support for Trezor, Ledger and KeepKey, plus spending directly from paper wallets
  • Direct APK download, an Obtainium link and a published signing certificate, so Google Play is not the only way in
  • Optional Tor and your own node, with each third-party service able to be turned off on its own

What to watch

  • The iPhone app trails badly: WalletScrutiny lists 3.22.0.2 for Android against 2.10 for iPhone
  • Mycelium's iOS source repository on GitHub is archived, with no commits since June 2024
  • WalletScrutiny says no iOS build has ever been reproduced, so the reproducibility claim covers Android and not iPhone
  • WalletScrutiny discloses that its own authors have contributed to Mycelium, so its verdict is not fully independent
  • No longer bitcoin only: Ethereum and ERC-20 accounts add code a bitcoin-only wallet does not carry
  • Dated interface, and support runs through a single email address with no live channel

Frequently asked questions

Is Atomic Wallet or Mycelium better?

Mycelium rates higher on our rubric: 3.7 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 Mycelium 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; Mycelium is self-custodial, keys generated and held on the phone, recoverable only from a backup you write down.

Is Atomic Wallet or Mycelium bitcoin-only?

Neither: both support assets beyond bitcoin. Atomic Wallet: Bitcoin plus more than 1,000 other coins and tokens, by Atomic's own count. Mycelium: Bitcoin first, with Ethereum and ERC-20 accounts in the same app.

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

More comparisons

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