Cake Wallet vs Wasabi Wallet
- Comparing
- two wallets
- Decided by
- Editorial rating
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-25
Open source Monero-first wallet with real bitcoin privacy tools, carrying a 2021 key generation bug that is still costing people coins.
Still a working bitcoin wallet, but the coinjoin coordinator that made its name was switched off by zkSNACKs on June 1, 2024.
Verdict: Wasabi Wallet
Wasabi Wallet rates higher on our rubric: 3.6 against 3.3 for Cake Wallet.
- Criterion
- Editorial rating
- Cake Wallet
- 3.3
- Wasabi Wallet
- 3.6
Cake Wallet and Wasabi 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.
| Fact | Cake Wallet | Wasabi Wallet |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial rating | 3.3 | 3.6 (favoured on this row) |
| Status | Available | Caution: see the review |
| Made by | Cake Labs | zkSNACKs |
| Price | Free download | Free download |
| Who holds the keys | self-custodial, seed and keys generated and stored on your own device, with no account and no telemetry | self-custodial, keys generated and stored on your own computer, never held by zkSNACKs |
| Bitcoin-only | No | Yes |
| Runs on | iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Screen | Not stated | Not stated |
| Connectivity | Tor for all traffic, connection to your own node, Ledger hardware signing, and silent payments plus PayJoin on the bitcoin side | All traffic over Tor by default, compact block filters instead of a server that learns your addresses, and hardware signing through HWI for Trezor, Coldcard, Ledger, Blockstream Jade and BitBox02 |
| Released | 2018, launched as the first open-source Monero wallet on iOS | 2018; the download page serves version 2.8.1 for Windows, macOS and Linux |
| Countries on the maker's list | No published list | No published list |
| Last reviewed | 2026-08-25 | 2026-08-25 |
Pros and cons, side by side
Cake Wallet
What works
- Open source under an MIT license, with a public repository that is actively developed
- Self-custodial with no account and no KYC, and, in Cake's words, zero data collection or telemetry
- Genuine bitcoin privacy tooling: silent payments and PayJoin, plus Tor for all traffic and your own node
- Handles Monero properly, which almost no other multi-asset wallet does
- Ledger hardware wallet support, plus Cake's own two-factor option and biometric unlock
- Reachable outside the app stores: direct APK, Accrescent, and Windows and Linux builds
What to watch
- Bitcoin wallets created before v4.1.7 are permanently unsafe and have to be replaced, not just updated
- The Milk Sad researchers traced sweeps of those weak wallets continuing into 2024, three years after the warning
- The flaw was in Cake's own key generation code rather than a third-party library, and it ran through 2020 and 2021
- Multi-asset by design, so it carries far more chains and far more code than a bitcoin-only wallet
- Monero's privacy guarantees and much more transparent chains share one app, which takes care to use well
Wasabi Wallet
What works
- Bitcoin only and open source under an MIT license, with a public repository that is still actively developed
- Self-custodial: keys are generated and stored on your own computer, and zkSNACKs never held funds
- Every connection runs over Tor by default, and compact block filters mean no server learns which addresses are yours
- Hardware wallet signing through HWI for Trezor, Coldcard, Ledger, Blockstream Jade and BitBox02
- Full coin control, transaction labeling and privacy suggestions that name who will learn about a payment
- Coinjoin is still in the software: you add a third-party coordinator in place of the one zkSNACKs ran
What to watch
- zkSNACKs switched off its coinjoin coordinator on June 1, 2024, so the feature Wasabi was known for no longer works out of the box
- Choosing and vetting a third-party coordinator is now your problem, and each sets its own fees and terms
- Desktop only: Wasabi's own site states it is not available on mobile
- Trezor Suite coinjoin and BTCPay Server integrations that used the same coordinator broke on the same day
- Silent payments are send-only: Wasabi cannot yet generate or receive to a silent payment address
Frequently asked questions
Is Cake Wallet or Wasabi Wallet better?
Wasabi Wallet rates higher on our rubric: 3.6 against 3.3 for Cake 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 Cake Wallet and Wasabi Wallet free?
Yes, both are free to download. What differs is who holds the keys: Cake Wallet is self-custodial, seed and keys generated and stored on your own device, with no account and no telemetry; Wasabi Wallet is self-custodial, keys generated and stored on your own computer, never held by zkSNACKs.
Is Cake Wallet or Wasabi Wallet bitcoin-only?
Wasabi Wallet is bitcoin-only; Cake Wallet supports other assets too. Multi-asset: Monero, bitcoin, Lightning, Litecoin, Ethereum, Solana, Zcash, Bitcoin Cash and more
Does Cake Wallet or Wasabi Wallet carry a warning?
Wasabi Wallet: zkSNACKs announced on May 2, 2024, days after US prosecutors charged the founders of Samourai Wallet, that it would discontinue the coinjoin coordination service behind Wasabi's headline privacy feature, and switched it off on June 1, 2024. The wallet is still developed and still works as a self-custodial, bitcoin-only desktop wallet, and coinjoin remains in the software, but you now have to find and trust a third-party coordinator to use it.
The full reviews: Cake Wallet and Wasabi Wallet, each with its sources, and every wallet we review.
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