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Coinbase Wallet vs Mycelium

Comparing
two wallets
Decided by
Editorial rating
Last reviewed
2026-08-26
Coinbase Wallet3.1

Coinbase's self-custody wallet is now Base App, and the product has moved its center of gravity to Base.

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 3.1 for Coinbase Wallet.

Criterion
Editorial rating
Coinbase Wallet
3.1
Mycelium
3.7

Coinbase 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.

Coinbase Wallet and Mycelium compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
FactCoinbase WalletMycelium
Editorial rating3.13.7 (favoured on this row)
StatusAvailableAvailable
Made byCoinbaseMycelium
PriceFree downloadFree download
Who holds the keysself-custodial, keys held on your device, unlike the custodial Coinbase.com exchange accountself-custodial, keys generated and held on the phone, recoverable only from a backup you write down
Bitcoin-onlyNoNo
Runs oniOS, AndroidiOS, Android
ScreenNot statedNot stated
ConnectivityNot statedOptional Tor, connection to your own Bitcoin node, NFC, and hardware wallet support for Trezor, Ledger and KeepKey
Released2018, relaunched under the Base App nameAndroid 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

Coinbase Wallet

What works

  • Genuinely self-custodial and separate from the custodial Coinbase.com exchange account
  • Backed by a large listed company with a real security team and a bug bounty
  • Apple Pay deposits and a familiar trading interface for people already using Coinbase
  • Holds bitcoin alongside Ethereum, Solana and Base assets in one app

What to watch

  • The product has been rebranded as Base App, so most reviews and guides describe an app that no longer looks like this
  • Built around Base and trading rather than around bitcoin, with no Lightning and no coin control
  • coinbase.com/legal/wallet now returns a 404, so there is no wallet-specific terms document to read
  • A hot wallet on a phone, with no secure element
  • The May 2025 support contractor breach put real customer names and addresses in criminal hands, which fuels convincing impersonation

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 Coinbase Wallet or Mycelium better?

Mycelium rates higher on our rubric: 3.7 against 3.1 for Coinbase 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 Coinbase Wallet and Mycelium free?

Yes, both are free to download. What differs is who holds the keys: Coinbase Wallet is self-custodial, keys held on your device, unlike the custodial Coinbase.com exchange account; Mycelium is self-custodial, keys generated and held on the phone, recoverable only from a backup you write down.

Is Coinbase Wallet or Mycelium bitcoin-only?

Neither: both support assets beyond bitcoin. Coinbase Wallet: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Base network assets, per the app's own sign-in page. Mycelium: Bitcoin first, with Ethereum and ERC-20 accounts in the same app.

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

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