Guarda Wallet vs Wallet of Satoshi

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

A capable multi-platform wallet whose 2020 domain hijack exposed the real weakness: a login flow built on uploading your backup.

Wallet of Satoshi2.7Bitcoin-onlyWarning

The easiest Lightning wallet to start with, and a custodial one: the company holds your coins, and it has stopped offering that in the US and the EU.

Verdict: Guarda Wallet

Guarda Wallet rates higher on our rubric: 3.0 against 2.7 for Wallet of Satoshi.

Criterion: Editorial rating
Guarda Wallet: 3.0
Wallet of Satoshi: 2.7

Guarda Wallet and Wallet of Satoshi, 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.

Guarda Wallet and Wallet of Satoshi compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
Fact	Guarda Wallet	Wallet of Satoshi
Editorial rating	3.0 (favoured on this row)	2.7
Status	Available	Caution: see the review
Made by	Guarda	Living Room of Satoshi Pty Ltd
Price	Free download	Free download
Who holds the keys	self-custodial, keys generated on your device and encrypted under a password you choose	custodial in its default mode, meaning the company holds the keys, with a separate self-custodial mode where you do
Bitcoin-only	No	Yes
Runs on	iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, Browser extension	iOS, Android
Screen	Not stated	Not stated
Connectivity	Not stated	Not stated
Released	2017	The custodial service left the US on November 23, 2023 and the European Union at the turn of 2026
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

Guarda Wallet

What works

Guarda's CEO published a dated, detailed account of the 2020 attack, including the registrar's own logs
Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, a web app and a Chrome extension
Keys are generated locally and encrypted under your own password, and Guarda never holds them
Staking on 14 networks, multisig support and 24/7 live support, per Guarda's own site
Buying built in with cards and Apple Pay across a wide asset range

What to watch

The web and extension flow involves uploading your backup file, which is precisely what the 2020 phishing page was built to collect
The 2020 breakdown came through a domain registrar account, a dependency Guarda does not control and cannot audit
Third party perpetual futures and prediction markets now sit inside the wallet, which is more moving parts than holding bitcoin needs
The user, token and blockchain counts are Guarda's own figures, published on its own homepage
A hot wallet with no hardware signing of its own

Wallet of Satoshi

What works

The fastest way onto Lightning there is: no channels, no liquidity management and no node to run
Free Lightning address that reads like an email, so anyone can pay you without scanning a code
Pays Lightning invoices and on-chain bitcoin addresses from the same box, detecting which you pasted
A self-custodial mode is offered everywhere, including in regions where the custodial one is not
No breach of its custodial infrastructure has been publicly reported

What to watch

Custodial in its default mode, so the company can freeze, lose or stop serving your balance
Left the US market on November 23, 2023 and has not announced a return
Withdrew the custodial service across the European Union at the turn of 2026, pushing EU users into self-custody
No published country list, so which mode you get is decided by the app rather than by a page you can read first
In-app buying runs through third-party partners whose country coverage changes without the wallet saying anything

Frequently asked questions

Is Guarda Wallet or Wallet of Satoshi better?

Guarda Wallet rates higher on our rubric: 3.0 against 2.7 for Wallet of Satoshi. 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 Guarda Wallet and Wallet of Satoshi free?

Yes, both are free to download. What differs is who holds the keys: Guarda Wallet is self-custodial, keys generated on your device and encrypted under a password you choose; Wallet of Satoshi is custodial in its default mode, meaning the company holds the keys, with a separate self-custodial mode where you do.

Is Guarda Wallet or Wallet of Satoshi bitcoin-only?

Wallet of Satoshi is bitcoin-only; Guarda Wallet supports other assets too. Bitcoin plus more than 70 blockchains, by Guarda's own count

Does Guarda Wallet or Wallet of Satoshi carry a warning?

Wallet of Satoshi: Wallet of Satoshi pulled its app from US app stores and stopped serving US customers on November 23, 2023, then withdrew its custodial Lightning service across the European Union at the turn of 2026, as the MiCA transition periods and the DAC8 reporting rules closed in on custodial providers. EU users are offered the self-custodial mode instead. Wherever the custodial mode is still available, the company holds the keys, which is the risk to weigh before you put money in it.

The full reviews: Guarda Wallet and Wallet of Satoshi, each with its sources, and every wallet we review.

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