Guarda Wallet vs Wasabi Wallet

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.

Wasabi Wallet3.6Bitcoin-onlyWarning

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 3.0 for Guarda Wallet.

Criterion: Editorial rating
Guarda Wallet: 3.0
Wasabi Wallet: 3.6

Guarda 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.

Guarda Wallet and Wasabi Wallet compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
Fact	Guarda Wallet	Wasabi Wallet
Editorial rating	3.0	3.6 (favoured on this row)
Status	Available	Caution: see the review
Made by	Guarda	zkSNACKs
Price	Free download	Free download
Who holds the keys	self-custodial, keys generated on your device and encrypted under a password you choose	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, Browser extension	Windows, macOS, Linux
Screen	Not stated	Not stated
Connectivity	Not stated	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	2017	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

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

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 Guarda Wallet or Wasabi Wallet better?

Wasabi Wallet rates higher on our rubric: 3.6 against 3.0 for Guarda 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 Guarda Wallet and Wasabi Wallet 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; Wasabi Wallet is self-custodial, keys generated and stored on your own computer, never held by zkSNACKs.

Is Guarda Wallet or Wasabi Wallet bitcoin-only?

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

Does Guarda 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: Guarda Wallet and Wasabi Wallet, each with its sources, and every wallet we review.

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