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MetaMask review

Last reviewed 2026-08-25

Security warning

The Secret Recovery Phrase is generated on your device and is the whole of your security: Consensys holds no copy, so nobody can reset it and nobody can recover it for you. There is no secure element, so a compromised computer or phone is a compromised wallet, and browser extensions add the risk that whoever controls the update channel controls the code you run. Keep bitcoin you would miss on a hardware wallet, and use MetaMask for what you are actively spending or trading.

MetaMask can hold your bitcoin now, and it is still not where you should keep much of it. Consensys announced native bitcoin support on December 15, 2025: update the app and a bitcoin address is generated for you inside its multichain accounts, with no bridge, no wrapped token and no third party holding the coins. That announcement is the only reason this record exists on a bitcoin site, so it is worth being precise about what it covers.

What works: sending and receiving BTC from an address listed under your account name, buying with a debit card, credit card, Apple Pay, PayPal or a bank account (which options appear depends on your region), and swapping into bitcoin from Ethereum, other EVM networks or Solana without leaving the wallet. What does not: Taproot. MetaMask's own announcement says it supports the native SegWit derivation path and that Taproot support is still to come, so a bc1p address is not something you can hand out yet.

The bigger question is what else the app has become. MetaMask's homepage now leads with perpetual futures at up to 50x leverage through Hyperliquid, and sells prediction markets, tokenized stocks, a payment card and a yield product advertising up to 4%. Each of those carries its own eligibility rules, separate from the wallet, and each is more code sitting next to your keys. For a bitcoin saver that is a lot of surface area attached to something whose only job is to keep a key safe.

Custody itself is the standard arrangement: a 12 word Secret Recovery Phrase generated on your device, which Consensys does not hold and cannot reset. There is no secure element, because this runs in a browser extension or a phone app. Consensys advertises transaction protection up to $10,000, a top ranking from the auditor Coinspect and over 100 million downloads across Google Play, the App Store and the Chrome Web Store; all three are the vendor's own claims on its own homepage. The risk that actually costs MetaMask users money is not exotic: it is approving a malicious transaction, and an extension is only ever as safe as the pipeline that publishes its updates.

Buy the MetaMask
Made by
Consensys
Type
Software wallet
Runs on
iOS, Android, Browser extension
Who holds the keys
self-custodial, keys generated on your device from a 12 word Secret Recovery Phrase Consensys never sees
Bitcoin only
No, multi-asset
Released
2016
Coin support
Ethereum and EVM networks, Solana, Monad and Sei, plus native bitcoin since December 15, 2025

Where you can get the MetaMask

This is not a shipping or distribution list, and MetaMask itself names no countries anywhere. The list is the complement of a single eligibility criterion in Consensys's terms of use, where you represent that you are "not located in any country subject to a comprehensive sanctions program implemented by the United States". There is no enumeration attached to it, so the countries have to be derived from the criterion. Of the 231 countries this site covers, three fall under such a program: Cuba, Iran and Syria. North Korea does too, and it is named outright in the equivalent clause in Trust Wallet's terms, but it is not one of the 231 countries here, so it subtracts nothing. 231 minus 3 is 228. Nothing about this is a geofence on the download: MetaMask is free software published through app stores and the Chrome Web Store, and the clause is a term you agree to rather than a block you hit. Re-derive the list if the U.S. adds or lifts a comprehensive program.

Pros and cons

What works

  • Native bitcoin support since December 15, 2025, with a BTC address generated for you automatically
  • Swaps from Ethereum, other EVM networks or Solana into bitcoin without leaving the wallet
  • Buying supports debit and credit cards, Apple Pay, PayPal and bank transfer, depending on your region
  • Keys are generated on your device, and Consensys holds nothing it could freeze or reset
  • The extension almost every dapp is tested against, so connections rarely break

What to watch

  • Bitcoin support is native SegWit only: MetaMask's own announcement says Taproot is still to come
  • The app now bundles perpetual futures at up to 50x leverage, prediction markets and tokenized stocks next to your keys
  • Those extra products carry their own eligibility rules, which are separate from the wallet and change without notice
  • A hot wallet in a browser extension or phone app, with no secure element and no offline signing
  • Bitcoin is one chain among many, and the product's center of gravity is Ethereum

Worth comparing

Frequently asked questions

Can MetaMask hold bitcoin?

Yes. Consensys launched native bitcoin support on December 15, 2025. Updating the app generates a bitcoin address inside your multichain account, and you can send, receive, buy and swap BTC from there.

Does MetaMask support Taproot addresses?

Not yet. MetaMask's own bitcoin announcement says it currently supports the native SegWit derivation path and that Taproot support will be added later. Your MetaMask bitcoin address will start with bc1q rather than bc1p.

Is MetaMask safe for a large bitcoin balance?

It is a hot wallet running in a browser extension or a phone app, with no secure element, so a compromised device means compromised keys. Use it for what you are actively spending or trading and keep long term savings on a hardware wallet.

Which countries can use MetaMask?

Consensys's terms of use bar anyone located in a country under a comprehensive U.S. sanctions program, without naming any. Applied to the 231 countries this site covers, that rules out Cuba, Iran and Syria and leaves 228.

Sources