The Best Open Source Crypto Wallets for Bitcoin and Ethereum

If you dabble in crypto, dropping a few dollars here and a few dollars there, you might not be too concerned about security yet. But before you know it, you're holding onto a pretty penny in the form of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptos—making sure your crypto is extra safe becomes top priority.

A crypto wallet is a software or hardware wallet where you can store the public and private keys that give you access to your cryptocurrency. When software is open source, that means its original code is freely available for anyone to view, change, and redistribute. Therefore, an open-source crypto wallet is a crypto wallet that makes its source code that users can fork to customize and add additional layers of security. 

Open-source crypto wallets are attractive to people who invest in crypto heavily because, without access to the source code running their wallet, investors can't verify for themselves that their crypto is being kept safe and secure. Open-source projects in crypto, from open-source wallets to open-source dApps and DeFi coins, offer ultimate transparency and decentralization.

Virtually all open-source crypto wallets that currently exist are designed for one specific cryptocurrency. For example, there are open-source Bitcoin wallets and open-source Ethereum wallets, but not many open-source Bitcoin wallets can hold both BTC and Ether (ETH).

AirGap Wallet was recently released as one of the first fully open-source wallets to support multiple crypto coins. It's a two-device, cold storage wallet that's completely open source and offers staking. It currently supports 8 cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tezos (XTZ), Aeternity (AE), Polkadot (DOT), Kusama (KSM), Cosmos (ATOM), and Groestlcoin (GRS).

When it comes to the best fully open source crypto wallets, here are the top five, why crypto investors love them, and which coins they support.

1. Electrum

One of the most established and widely used open-source crypto wallets, Electrum is a fairly user-friendly Bitcoin wallet. You can set up their desktop wallet with cold storage for additional security, but you'll need a second, offline device such as an old smartphone or laptop. Electrum is fast and can be used on desktop and mobile or with various hardware wallets.

2. Mycelium

Mycelium is another one of the most popular open-source crypto wallets, and it's also a Bitcoin wallet. It's completely decentralized, and it's been around since 2013. This mobile wallet is well known for its security—in addition to being open source, it's reproducible and supports hardware wallets and cold storage.

3. MyEtherWallet

If it's Ether you're investing in, MyEtherWallet (MEW) is one of the best open-source Ethereum wallets. This free open-source crypto wallet lets you generate wallets and complete transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. It supports ETH and ERC20 tokens. This web-based wallet also supports integration with popular hardware wallets and you can use it to invest in DeFi.

4. Copay

Copay is a convenient open-source Bitcoin wallet. You can store multiple different wallets within the same app on Copay, and the Copay app (available on iOS and Android as well as Windows, Mac, and Linux) has a clean, user-friendly interface. Wallets include multi-signature security, and your keys are stored offline.

5. Blockstream Green

Blockstream Green, formerly known as Green Address, is an open-source Bitcoin wallet available on iOS, Android, and desktop computers. It's one of the most simplistic and easy-to-use open-source crypto wallets, and for added security, it uses a multi-signature shield and doesn't require KYC. It also integrates with a number of different hardware wallets.

While an open-source wallet is a great way to keep your crypto secure, it's not the only way—nor is it necessarily the best. Let's look at a few alternatives to open-source crypto wallets.

Hardware wallets

While not open-source, hardware wallets are arguably the most secure way to store your private keys. Your crypto is super safe if you use a hardware wallet because they're stored offline and can only be accessed by connecting it to another device like a computer or smartphone. The best hardware wallets are Ledger and Trezor, and they offer options for pretty much every budget.

Hot wallets

With a hot wallet, you trade security for convenience. Hot wallets like MetaMask and Rabby are super easy to use, but there are downsides. Aside from downgraded security, these wallets only work with Ethereum and EVM chains like Polygon and Avalanche. While there are options for other blockchains, like Phantom for Solana and Keplr for Cosmos Hub, having to switch between wallet extensions when using different wallet extensions can be a hassle.

Having your own digital wallets is more secure, but it's definitely not necessary to self-store your private keys. These days, accessing DeFi applications on Coinbase, Kraken, and numerous other centralized exchanges is easy. That means you can buy Ethereum with fiat and start trading it right away on Uniswap or other popular decentralized exchanges.

Even Crypto.com and other crypto platforms have added support for NFTs, so you can invest in your favorite generative art projects like Invisible Friends or Nouns NFTs. They're custodial wallets, which means they use universal digital wallet infrastructure to let you securely access your digital assets on any device anywhere in the world.