BlueWallet, initially developed by Nuno Coelho, Igor Korsakov, Marcos Rodriguez, is a free and open-source, Bitcoin-only wallet for Android, iOS and Mac. It has an intuitive interface and is an excellent choice for those wishing to dabble for the first time with a Bitcoin wallet, as well as use it on a daily basis. 

BlueWallet and Bitcoin Support

The option we were going to offer for our mobile package had to cover certain key requirements before being considered: Bitcoin-only (obviously), non-custodial, secure, good interface, strong and reputable team, quick to set up (good for beginners), allows for the use of a passphrase, offers good privacy and security preserving tools and also has advanced features that can be activated. 

The simple fact that many wallets did not have a direct or indirect passphrase support narrowed down this selection. Then it was a question of what best fit our other criterias. After spending much time going through them, the clear conclusion was BlueWallet. 

Who is this for?

There are two categories of people that this wallet can suit, the first being people like ourselves that use Bitcoin almost everyday and need a simple wallet packed with the advanced features we use. 

The other, and of which we target for our BlueWallet package, are beginners and no-coiners. Within 30 minutes, you can go from zero to having a wallet setup, protected with a passphrase, practice sending and receiving bitcoin and get a good understanding of the best practices to using bitcoin with this wallet (address generation, labeling, what is coin control, recovering your wallet and defending its access). 

Those already comfortable with Bitcoin won’t need our help, because it is already so simple to set up. However, if you consider yourself a noob, then this would be especially useful to begin getting your hands dirty in a controlled environment.

The Perfect Gift

This is an excellent tool to include in your orange-pilling arsenal. Go beyond just talking about and explaining Bitcoin to your friends and loved ones by giving them skin in the game. They will go through the process of setting up a wallet and will actually have bitcoin at the end of the workshop! 

They get a full experience adapted to their level of understanding with a patient Bitcoin professional. They get to ask questions that they might be too embarrassed to ask you and you also avoid the stress related with helping someone set up their own wallet, which is them losing access to their coins either after the workshop or they made a mistake during. 

If you’re feeling especially generous, you can even increase the amount of bitcoin that they would receive to $100. 

Check it out here! 

What’s it all about?

The BlueWallet package that we offer is straightforward. In 30 minutes or less, you will know how to create a wallet, protect your seed phrase with a passphrase, understand the importance of those two elements and how to store them. The basics for properly sending and receiving bitcoin are also covered (coin control, labeling, avoiding address reuse and fee selection). 

This is the best way to get anyone started using Bitcoin. It’s also an excellent wallet to use on a daily basis. BlueWallet also comes equipped with security features, such as requiring biometrics to open the wallet and the use of an encrypted backup which can also be used to activate a dummy wallet. 

From experience, this session has helped newcomers and those with a more intermediate understanding have a clearer picture of how Bitcoin works since we go through the mechanics together. We also make sure to hammer home the essence of securing their bitcoin. 

But wait, there’s more!

BlueWallet has many more features to offer. Some are briefly covered, but many go beyond the scope of a beginner wallet setup. However, as users get more comfortable with their wallet, they will get exposed to these extra tools:

Multiple wallet types

They can create several different wallets within the app or import them:

• Watch-only

• Multisig vault

• Lightning

• Plausible deniability wallet

• Native Segwit, Wrapped Segwit and Legacy wallets

Spending Features

Other than coin control, you can also create Batched transactions and they support PSBT (Partially signed Bitcoin transactions).

Payjoin or Pay-to-endpoint is also enabled. The sender and recipient in a Payjoin transaction cooperate to break common chain analysis heuristics where their coins are mixed and the payment amount is masked. 

You can also build a transaction and only export its TXHEX (Transaction HEX) and broadcast it later on with the relay of your choice. 

Some features from BlueWallet.io

Conclusion

BlueWallet is awesome and is really an excellent tool for Bitcoiners of all levels. Their Lightning wallet is custodial but this goes beyond the scope of the guide and workshop. 

Its user interface and experience are excellent, helping new users feel comfortable using it. This makes for the perfect gift to compliment the orange-pilling of your friends and loved ones. Our DIY guide is also easy to comprehend and anyone with little to no technical skills can figure it out on their own.