Bitcoin Wallet Android app that checks payments itself
- Regulatory status
- Not a financial service
- Custody
- Self-custody: you hold the keys
- Open source
- Yes
- Fees
- Free (GPL-3.0); Android only; latest release v11.04 on 2026-04-28 (as of 2026-10-05)
- Status
- Active
Swiss angle
Bitcoin Wallet is a global project with no Swiss base. The F-Droid page, read on 5 October 2026, gives the author as "Bitcoin Wallet developers" and the licence as GNU General Public License v3.0 only. The GitLab tag list shows tag v11.04 from 28 April 2026, with Andreas Schildbach as the author of its commit.
Nobody holds coins for you. The F-Droid page says the app needs no registration, web service or cloud, and the GitLab project describes it as a standalone Bitcoin node with no centralized backend. Your keys stay on your phone, so the app is software, not a financial service.
We found no Swiss office on these pages. F-Droid says the app converts to and from national currencies but does not list them, so we cannot tell you whether francs are among them.
You hold the keys, so no bank sends you a year-end statement. You look up the ESTV year-end value of your coins and enter it in the wealth tax section of your return; the Swiss Bitcoin tax guide explains how.
Who it is for
Android users who want a simple wallet that checks payments itself. The F-Droid page calls the app a reference implementation of the "Simplified Payment Verification" described in the Bitcoin whitepaper. The wallets chapter explains what that means for your safety.
People who pay face to face. The same page lists sending and receiving by NFC, QR code or Bitcoin URL, and paying over Bluetooth when you are offline.
Privacy-minded users. The page says the app supports Tor through the separate Orbot app.
Owners of old paper wallets. The app can sweep paper wallets, the page says, so you can move those coins to a fresh address.
The F-Droid page lists version 11.03 as added on 27 April 2026 and says it requires Android 9.0 or newer.
Who it is not for
Savers. The F-Droid page warns: "Use at your own risk! Use only for pocket-sized amounts." Keep savings on a hardware wallet such as the BitBox02; the self-custody guide explains why.
Lightning users. The feature list on the F-Droid page does not mention Lightning. For Lightning payments from a phone, look at Phoenix.
iPhone users. The GitLab project describes an app for your Android device. Compare BlueWallet and the other wallets in the wallet category.
Verified facts
| Source | Checked on |
|---|---|
| Bitcoin Wallet on GitLab (tag v11.04) | |
| Bitcoin Wallet licence file (GPL-3.0) | |
| Bitcoin Wallet on F-Droid (version 11.03) | |
| Older GitHub repository (last tag v10.26) |
This directory carries no paid placements and no referral codes. No provider paid to be listed or to be described in a certain way. Each fact was checked against the primary source on the date shown next to it, and facts change after that date. This page is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice.