Electrum

Electrum is a Bitcoin-only desktop and mobile wallet created by Thomas Voegtlin in November 2011. It is one of the longest-running Bitcoin wallets still in active development, with version 4.7.2 available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. Electrum operates as a lightweight SPV (Simplified Payment Verification) wallet, connecting to servers that index the Bitcoin blockchain rather than downloading it in full, which keeps startup times short.

Private keys are encrypted locally and never leave the user’s device. Wallets can be restored from a standard 12-word seed phrase, and private keys can be exported for use in other Bitcoin-compatible software. Electrum connects to a decentralized network of servers, so there is no single point of failure affecting availability.

Electrum supports a range of advanced Bitcoin features:

• Lightning Network payments, with integrated channel management, watchtower support, and submarine swaps (added in version 4.0)
• Multisignature wallets, allowing spending to require authorization from multiple keys held across separate devices or signers
• Cold storage via watch-only wallets, enabling offline key storage while still monitoring incoming transactions
• Two-factor authentication (2FA) through a dedicated multisig cosigning service
• Hardware wallet integration via third-party plugins, supporting devices such as Ledger, Trezor, and Coldcard
• Custom transaction fees, including manual fee-rate input and replace-by-fee (RBF) support

Electrum supports Bitcoin only. It does not support Ethereum, Solana, or any other blockchain or token.