Etherwall

Etherwall is an open-source, non-custodial Ethereum desktop wallet that has been in development since its first public release in September 2015. Created and maintained by Ales Katona (Almindor) under Bitsmart LTD, it is one of the longest-running Ethereum wallet projects in the space. The wallet is licensed under GPLv3 and runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Etherwall operates in two modes: a full node mode that syncs the Ethereum blockchain locally via geth, and a thin client mode that connects to a remote Ethereum node while keeping all account data stored locally. In both modes, private keys and account operations remain on the user’s machine and are never transmitted over the network.

A notable feature is built-in support for the Trezor One hardware wallet, which Etherwall can auto-detect and use for signing transactions. The Trezor T model is not supported due to protocol differences. Ledger hardware wallets are not currently integrated. The wallet focuses on Ethereum mainnet; Ethereum Classic and testnet support are not actively maintained. Because Etherwall does not run in a browser, it avoids the attack surface common to browser extension wallets.

Etherwall supports Ethereum (ETH) and ERC-20 tokens, with the ability to configure custom EVM-compatible chains. An important compatibility note: geth v1.14 and later dropped the personal API that Etherwall relies on, requiring users to run geth 1.10 or an older version for full functionality. The developer has acknowledged this limitation and noted that a full rewrite would be needed to support the newer clef-based account management. Despite this constraint, development has continued at a measured pace, with version 3.0.6 released in September 2024 fixing a persistent syncing bug. The project remains a viable choice for technically oriented users who prefer a local, open-source Ethereum desktop client over cloud-connected alternatives.