Electrum 4.7.0 released

[cygan]

after a long wait, a new version of Electrum 4.7.0 was presented and released today!
this version comes with several new features and many bug fixes. some of the new features include:

• submarine payments: pay to an on-chain address from your lightning balance (desktop)
• biometric authentication (android)
• lnurl-withdraw: scan qr codes to receive funds

you can read the complete changelog on the following github-link: https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/blob/master/RELEASE-NOTES
and the version can be downloaded here: https://electrum.org/#download

[Yamane_Keto]

A much-anticipated feature has been added: sub-1 sat/b transactions can now be sent on Android.

new: allow manual editing of fee/feerate (#10371)
          This also allows sending sub-1 sat/b transactions on Android.

Biometric authentication will replace PIN code authentication

[Karl_3000]

From what I read on the Android part, there is really good improvement. It was only the fee slider before but now people can customize the fee. People can also be able to pay less than 1 sat/vbyte now on Android.

QML GUI & Android:
   - new: allow manual editing of fee/feerate (#10371)
          This also allows sending sub-1 sat/b transactions on Android.
   - new: support biometric authentication (#10340)
          Allows using the Android system lockscreen (e.g. fingerprints)
          to unlock the wallet and authorize payments.
          The previous optional built-in PIN code authentication is removed.

[nc50lc]

You're faster than F-Droid and Playstore when it comes with publishing these update, nice.

• biometric authentication (android)

Hope this goes well without some hidden issues.
Because the the author of the pull-request partly used LLM to write it, but it's reviewed by one of the main developers and the author fully tested it for more than a month.

Here's that Pull Request for reference: github.com/spesmilo/electrum/pull/10340

[bitmover]

• submarine payments: pay to an on-chain address from your lightning balance (desktop)

I think this is much useful. Although i would really like the opposite as well: pay to a Lightning address from your on chain balance.

I dont like the LN implementation in electrum,  too complex for me and most users

[Mia Chloe]

~snip

Well it's good they finally remembered android after all these while lol... Anyways I hate to say this as an ELECTRUM fan but I'm not too impressed with the updates. I like the fee part but for the biometrics it's a big NO. I don't fancy biometrics that much on most wallets because I find PIN  more effective.

My main point is you can unconsciously hit your fingerprint or worse face ID on iOS and boom transaction has been broadcast but typing your PIN in manually requires some level of mental focus that you may even realise a couple mistakes in the process.

[Karl_3000]

I dont like the LN implementation in electrum,  too complex for me and most users

Yes, the lightning network on Electrum is harder, but that is how lightning network should be, just that some wallets make it simpler for people to be able to use it.

Well it's good they finally remembered android after all these while lol... Anyways I hate to say this as an ELECTRUM fan but I'm not too impressed with the updates. I like the fee part but for the biometrics it's a big NO. I don't fancy biometrics that much on most wallets because I find PIN  more effective.

Biometric authentication was disabled by default after I updated it, you can leave it disabled.

[bitmover]

I dont like the LN implementation in electrum,  too complex for me and most users

Yes, the lightning network on Electrum is harder, but that is how lightning network should be, just that some wallets make it simpler for people to be able to use it.

It shouldn't be like that
 It is just a bad implementation .

Any software can have a good UX (user experience). A software with bad UX is jsut bad software.

It might be perfect in the technical side. But UX is also important.

[Forsyth Jones]

Well it's good they finally remembered android after all these while lol... Anyways I hate to say this as an ELECTRUM fan but I'm not too impressed with the updates. I like the fee part but for the biometrics it's a big NO. I don't fancy biometrics that much on most wallets because I find PIN  more effective.

My main point is you can unconsciously hit your fingerprint or worse face ID on iOS and boom transaction has been broadcast but typing your PIN in manually requires some level of mental focus that you may even realise a couple mistakes in the process.

I agree Chloe, but it seems that's optional, it's still possible to use the default PIN. I prefer the Electrum desktop version instead. I never really paid much attention to the mobile version.

It is just a bad implementation .

Any software can have a good UX (user experience). A software with bad UX is jsut bad software.

It might be perfect in the technical side. But UX is also important.

I remember when I tested the Lightning Network on Electrum with testnet around 2020, they said I had to back up the channels. Well, I did, restored the backup and my LN balance didn't appear. Then I got discouraged and never tried again.

I think a Phoenix Wallet is much more efficient when it comes to LN. Who here is using Electrum's Lightning Network?

And Taproot, nothing yet, huh? 

[Mia Chloe]

I agree Chloe, but it seems that's optional, it's still possible to use the default PIN. I prefer the Electrum desktop version instead. I never really paid much attention to the mobile version.

Yeah I know they are gonna make it optional. Nevertheless the problem is there are not many nice bitcoin only wallets for mobile and someone that probably uses a hot wallet needs one just to make sure he's safe to an extent. My only issue with Electrum mobile is that it's not meeting up to the standard of that of the desktop version.

That aside, If you check one reason people don't use lightning network is because they see it too complex even if it's not that complicated. Eventually when these people get hold of a PC they still end up using centralized exchanges or custodial wallets.

[Karl_3000]

That aside, If you check one reason people don't use lightning network is because they see it too complex even if it's not that complicated. Eventually when these people get hold of a PC they still end up using centralized exchanges or custodial wallets.

If you use wallet like Phoenix that Forsyth Jones mentioned, you will think that lightning network is easy like the bitcoin on the blockchain. You do not need to create a channel with another person like it is on Electrum, the wallet will do everything automatically for you which makes it simple. There are some other wallets like Zeus bitcoin lightning wallet that is simple like that. This is what bitmover is also talking about and he really has a point.

[bitmover]

I agree Chloe, but it seems that's optional, it's still possible to use the default PIN. I prefer the Electrum desktop version instead. I never really paid much attention to the mobile version.

Yeah I know they are gonna make it optional. Nevertheless the problem is there are not many nice bitcoin only wallets for mobile and someone that probably uses a hot wallet needs one just to make sure he's safe to an extent. My only issue with Electrum mobile is that it's not meeting up to the standard of that of the desktop version.

That aside, If you check one reason people don't use lightning network is because they see it too complex even if it's not that complicated. Eventually when these people get hold of a PC they still end up using centralized exchanges or custodial wallets.

I dont think that creating a channel is the problem with Electrum implementation of lightning network.

I used Eclair which also needed you to create a channel. But it wasn't so complicated , the UX was better than electrum

I love electrum for onchain transactions.  I am just talking about LN

[nc50lc]

I dont think that creating a channel is the problem with Electrum implementation of lightning network.

I agree on this,
Creating a channel is simple enough. (Channels tab->New Channel->wait for confirmations)
The process and the relatively high minimum amount are the reasons why some people chose not to create a channel.
Although with "trampoline routing" settings on, it's more simpler with a drop-down menu of hard-coded remote nodes instead of providing a lightning node's address.

Plus, another reason why some people (specially newbies) don't pick Electrum as their Lightning wallet is its manual liquidity management.
E.g.: To be able to have inbound liquidity without spending first, the user has to do reverse-swap while in other wallets, it's auto-managed by their server.
It's the compromise of being a full self-custodial lighting node despite being an SPV Bitcoin client.

[cygan]

i'm now toying with the idea of finally installing Electrum on my linux mint computer and trying it out.
before i do that, i have a few questions...
i already have a Bitcoin core node running, which of course also has a few wallets stored on it
can i then use Electrum (which will be installed on a different computer) to connect to the Bitcoin core node and also link the existing wallets?

[ABCbits]

i'm now toying with the idea of finally installing Electrum on my linux mint computer and trying it out.
before i do that, i have a few questions...
i already have a Bitcoin core node running, which of course also has a few wallets stored on it
can i then use Electrum (which will be installed on a different computer) to connect to the Bitcoin core node and also link the existing wallets?

You'll also need to configure and run Electrum server, since Electrum wallet/app actually connect to Electrum server. ElectrumX is probably most popular option, but personally i recommend Fulcrum due to higher performance[1]. There's an Electrum plugin that let you connect to Bitcoin Core directly[2], but it's been abandoned and probably won't work with newer version of Bitcoin Core/Electrum.

[1] https://www.sparrowwallet.com/docs/server-performance.html
[2] https://github.com/bwt-dev/bwt-electrum-plugin

[nc50lc]

-snip-
can i then use Electrum (which will be installed on a different computer) to connect to the Bitcoin core node and also link the existing wallets?

By saying "link the existing wallets", do you mean Bitcoin Core's wallets as watch-only wallets in Electrum?

If so; you can import each of your descriptor's extended public key (xpub) to Electrum with "Use a master key" option when creating a wallet.
Select the correct script type when prompted. You can skip the change address descriptors (is_change: true) since Electrum will derive those together with the receiving addresses.
Each script types should be restored in a separate Electrum wallet file since Electrum do not support multiple extended keys and script types in a single wallet.

[Abdussamad]

-snip-
can i then use Electrum (which will be installed on a different computer) to connect to the Bitcoin core node and also link the existing wallets?

By saying "link the existing wallets", do you mean Bitcoin Core's wallets as watch-only wallets in Electrum?

If so; you can import each of your descriptor's extended public key (xpub) to Electrum with "Use a master key" option when creating a wallet.
Select the correct script type when prompted. You can skip the change address descriptors (is_change: true) since Electrum will derive those together with the receiving addresses.
Each script types should be restored in a separate Electrum wallet file since Electrum do not support multiple extended keys and script types in a single wallet.

Core uses hardened derivation so you can't derive addresses using the xpub.

[nc50lc]

Core uses hardened derivation so you can't derive addresses using the xpub.

That is an outdated information, the current version uses standard BIP44, BIP49, BIP84 and BIP86 derivation paths for its default descriptors.
That's only correct if he's using the old legacy wallet.dat format which is now deprecated.

The xpubs displayed in listdescriptors command should work in Electrum.
What I forgot to mention is: he has to convert the xpub for other script types aside from p2pkh using the console.

[pooya87]

That's a major release and apart from the changes to the fee rate settings, another thing that nobody mentioned was the protocol changes[1]. These are great for optimizing the performance and the network usage which is already low as it is.

[1] https://electrum-protocol.readthedocs.io/en/latest/protocol-changes.html#version-1-6

[Forsyth Jones]

You'll also need to configure and run Electrum server, since Electrum wallet/app actually connect to Electrum server. ElectrumX is probably most popular option, but personally i recommend Fulcrum due to higher performance[1]. There's an Electrum plugin that let you connect to Bitcoin Core directly[2], but it's been abandoned and probably won't work with newer version of Bitcoin Core/Electrum.

[1] https://www.sparrowwallet.com/docs/server-performance.html
[2] https://github.com/bwt-dev/bwt-electrum-plugin

I haven't used this plugin, but I have used the Electrum Personal Server and Electrs, it's a great plugin that deserves to be continued. Does the btw plugin still work on the latest version of Bitcoin Core and Electrum?

-snip-
The xpubs displayed in listdescriptors command should work in Electrum.
What I forgot to mention is: he has to convert the xpub for other script types aside from p2pkh using the console.

But Bitcoin Core lists the extended private key descriptors from BIP44 to BIP86 formats. Electrum can only derive private keys from the root (m/0).

In other words, unless you use scripts like iancoleman to derive the root keys from BIP44, BIP49 and BIP84 accounts, more precisely, the "Account Extended Private Key" or "BIP32 Extended Private Key", Electrum won't be able to derive the same private keys or public addresses from the standard Bitcoin Core wallet without retrieving the extended private key from the root.

The reverse path: importing an standard Electrum wallet into Bitcoin Core involving xpriv in the descriptor is easier, without needing third-party conversion tools (except for the the key converter command in the Electrum console).