Gem Wallet - open-source Bitcoin wallet with DEX | iOS, Android

[GemUtxo]

Hi guys!

I didn’t see a thread about Gem Wallet here, so here’s a quick overview.

Gem Wallet is a fully open-source, self-custody mobile wallet for Bitcoin (GitHub).
Its main focus is on security, privacy, and speed.

• Clean and fast interface - everything is intuitive and within easy reach.
• Buy or sell BTC with a credit card via MoonPay, Mercuryo, and other providers.
• Built-in DEX aggregator - swap BTC to USDT/USDC and other assets across 100+ blockchains through DEX protocols like THORChain, Chainflip, Jupiter, Uniswap, and more.
• Manual selection of Bitcoin transaction fee and speed.
• Ability to connect your own custom Bitcoin node for enhanced privacy and control.
• Bitcoin Lightning is not supported yet, but it is on the roadmap.

Gem Wallet is not just a Bitcoin wallet - it also supports 100+ blockchains, making it easy to swap BTC into stablecoins or participate in various DeFi activities.

Pic:
https://gemwallet.com/images/learn/how-long-does-a-bitcoin-transaction-take-2.webp
https://gemwallet.com/images/learn/how-to-swap-usdt-to-btc-eth-sol-and-other-crypto-1.webp

Website:
https://gemwallet.com/

iOS | Android

[OmegaStarScream]

I'm surprised this is the first time I hear about the wallet, with all the stars and forks you have on Github.

Are there any plans to expand to Desktop? I find that there is a lack of cross-platform multi-coin open source wallets out there, it would be nice to have more options!

[GemUtxo]

I'm surprised this is the first time I hear about the wallet, with all the stars and forks you have on Github.

Are there any plans to expand to Desktop? I find that there is a lack of cross-platform multi-coin open source wallets out there, it would be nice to have more options!

The wallet isn’t only about Bitcoin - it’s a multichain wallet overall, and many people use it for stablecoins (USDT/USDC) and other blockchains.
At the same time, as a Bitcoin wallet it’s actually quite solid - for example, THORChain recently mentioned it here: https://x.com/THORChain/status/2025612297943830586?s=20

About desktop - honestly, I don’t know all the team’s plans, but it seems they’re currently focused mainly on the mobile app. At least the development effort is going into things like Lightning Network integration and support for hardware wallets such as Trezor and Ledger.

[satscraper]

I'm surprised this is the first time I hear about the wallet, with all the stars and forks you have on Github.

Are there any plans to expand to Desktop? I find that there is a lack of cross-platform multi-coin open source wallets out there, it would be nice to have more options!

The wallet isn’t only about Bitcoin - it’s a multichain wallet overall, and many people use it for stablecoins (USDT/USDC) and other blockchains.
At the same time, as a Bitcoin wallet it’s actually quite solid - for example, THORChain recently mentioned it here: https://x.com/THORChain/status/2025612297943830586?s=20

About desktop - honestly, I don’t know all the team’s plans, but it seems they’re currently focused mainly on the mobile app. At least the development effort is going into things like Lightning Network integration and support for hardware wallets such as Trezor and Ledger.

I see that your wallet can gather relevant data from multiple blockchains. Does it use public APIs for this, or does it connect to your own servers that handle the heavy lifting? What happens if Gem wallet relies on public API and that API eventually fails, in other words, is there any redundancy in place to cover such bad situation?

BTW, you chose the great name for your wallet.

[OmegaStarScream]

The wallet isn’t only about Bitcoin - it’s a multichain wallet overall, and many people use it for stablecoins (USDT/USDC) and other blockchains.
At the same time, as a Bitcoin wallet it’s actually quite solid - for example, THORChain recently mentioned it here: https://x.com/THORChain/status/2025612297943830586?s=20

About desktop - honestly, I don’t know all the team’s plans, but it seems they’re currently focused mainly on the mobile app. At least the development effort is going into things like Lightning Network integration and support for hardware wallets such as Trezor and Ledger.

Trezor and ledger would be nice addition. For some reason, that's not something many wallet providers seem to be seeking.

I take it you're not from the team? Since you said you're not aware of all the team's plans

I see that your wallet can gather relevant data from multiple blockchains. Does it use public APIs for this, or does it connect to your own servers that handle the heavy lifting? What happens if Gem wallet relies on public API and that API eventually fails, in other words, is there any redundancy in place to cover such bad situation?

BTW, you chose the great name for your wallet.

I would be surprised that a wallet does not use its own nodes, making hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of requests per day is not really something they would be able to keep up with with public blockexplorers APIs. Well, maybe for EVM-based coins, you have RPC providers that can be forgiving, but it's different for coins like Bitcoin.

[satscraper]

I see that your wallet can gather relevant data from multiple blockchains. Does it use public APIs for this, or does it connect to your own servers that handle the heavy lifting? What happens if Gem wallet relies on public API and that API eventually fails, in other words, is there any redundancy in place to cover such bad situation?

BTW, you chose the great name for your wallet.

I would be surprised that a wallet does not use its own nodes, making hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of requests per day is not really something they would be able to keep up with with public blockexplorers APIs.

Opposite to you, I wouldn’t. In fact,Tangem mobile app ^{which is responsible for an equivalent if not greaternumber of transactions} operates in the same way communicating with various blockchains ^{(including Bitcoin)} through public RPC/API endpoints. The built‑in Tangem redundancy relies on around 3-5 public servers, depending on blockchain.

[GemUtxo]

Not directly (community ambassador), but I'm closely connected with the team.

Trezor and ledger would be nice addition.

Yes, hardware wallet support is already on the public roadmap. Trezor is tracked here: https://github.com/gemwalletcom/roadmap/issues/118, and Ledger support is planned to follow.

I would be surprised that a wallet does not use its own nodes

For Bitcoin specifically, Gem Wallet uses the open-source Blockbook backend - the same one used by Trezor. It's built specifically for wallet workloads, which makes it far more suitable than public explorer APIs.

Does it use public APIs for this, or does it connect to your own servers?

Gem Wallet was designed to work directly with blockchain nodes - it's not built around a single public API.

The team runs its own infrastructure (own nodes) to keep things fast and reliable. At the same time, users can add their own custom RPC or node if they want full control.

For some features like price data or enriched transaction history, a backend API is used to provide a better user experience - since that kind of aggregated data isn't available directly from a node or the blockchain itself.

What happens if Gem wallet relies on public API and that API eventually fails?

Most importantly, it's fully self-custodial. Even if Gem Wallet as a company stopped existing, users could still recover their wallet with their recovery phrase and connect to any standard node. That's the whole point of building a decentralized wallet.

BTW, you chose the great name for your wallet.

Thanks! Appreciate that.