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.

[satscraper]

~

Glad to hear that Gem can connect to node owned by user ^{that’s theessential part of any privacy oriented setup}. However, the other key requirement is support for hardware wallets, including air‑gapped devices like the Passport Core ^{which is the wallet I use for BTC}.

I understand the intention to prioritize support for mainstream wallets like Ledger and Trezor, but it’s important not to overlook the newer hardware wallets as well.

[dkbit98]

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

Are you developer of Gem wallet or connected with them in any way, because I see you have GemUtxo username?

This is the first time I hear about Gem wallet, maybe because I don't use many mobile wallets, but I will checkit out.
Having integration of exchanges that are not fully centralized is goof, but it's questionable if uniswap, thorchain and other are really decentralized.

[internetional]

Having integration of exchanges that are not fully centralized is goof, but it's questionable if uniswap, thorchain and other are really decentralized.

Do you mean that you have doubts about the decentralization of swaps via ThorChain? If so, what exactly are those doubts based on?

In your view, are there mechanisms that allow Bitcoin to be exchanged in a way that is fully decentralized, without any entity that could be described as a center or single point of failure?

For example, how would you characterize Gleec DEX (formerly Atomic DEX)? Would you consider it genuinely decentralized?

And a question to the OP: does Gem Wallet support Bitcoin swaps via Gleec DEX?

[rat03gopoh]

Do you mean that you have doubts about the decentralization of swaps via ThorChain? If so, what exactly are those doubts based on?

I believe @dkbit98's doubts stem from the recent seizure of large funds on one of the Thorchain exchange routes, Near Intents.⁽¹⁾. Also, Uniswap has implemented a long-known censorship protocol since its partnership with blockchain analytics firm, TRM Labs⁽²⁾. cmiiw


1) ?topic=5574634
2) https://www.theblock.co/post/164626/uniswap-has-blocked-253-crypto-addresses-related-to-stolen-funds-or-sanctions

[GemUtxo]

Glad to hear that Gem can connect to a node owned by the user. However, the other key requirement is support for hardware wallets, including air-gapped devices like the Passport Core.

Trezor and Ledger are the priority right now. But the project is fully open-source - any developer can submit a PR to add support for other hardware wallets. Feature requests are also welcome here: https://github.com/gemwalletcom/

Are you developer of Gem wallet or connected with them in any way?

As mentioned above - I'm a community ambassador with a direct channel to the dev team.

Having integration of exchanges that are not fully centralized is good, but it's questionable if uniswap, thorchain and other are really decentralized.

THORChain and Uniswap are decentralized - swaps are executed on-chain via smart contracts, and no intermediary holds user funds. But that's a separate topic from the wallet itself.

Does Gem Wallet support Bitcoin swaps via Gleec DEX?

I'm not familiar with Gleec DEX. The code is open-source - if it's reliable (has good liquidity) and decentralized, integration can be proposed via GitHub.

[dkbit98]

THORChain and Uniswap are decentralized - swaps are executed on-chain via smart contracts, and no intermediary holds user funds. But that's a separate topic from the wallet itself.

Are exchange rates seen on Gem wallet the same as directly on Thorchain and Uniswap, or Gem is charging additional fees for that?

I also checked Gem wallet roadmap and I don't understand why bitcoin wallet needs to have stupid AI adviser crap added 
https://github.com/orgs/gemwalletcom/projects/4/views/1

[Pmalek]

What kind of Lightning implementation is the team planning to add to Gem Wallet? Will it be custodial or non-custodial? Or perhaps some type of hybrid setup where users control their own keys but don't have to worry about opening and closing channels and managing routes because you manage the node and the channels that route payments?

[GemUtxo]

Are exchange rates seen on Gem wallet the same as directly on Thorchain and Uniswap, or Gem is charging additional fees for that?

Gem Wallet charges a 0.5% affiliate fee on swaps - at or below the industry average. Here's a good overview of how different wallets compare on fees: https://thorchain.net/insights/leaderboard?period=month

I also checked Gem wallet roadmap and I don't understand why bitcoin wallet needs to have stupid AI adviser crap added

I'm not fully in the loop on this one, but from what I understand it's more of a utility tool - things like summarizing your transactions for the past month with fiat conversion or analyzing portfolio activity over the last 7 days. Basically making raw blockchain data easier to digest without leaving the wallet.

[satscraper]

I also checked Gem wallet roadmap and I don't understand why bitcoin wallet needs to have stupid AI adviser crap added

I'm not fully in the loop on this one, but from what I understand it's more of a utility tool - things like summarizing your transactions for the past month with fiat conversion or analyzing portfolio activity over the last 7 days. Basically making raw blockchain data easier to digest without leaving the wallet.

The answer is simple. AI is the buzzword these days, so they added it to the wallet just to attract attention to their product. But its role there is about as useful as the fifth wheel on coach, and it may even have the opposite effect on customers. At least I would never use wallets with even the sent of AI. The latter is still very dumb to trust it in managing any function in wallet.