The Blockstream Green wallet is a nice and user-friendly bitcoin wallet with interesting functionality and a lot to get excited about: 2FA multisig security, Liquid sidechain integration, RBF and support for hardware wallets. However, there are also a few (minor) points for improvement. We tried out the Blockstream Green wallet for you; read our findings here.

Green wallet from the well-known Bitcoin company Blockstream is the successor to the former GreenAddress. It aims to be a bitcoin wallet with an ‘unparalleled combination of security and ease of use’. Blockstream Green is open source and free to download for iOS, Android or a Windows desktop PC.

Block stream

Our expectations of the wallet are high. And for good reason: Blockstream is a leading Bitcoin company and CEO Adam Back is one of the most respected and influential cryptographers in the Bitcoin community, who has been involved in the development of Bitcoin since the very beginning. Many well-known names from the Bitcoin community are also connected to Blockstream, or were in the past, such as Andrew Poelstra, Pieter Wuille, Matt Corallo and Gregory Maxwell, among others.

Blockstream has therefore had a lot of influence on the development of Bitcoin. It made significant contributions to the development of SegWit, the Lightning Network, and the upcoming Schnorr/Taproot, among others. Blockstream is also a pioneer with regard to sidechains, with the Liquid sidechain.

With such star players and so much technical knowledge about Bitcoin, the Blockstream Green wallet should not disappoint.

Blockstream Green

Luckily it doesn’t. Blockstream Green feels very complete: it is a beautiful and nice wallet, easy to use and yet packed with useful functionality. And, not unimportantly, it is open source.

At first glance, Blockstream Green looks a lot like other bitcoin wallets, but with a black and green color scheme. The look is sleek and slick, and the basic functionality to send, receive or manage bitcoins works similar to other modern and user-friendly wallets.

There is a button for receiving and for sending, an overview of the transaction history and some settings hidden here and there. The simplicity makes Green Wallet accessible, but under the hood it nevertheless has functionality that can also be used by more advanced Bitcoiners.

Basic functions

Blockstream Green is self-custodial . This means that you yourself have access to the seed phrase with which the wallet can be managed. As a result, you are not dependent on third parties and you retain control over your bitcoin at all times.

By default, Green wallet connects to a Blockstream node, but if you have your own Bitcoin node and you want to minimize trust, you can connect the wallet to it. For example, it works great in combination with the extremely simple Umbrel.

You can use Blockstream Green as a normal wallet, but also in combination with hardware wallets, for example from Trezor or Ledger. This applies to both the desktop version and the mobile version.

Conveniently, Green wallet supports Replace-by-Fee (RBF) , a function that allows you to increase the miner’s fee of a previous transaction. When the Bitcoin network is busy, the average miner’s fee can rise, which means that transactions with a lower miner’s fee sometimes remain in the mempool for a long time. With the help of RBF you can possibly increase the miner’s fee, so that the transaction is included in a block by the miners more quickly.

watch only ‘ wallet with Green Wallet . This allows you to view the contents of a wallet, but not to make any transactions. This limitation can be useful if you want to have insight but want to keep the risks to a minimum.

2FA Multisig

These are nice and useful functions, but what sets Blockstream Green apart from other wallets is the unique security based on Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) and multisig .

Blockstream Green works fundamentally differently from other wallets, because every wallet created with Blockstream Green is a 2-of-2 multisig wallet by default. In addition, the signing of two different private keys is required to make a transaction.

2-of-2 multisig

It goes like this. The user himself receives one set of private keys, in the form of the seed phrase. Another set is managed by Blockstream’s servers, which sign on user request. This happens automatically, but only when the user has confirmed the transaction using 2FA. For example, via email or an SMS code, or using authentication apps such as Google Authenticator.

This provides extra protection against theft of the seed phrase, because it is not enough for a potential thief to steal funds. After all, to make a transaction you also need access to the phone, email address or device on which the authentication app is installed.

The system is designed in such a way that the disadvantages are minimal. Blockstream does have one set of private keys, but it cannot do anything without the cooperation of the user. And while it is a multisig wallet, Blockstream has designed it so that users can import or restore their wallet into other wallet software if they wish. That works differently than usual.

2-of-3 multisig

There is also the option to extend security to a 2-of-3 multisig wallet. In addition, there are three sets of private keys and two of the three must be signed. Currently, only the desktop version of Green wallet supports the ability to create a 2-of-3 multisig wallet.

It works much the same as the standard 2-of-2 multisig variant. The difference is that with a 2-of-3 multisig you get an extra seed phrase. If Blockstream ever fails to cooperate with the signing of a transaction, you can provide the second signature yourself with the help of the extra seed phrase. As a result, you have even more control over the proverbial strings.

Liquid

Also special is the support for the Liquid Network. That is a sidechain of Bitcoin, a kind of blockchain linked to the Bitcoin blockchain, with which additional functionality is possible. The operation and trust model are different from Bitcoin.

It is intended as additional infrastructure for merchants and exchanges, in part to relieve the burden on the Bitcoin blockchain. The initiative was started by Blockstream, but many other parties have since joined it.

Bitcoin transactions via the Liquid Network sidechain are faster, cheaper and more private. In addition, Liquid offers options for extensive smart contracts and digital token issuance. Those tokens on the Liquid sidechain can be managed from the Blockstream Green wallet.

No Lightning Network

It is striking that Green wallet does not support the Lightning Network, however. For enthusiastic Bitcoiners who like to get started with the Lightning Network, this may be a disappointment.

The Lightning Network is a so-called second-tier scalability solution for Bitcoin, which makes Bitcoin transactions lightning fast and cheap without sacrificing decentralization. Many people think that most bitcoin transactions in the future will go through networks such as the Lightning Network.

There are therefore more and more wallets that, in addition to a bitcoin wallet, are also a Lightning Network wallet. The fact that Blockstream Green is not probably has something to do with the multisig functionality on which it works.

Dutch verification requirement

It can sometimes be confusing to meet the requirements of the Dutch regulator with the Blockstream Green wallet. Dutch Bitcoin companies have recently been obliged to verify the Bitcoin addresses of customers and they therefore usually ask for a screenshot of the Bitcoin address, made from the wallet software.

However, Blockstream Green offers only one option to take a screenshot of the bitcoin address: immediately when you generate the receiving address. If you forget to do that at that moment, there is no possibility to show the same address from Green wallet again later to take a screenshot. Blockstream Green always shows a completely new bitcoin address, even if the previously generated bitcoin address is still unused.

The transaction history also offers no solution, because Green wallet refers to Blockstream’s block explorer for the necessary information – and a screenshot of it does not suffice. In principle, it is not a disaster, but it can mean that you have to go through the verification procedure again with a new bitcoin address if you forgot to take a screenshot the first time.

Blockstream cannot be blamed. The Dutch additional verification requirement is unique in the world and has only recently come into effect. In the United States, similar rules now also appear to be being pursued, despite fierce criticism. If this turns out to be the case, it is not inconceivable that Blockstream will adjust the software in the future to better meet the requirement.

It would be even better if there was a simple option for message signing ; this function is currently completely absent.

Conclusion

Blockstream’s Green wallet is probably a great wallet for most Bitcoiners. The design and operation are pleasant and it has most of the functions that an average Bitcoiner would need in normal use.

The 2FA multisig security is also innovative and probably efficient as an extra layer of protection. With support for hardware wallets as well, Blockstream Green is probably a pretty safe wallet to use.

The lack of support for Lightning Network is unfortunate on the one hand, but most bitcoin transactions are still normal on-chain transactions and not all Bitcoiners use the Lightning Network. If you don’t use it, you might not be waiting for all those bells and whistles. For those who are ‘just’ looking for a decent bitcoin wallet, Green Wallet may be an interesting option.

Still, it may not be the best bitcoin wallet for absolute beginners or those with very little technical knowledge. Many beginners find Bitcoin complicated enough and although Green wallet is incredibly user-friendly, it does have a few snags. Especially the aforementioned verification of bitcoin addresses at Dutch service providers tends to cause confusion among people who use Blockstream Green. The way in which multisig bitcoin wallets can be restored in other wallet software also differs from what is common and that may not make the learning process any easier.

However, if you are a bit further along, you understand what a seed phrase is, you have made occasional transactions and have already tried out a few wallets – then the Blockstream Green wallet is well worth a try.

Advantages

• Everything in-house; self-custodial
• Open source
• Innovative 2FA multisig protection
• Liquid Network support
• Hardware wallet support
• Simple and sleek design

Cons

• No Lightning Network
• Possible slight frustration during verification procedures

Read more about Blockstream Green wallet on the Blockstream site, or download the app from the Apple Appstore or Google Playstore.