I jumped ship on Phoenix and closed my channels after they announced that they were pulling out of the US app stores.
Previously I had been using phoenix to pay my kids for chores. Not a lot of money, but a few thousand Sats here and there. I would always sweep their funds into an on-chain wallet whenever it got big enough. I had a Graphene phone with a separate profile for each kid, so they each had their own separate Phoenix wallet.
After Phoenix I’ve tried Mutiny, Zeus, and Aqua. They’re all fine, but nothing is as smooth and easy as Phoenix. It really is the best.
Now I’m wondering why I shouldn’t just keep using it. I can install updates from the APK, there’s no need to touch any app store. Is there any risk for users in the US apart from app store rug pull?
Bitkit wallet is recently released to app stores and supports onchain and self-custodial Lightning node in the app. We'd be interested in your, and your kids, feedback!
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I wish Phoenix would come back to the U.S. This was my primary wallet and was sad they didn't fight like Mutiny, and Zeus. I understand the risks though.
I just won't keep more than 50K sats in my wallet, oh and make sure you go into your settings so there aren't auto updates without your permission to your apps.
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shill incoming...
You shouldn't, each user-device having a channel is a waste of sats and chain space
While fees are low would be a good time to roll those channels over into a family node, connect yourself and kids to it over nostr with Shockwallet and Lightning.Pub
In the next month or so a bunch of automation should be in place too so you can stand it and forget it after a 1-line deployment
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No. I do not see any risk of losing funds. The only trade off with Phoenix is that you cannot use any other LSP. Is a walled garden.
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That is true, but for my purposes I only keep a small amount there for paying my kids. I do wonder if there’s any risk of the LSP going away or blocking US users by IP.
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130 sats \ 0 replies \ @anon 1 Jul
No risk. Worst case they close your channels and funds settle on chain. Here's a zapparoo from Phoenix :)
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25 sats \ 2 replies \ @gunson 2 Jul
You should keep using it and install via APK.
By default it connects via Tor, so there's no way Phoenix or anyone else knows your location.
Don't ask for permission - this is Bitcoin.
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Does it use Tor? I didn’t know that. There’s no mention of that on their website.
While Phoenix' exit from the US was rather dramatic, there is nothing stopping people to use it outside the app stores. ACINQ covered itself with this move, they will not officially tell you what to do but there is a clear way around
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The power of APKs :)
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I don't use it (yet), but since you didn't mention it, you might be interested in sparrow desktop wallet. I heard about it from people that loves it.
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I do use sparrow but I need something off chain for paying my kids micropayments.
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Sparrow is a great wallet but not for novices
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  1. Sparrow is not a LN wallet. Using Bitcoin without LN is really dumb.
  2. "I don't use it (yet)" - so you are using only onchain or what?
  3. Read more here: https://darth-coin.github.io/wallets/lightning-wallets-comparison-en.html
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I’m still using it in the UK and it’s great. If it was gonna be pulled here too hopefully there will be sufficient warning to decide what to do.
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First of all, stop using iOS. If a company can restrict what applications you are allowed to run on your phone, is it really your phone?
Second, there is no risk, really - you can always bypass the nonsense by using a VPN.
Third, while I too love Phoenix for its convenience, it makes a sacrifice by being tied to a single LSP, with no control over channels by the user.
Finally, Zeus seems to be the apex predator in the space right now. Embedded is really cool, and if you're running your own LN node anyway, remote controlling it with Zeus is even better.
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I like Zeus but it is really slow to start up.
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Because it runs a full node. Turn on "Persistent LND" in settings (Embedded > Advanced) and configure your OS to never kill it due to inactivity. Then it will always be ready.
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Nice, I didn’t know that. Sounds like that might drain the battery though.
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100 sats \ 1 reply \ @anon 1 Jul
I can install updates from the APK
Manually installing APK's is probably more secure than trusting the Google Play store with automatic updates anyway. Good!
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Good point.
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It's very unfortunate they're using Google Play Services. That would be a reason for me to not use it. How are Mutiny and other Lightning wallets dealing with notifications?
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I feel the same, I had been using Phoenix extensively and it was overall great, very straightforward (compared to other options). After they closed for customers in the US, I tried out some other wallets. Then, instead of little annoying problems, there's huge issues that cause these wallets to be much less convenient and often a real pain. But the reason I stopped using Phoenix was because of a channel close. Maybe I should try again, with a VPN.
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Same, I was in the process of moving to Mutiny when the fedimint lost control of one of their dns records. It was worrisome for a few days but I was able to recover the funds. Didn’t inspire a sense of confidence.
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It's a bad one that will withdraw from united states, uh tried a lot of lightning wallets, and none as easy to hear and restore as phoenix does.
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I find it interesting that at the time he was using a wallet to simply tip the children for doing their chores... I, on the other hand, am currently starting out in Cryptoeconomics and I just have my first wallet... and few sats working hard and commenting a lot on S.N👍
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Focus on bitcoin, leave the “crypto” for the chumps.
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If the wallet is too complex or not user-friendly, it might be frustrating to use, especially for beginners
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Was just thinking the same thing. I liked using it and was debating if a ban could really be enforced
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