Bitkey vs Phoenix
Phoenix has the higher grade on both axes: Safety 8.5 against 7.5, and Privacy 8.6 against 6.8.
Bitkey
Bitcoin-only 2-of-3 multisig wallet with app, hardware and server recovery key, from Block
Privacy
6.8/ 10
Fair
Safety
7.5/ 10
Strong
No ID mentioned KYC 1 Docs reviewed Full review →
Phoenix
Self-custodial mobile Lightning wallet from ACINQ with automatic channels and swaps
Privacy
8.6/ 10
Excellent
Safety
8.5/ 10
Excellent
ID never required KYC 0 Docs reviewed Full review →
Side by side
| Bitkey | Phoenix | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Wallets | Wallets |
| KYC policy | No ID mentioned | ID never required |
| Custody | Non Custodial | Non Custodial |
| Sign-up | Email required | No account needed |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Tor onion address | No | No |
| Coins | BTC | BTC |
| Fees | Hardware device $250 per the site | Sending via Lightning 0.4% + 4 sat; receiving with existing liquidity free; receiving with insufficient liquidity or requesting liquidity 1% + mining fees; channel creation 1,000 sat; on-chain sends pay user-chosen mining fees. |
| Limits | Not published | By default incoming payments are rejected if the fee exceeds 5,000 sat or 50% of the amount (adjustable). |
| Founded | Not published | 2019 |
| Jurisdiction | United States / Netherlands | France |
| Not available in | Only available countries listed by Block; prohibited activity in Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Syria and the Crimea, Donetsk or Luhansk regions | Not published |
| Incidents on record | 0 | 0 |
| Published tests (180 days) | 0 | 0 |
Only Bitkey
Nothing distinct
Both
No phone neededOpen sourceNon-custodialLegal entity disclosed
Only Phoenix
No registrationNo email neededAccepts Lightning5+ years operating
Where they sit among wallets
Questions
Is Bitkey or Phoenix safer?
Phoenix has the higher Safety grade: Bitkey 7.5, Phoenix 8.5, out of 10.
Does Bitkey or Phoenix require KYC?
Bitkey is KYC level 1 (no ID mentioned). Phoenix is KYC level 0 (ID never required).
Which has more incidents on record?
Bitkey has 0 and Phoenix has 0 documented incidents in the registry.