The new Aqua wallet, which was launched in January 2024, combines Bitcoin on-chain, lightning network and liquid in a single application, promising to be a complete wallet for BTC users. Would you like to know everything about her?!
Nowadays, there are many Bitcoin wallets with different features to meet the demands of different users. However, some people prefer the ease of having everything at hand and in one place.
The Aqua wallet promises to be easy to use, uniting the different layers of Bitcoin in just one application. Thus, the on-chain, Lightning Network and Liquid layers are together in a single wallet. This allows users to easily move between Bitcoin layers and utilize various other financial services within the wallet.
Furthermore, Aqua is an open source wallet, a very important feature for bitcoiners who value security and transparency.
Anyway, in this article we will explore more about this Aqua Wallet and what is different about it, when compared to other wallets on the market.
Let's go?!
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Who created Aqua Wallet?
Aqua is a wallet created by the company JAN3, which takes its name in honor of the day Bitcoin was officially born with the genesis block, where Satoshi Nakamoto left the famous message on the cover of The Times newspaper: “The Times 03/Jan /2009 Chancellor on the brink of second bailout for banks”.
JAN3 is a Bitcoin technology company focused on expanding access to Bitcoin and bringing financial freedom to the world. Thus, they have some services in the bitcoin market, the most famous being Aqua Wallet.
Furthermore, the company's CEO is Samson Mow, a Bitcoin philosopher, game developer and figure marked as a speaker at the main Bitcoin conferences around the world.
How did Aqua come about?
Aqua had already been launched once, in 2020, but at that time the Bitcoin ecosystem was different; Lightning Network and Liquid were not yet widely used layers, but they grew a lot in the following years.
Furthermore, the way people used Bitcoin was still very different in different countries. Since then, we have seen the adoption of Bitcoin grow, the second layers gain more traction and both countries and several companies started to accept Bitcoin.
Therefore, given this, there was a need for these people to have access to a complete service that could provide all Bitcoin applications in one place, but with sovereignty.
After all, most of the places these people arrive first are cryptocurrency brokers, stock exchanges, etc. These users are rarely included in non-custodial services, which guarantee their sovereignty and self-custody of assets.
Therefore, the official version of Aqua Wallet was launched on January 3, 2024. This is a symbolic date because, as we saw previously, that was when Bitcoin emerged with the genesis block.
Furthermore, on this date an event called “proof-of-keys” is also celebrated, which is the day when bitcoiners from all over the world come together to take their satoshis from the broker and send it to their own wallet.
How does Aqua Wallet work?
Aqua Wallet works as a digital wallet that allows you to store, send, receive and buy Bitcoin, offering a simple and intuitive interface.
Aqua Wallet is non-custodial, meaning you are responsible for the secure storage of your private keys. That said, it is also open source and is only available for mobile phones, both Android and iOS.
Aqua also calls itself a ‘Bitcoin and Stablecoin’ wallet, as it supports the USDT currency, which is a dollar-backed stablecoin.
However, the reason for having support for this currency is that in unstable economies, Tether is widely used as a way of easy access to a 'strong' currency (dollar) and allows people to get even closer to Bitcoin.
Furthermore, as we have already seen throughout the article, Aqua also supports the Lightning Network and Liquid. Thus, it is possible to use L-BTC, a synthetic representation of Bitcoin on Liquid, to make payments.
Therefore, it is viable and possible to use synthetic dollars in your wallet through Liquid, without the mandatory need to use USDT.
What is Aqua Wallet’s philosophy?
Aqua has a philosophy that they call NCC (Non-Custodial Core), in which they provide all the necessary tools for the user to maintain their sovereignty.
This way, the private keys are kept by the user and not the wallet.
What is the objective and characteristics of the Aqua wallet?
The objective of this wallet is to concentrate and bring together everything the user may need from Bitcoin in one place, in an easy to access way and with a super simple interface, so that everyone can use it.
Therefore, to achieve this objective, some of the main characteristics of the portfolio are:
- Support for Bitcoin On-chain and layer 2 such as Lightning and Liquid;
- Support for USDT on the Ethereum and Tron networks;
- Open source and non-custodial;
- Access to dollars at low rates;
- Sending and receiving USDT without gas fees;
- Integrated Marketplace for BTC purchases;
- Full Liquid Network support for sending L-BTC, Tether USDT and additional liquid assets;
- Native exchanges between Layer 2 Bitcoin and USDT;
- Exchange between the Bitcoin main chain and Layer 2 (swaps);
- Bitcoin chip scanning;
- Support for importing seed phrases inherited from Aqua.
Additionally, there are other functions that will be added soon to Aqua, such as:
- P2P lending;
- VISA debit card;
- Interest-bearing products;
- Ability to pay USDT and Layer 2 Bitcoin sending fees in USDT;
- URLs LN;
- More integrations between networks;
- Support for more fiat currencies.
Privacy at Aqua
We have already mentioned that Aqua is a non-custodial wallet, that is, the private keys remain directly with the user, and it is their responsibility to keep this key securely.
JAN3, the company responsible for Aqua, also stated that the application does not record user data and does not have data collection servers.
This information is extremely important, since many cell phone applications currently collect the user's personal data, causing concern for users who use hot wallets.
However, an important factor to note is that third-party services contained in the Aqua app, such as the marketplace for purchasing Bitcoin, require KYC. This means that somehow your personal data will be shared with this third party, but not with Aqua (according to what they claim).
What are the negative points of the Aqua wallet?
So, despite being a wallet full of interesting and easy-to-use features, it is important to keep in mind that it has some negative points, which are:
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It does not have an integrated Lightning wallet (like Blue Wallet). Transactions for Lightning happen through a third-party platform called Boltz (which is non-custodial). Therefore, it is necessary to hold L-BTC and, when carrying out a transaction, an exchange occurs, which can make transactions more expensive.
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It does not display the balance in satoshis, which can make reading smaller balances difficult.
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It does not have integration with physical wallets (hardware wallets).
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It does not support watch only wallet (does not read xpub).
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The Portuguese language is not available.
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Lightning transactions require the app to be open to be completed; otherwise, an error may occur.
This all shows us that, although the wallet has been launched and is now available for use, there are still points that need improvement.
How to use Aqua Wallet? (Step by step)
It is very simple to use Aqua, to do so, just follow the step by step below:
- When downloading the App on your cell phone, select “create new wallet” to create a new account or “restore existing wallet” to redeem an existing wallet. Afterwards, just click to agree to the terms of service:
- Once this is done, your wallet will be ready and the app's main screen will open. On this screen, you can see the price of Bitcoin in real time.
- By clicking on “settings”, you can find your private keys under “view seed phrase”. Also, make sure you open the app in a safe and private location.
- In the “Marketplace” tab, you can select the country of origin and find a Bitcoin point of sale to make the purchase directly through the wallet application.
Conclusion
As we have seen, Aqua is a wallet that came to meet a new demand from users who already know the new layers of Bitcoin and want to be able to use them easily and without needing to have different applications to do so.
However, it is important to recognize that, although full of features and offering a good user experience, Aqua is still a new wallet and has aspects that need improvement.
However, a very positive aspect of all this is seeing how new wallets are emerging, trying to solve usability problems and introducing new features as Bitcoin technology advances.
Anyway, let's keep an eye on Aqua Wallet's next steps!
Until next time and opt out!