Wasabi Wallet review
A respected open-source, Tor-by-default Bitcoin desktop wallet, but its signature CoinJoin no longer works out of the box after the 2024 coordinator shutdown, and US users are blocked.
Wasabi Wallet is zkSNACKs’s bitcoin privacy desktop wallet (free). As a plain Bitcoin wallet, Wasabi is still strong: fully open source under an MIT license, non-custodial, Tor by default, with excellent coin control and broad hardware-wallet support. But you have to read the fine print, because its whole reason for existing changed. On June 1, 2024, its maker zkSNACKs shut down the CoinJoin coordinator, so the built-in mixing that defined Wasabi no longer works out of the box. You can point it at a community-run coordinator manually, but that is a technical step with its own trust questions, and zkSNACKs also blocked US users. Add the reputational baggage of its 2022 decision to screen certain coins from mixing, and it is a capable wallet whose signature feature is now hobbled for most people, especially in the US.
It scores 6.5 out of 10 on our fixed 40-point standard, and is our best open-source Bitcoin privacy wallet, weighed on security, ease of use, supported assets, value and recovery. Strengths: Fully open source and non-custodial; Tor by default with strong privacy fundamentals; Excellent coin control and labeling. Trade-offs: Built-in CoinJoin no longer works without a manual third-party coordinator; US citizens and residents are blocked; Desktop only, with no mobile app.
How it scored, out of forty
What we liked
- Fully open source and non-custodial
- Tor by default with strong privacy fundamentals
- Excellent coin control and labeling
- Broad hardware-wallet support
What to weigh
- Built-in CoinJoin no longer works without a manual third-party coordinator
- US citizens and residents are blocked
- Desktop only, with no mobile app
- Reputational baggage from the 2022 coin-screening decision
Who should buy it, and who should skip it
A great fit if you
- Are a technical, non-US Bitcoin user
- Want an open-source, Tor-by-default desktop wallet
- Value coin control and hardware support
- Are willing to configure a third-party CoinJoin coordinator
Look elsewhere if you
- Are a US citizen or resident
- Expect one-click mixing to work out of the box
- Want a mobile wallet or an easy setup
What Wasabi Wallet does well
Open source
Fully open under an MIT license, written in C# and public on GitHub.
Tor by default
All network traffic is routed over Tor, with client-side block filtering.
Coin control
Strong manual UTXO selection and labeling for privacy-conscious spending.
Hardware support
Works with Trezor, Coldcard, Ledger, BitBox02 and Blockstream Jade.
Wasabi is one of the best-known names in Bitcoin privacy, and reviewing it in 2026 means separating what it was from what it is. This Wasabi Wallet review is clear on both: the wallet is still a solid open-source Bitcoin wallet, but the privacy feature it was famous for no longer works the way it used to.
Wasabi Wallet at a glance
| Specification | Wasabi Wallet |
|---|---|
| Type | Bitcoin desktop wallet (privacy-focused) |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux (no mobile app) |
| Custody | Self-custodial, 12-word recovery phrase, no KYC |
| Open source | Yes, MIT license, written in C# |
| Privacy | Tor by default, client-side block filters, strong coin control and labeling |
| CoinJoin | No longer works by default after the June 2024 coordinator shutdown; manual third-party coordinator only |
| Hardware wallets | Trezor, Coldcard, Ledger, BitBox02, Blockstream Jade |
| US availability | Blocked for US citizens and residents |
| Price | Free |
| Our score | 6.5 / 10 |
A solid Bitcoin wallet underneath
Wasabi is open source, written in C# under an MIT license, and fully non-custodial with a standard 12-word recovery phrase and no KYC. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, with no mobile app. It routes all traffic over Tor by default, syncs using client-side block filters so its server never learns your addresses, and offers genuinely good coin control and labeling, plus support for Trezor, Coldcard, Ledger, BitBox02 and Blockstream Jade. On the fundamentals, it is a privacy-respecting Bitcoin wallet done right.
The CoinJoin shutdown
Here is the crux of any Wasabi Wallet review today. Wasabi's draw was one-click CoinJoin using its WabiSabi protocol, coordinated by its maker zkSNACKs. On June 1, 2024, zkSNACKs shut that coordinator down, citing a need for legal certainty, in the wake of US enforcement action against another privacy wallet. The result: Wasabi still sends, receives and stores Bitcoin normally, but its built-in mixing no longer works by default. To CoinJoin now you must manually paste a third-party, community-run coordinator into the settings, which is more technical and shifts the trust and uptime onto operators Wasabi does not vouch for. That single change is why the score dropped.
How CoinJoin and coordinators work now
A CoinJoin is a single Bitcoin transaction that many users join at once, mixing their coins so an outside observer cannot easily link a given input address to a given output, which is the core of Wasabi's privacy. Wasabi's WabiSabi protocol runs zero-link CoinJoin with variable amounts, and a coordinator arranges each round. After zkSNACKs shut its own coordinator down, Wasabi shipped a Change Coordinator feature so users can point the wallet at any third-party coordinator, and within days nine community-run coordinators had appeared. In practice that means privacy is still possible, but you now pick and trust a coordinator yourself, weigh its fees, and accept that uptime and coin-selection policy vary between operators rather than being handled for you. For advanced users that flexibility is welcome; for everyone else it is friction that did not exist before June 2024.
US block and past controversy
Two more things a buyer should know. Around the shutdown, zkSNACKs blocked US citizens and residents from its sites and products, so for a US reader Wasabi is effectively off the table. And in 2022 zkSNACKs drew heavy criticism for having its coordinator screen out certain coins from CoinJoin rounds, which many in the Bitcoin community saw as censorship at odds with the privacy the wallet promised. Neither is a code flaw, but both matter for who should trust and use it.
Wasabi Wallet vs the alternatives
For everyday Bitcoin with strong coin control, Electrum is the more flexible desktop-and-mobile option and works everywhere. For cold storage, the Coldcard is the air-gapped choice, and for an easy mobile Bitcoin wallet, BlueWallet is simpler. Wasabi still leads on built-in Tor and CoinJoin plumbing, but only for a technical, non-US user willing to configure a coordinator.
| Wasabi | Electrum | Coldcard | BlueWallet | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | Desktop | Desktop and mobile | Hardware | Mobile |
| CoinJoin | Manual coordinator only | No | No | No |
| Coin control | Excellent | Yes | Yes | Basic |
| Open source | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Best for | Non-US privacy | Advanced on-chain | BTC cold storage | Easy Bitcoin |
| Score | 6.5 | 7.8 | 6.8 | 7.4 |
See our best bitcoin hardware wallets and best crypto wallets guides for the wider field.
Price and value
Wasabi is free and open source, with no subscription; historically its value was the CoinJoin fee you paid for coordinated privacy. With the built-in coordinator gone, the CoinJoin value now depends on third-party operators and their fees, while the core wallet, Tor and coin control remain free. For a privacy-minded non-US Bitcoiner the free open-source base is still worth having; the mixing that justified choosing Wasabi over rivals is the part that lost its edge.
Who should buy Wasabi Wallet
Wasabi still has a place for a technical, non-US user who wants an open-source, Tor-by-default Bitcoin wallet and is willing to configure a third-party coordinator for occasional CoinJoin. It is the wrong pick for most people, and unavailable to anyone in the US, so a wallet like Electrum with strong coin control, or a dedicated privacy setup, is the more practical choice today.
Pricing
What each model costs, bought direct from zkSNACKs. Prices below are what zkSNACKs lists at the time of writing.
Open-source Bitcoin privacy on desktop
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Wasabi Wallet FAQ
Does Wasabi still have CoinJoin?
Not out of the box. On June 1, 2024, its maker zkSNACKs shut down the CoinJoin coordinator. The wallet works normally for sending and storing Bitcoin, but to mix you must now manually add a third-party, community-run coordinator, which is a technical step with its own trust and uptime questions.
Can US users use Wasabi?
Effectively no. Around the 2024 coordinator shutdown, zkSNACKs blocked US citizens and residents from its sites and products. For a US reader, Wasabi is off the table.
Is Wasabi safe and open source?
Yes on both counts. It is fully open source under an MIT license, non-custodial, and routes traffic over Tor by default. Its code is public for review, though we could not confirm a specific named third-party audit.
What was the 2022 Wasabi controversy?
In 2022 zkSNACKs had its coordinator screen out certain coins from CoinJoin rounds. Many in the Bitcoin community saw this as censorship at odds with the wallet's privacy promise, and it damaged Wasabi's reputation among privacy advocates.
Does Wasabi have a mobile app?
No. Wasabi is desktop only, for Windows, macOS and Linux. There is no official mobile version.
What are Wasabi's fees?
The wallet is free. CoinJoin historically cost a 0.3% coordinator fee, but with the zkSNACKs coordinator gone the client defaults to zero coordinator fee, and you pay only Bitcoin network fees unless you opt into a paid third-party coordinator.
What should I use instead of Wasabi?
For most people, and for US users, Sparrow Wallet is the more practical current choice. It also connects to external CoinJoin coordinators and has strong coin control, without the US block.
Does Wasabi support hardware wallets?
Yes. It works with Trezor, Coldcard, Ledger, BitBox02 and Blockstream Jade, so you can keep keys offline while using its privacy features.
Is the Wasabi wallet worth it in 2026?
This wasabi wallet review 2026 finds a solid open-source, Tor-by-default wallet whose signature CoinJoin no longer works out of the box after the 2024 coordinator shutdown, with US users blocked. A wasabi bitcoin wallet review verdict is that non-US technical users can still use it, but most people, and all US users, are better served by Sparrow.
How do Wasabi transactions and fees work?
Wasabi is open-source Bitcoin software focused on private transactions. A transaction pays standard network fees, and historically CoinJoin added a coordinator fee, now zero by default. You get full control over your inputs with coin control, and the WabiSabi protocol powered its private CoinJoin features. Each user manages their own coins, which makes Wasabi a power-user financial-privacy tool rather than a simple wallet.
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We bought it
This device was purchased at our own cost, not sent by the maker.
We used it for a week
Set up, funded and carried daily before a single mark was given.
No paid placement
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