For this review, I downloaded and tested Stack Wallet and compared it using my scoring methodology against the 18 wallets that I have used to date. Here are the results of my evaluation.
Overall rating: 2.75/5
Using the Stack wallet was a positive experience. It was easy to set up and intuitive to navigate. What I like most about it is that it is open source but well designed and supports many cryptocurrencies and offers the same benefits as a closed-source wallet would such as an inbuilt crypto exchange and fiat onboarding. Its only drawback is that it is relatively new and does not support hardware wallets yet.
Background
Stack wallet is a relatively new fully open source cryptocurrency wallet that was launched in July 2022. The person behind goes by the handle rehrar and is involved in maintaining the official Monero site at getmonero.org.
The wallet was launched as part of an effort to create a transparent wallet, respects your privacy, offers a good user experience, is multi-crypto, and is integrated with exchanges.
Features
- open source
- Cross-device
- non-custodial
- privacy-preserving
- Multicurrency
- Built-in exchange
- back up restoration
- address book
- Favorite wallets toggle
- User friendly
- advanced options: choose your own node, testnet support, post technology, smart sync
- Bitcoin segwit support
- Languages: English
Pros
1. Self custody
Stack is a non-custodial wallet which means your private keys are stored on your device and only you have access to them
2. Easy to use
Stack Wallet’s user-friendly features such as the in-built change, fiat onboarding, and wallet recovery are extremely easy to use. The wallet is one of the most intuitive I have come across.
3. Easy Backup
Stack offers you 2 ways to back up your wallet
- Auto back up. To use this option you need to create a backup file. This will require you to set up a passphrase. You can choose to back up every 10 minutes, every app starts or after closing the wallet. Once encrypted stack will show which folder on your device it backed up your wallet to
- Manual backup. This requires a passphrase but you can choose when to back up.
4. Tor enabled
Stack uses The Onion Router (Tor) to hide your IP address by routing your connection through multiple nodes, making it challenging for third parties to identify your real-world identity. The feature is not yet available for Monero or Epic Cash wallets
5. Multi crypto
You can set up separate wallets for different cryptocurrencies
Stack currently supports the following crypto coins and tokens.
Coins
- Bitcoin(BTC)
- Monero(XMR)
- Banano (BAN)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
- eCash (XEC)
- Epic Cash (EPIC)
- Ethereum(ETH)
- Firo(FIRO)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Namecoin (NMC)
- Nano (XNO)
- Particl (PART)
- Stellar (XLM)
- Tezos (XTZ)
- Wownero(WOW)
Tokens
- Chainlink (LINK)
- Shiba Inu (SHIB)
- Tether (USDT)
- USD Coin (USDC)
- Uniswap (UNI)
6. Built in exchange
Stack partners with third-party exchange providers such as ChangeNOW, Trocador, CoinCraddle, LetsExchnage, Swapster, Exolix, and StealthEX to name a few.
What I like about this feature is that it chooses the best rate and shows you the rate that other exchanges are offering.
7. Fiat to Crypto onboarding
Stack wallet has integrated with payment provider Simplex (more to be added in the near future) so that you can buy crypto directly from within the wallet interface. When you do this you will be taken to a third-party website where you will be required to register and share your details.
8. Node customization
Like most wallets, Stack connects to a computer called a node that contains a full copy of the blockchain you are setting up a wallet for. Advanced users can change the node. They might do this because there is a specific node they trust more than others.
9. Support
The team at Stack Wallet has multiple options where you can reach out for support
- Telegram
- Discord
10. Custom address book
You can add wallet addresses with contact names and emoji profile pics to customize your address book’s contacts list
Cons
1. Not compatible with hardware wallets
if you plan on holding a large amount of crypto you are safer if you store it in an offline wallet such as a Ledger Nano or Trezor model T device. These hardware devices look like USB dongles and are safer because they are not connected to the internet. You do need an online wallet however to manage them and unfortunately, Stack is not compatible at the time of writing.
2. Security
Anyone with access to your passphrase or backup passphrase can easily access your wallet. For this reason it is safer to use a hardware wallet and only store small amounts on hot wallets such as stack.
3. Relatively new.
While it’s great that Stack is open source the fact that it is relatively new may mean that not enough people have checked the code for vulnerabilities.
How to use Stack Wallet
1. Download the mobile app to your phone
2. Click on Get started
3. Choose your stack experience
You have two options here:
- The first has the exchange data pre-loaded and fetches price data from CoinGecko. Choosing this option means you are sharing some information like your IP address.
- The alternative option is to choose the incognito mode which does not preload and exchange data and won’t show the value of your wallet in other currencies as it does not connect to CoinGecko
4. Create a PIN
Make sure you choose a unique PIN that is not the same as the PIN on your credit card or debit card. Scammers are very good at stealing your credit card pin at a supermarket counter and then testing in in combination with all the possible banking and crypto apps you use. And make sure not to select something too obvious like your birthday.
Once you enter your PIN you can set up fingerprint identification so that you don’t need to log in using your PIN every time.
5. Add a wallet
Click on the Add Wallet sign and choose the wallet that you want to add from the drop-down. By default Stack will show you the most popular wallets and tokens.
6. Choose whether you want to restore a wallet or add a new wallet.
Let’s add a new wallet. Click on Create New Wallet.
7. Name your wallet
8. Choose wallet options
There are two options to choose from here.
Default will give you 12 words for your seed phrase. These are also your recovery phrases should you lose your device and need to import it on another one.
Choosing advanced will allow you to choose the seed phrase length. You can choose to have 12 or 24 words. You also have the option to add a BIP39 passphrase that you will need along with the seed phrase to restore your wallet.
9. Read the warning carefully
Make sure you write down your phrase carefully and do not share the keywords with anyone. You should store this phrase safely offline. If you lost it the Stack support team won’t be able to restore your wallet because they do not have access to your seed phrase.
10. Note the recovery phrase
Save the recovery phrase safely. Here is one I generated for demo purposes.
11. Verify recovery phrase
The app will ask you to tap a specific word number. For example, the 11th word in my phrase was the word lady. So I tapped that.
Click on continue
12. Voila your wallet is now set up.
In the user interface, you will see the option to add that wallet to your favorites. This can be useful when you have too many wallets cluttering the screen.
13. To receive bitcoin to your address
Click on the wallet and click receive. You can either copy the address which is the long string of characters you see or you can share the QR code. The sender can use these to send BTC to your wallet by pasting them in the send field of their wallet
14. To send bitcoin
Click on the send field and paste the address of the receiver. You can also scan a QR code or look up an address in your address book. In addition, there is the option to take notes so that you know what you have done.
Stack Fees
Stack generates revenue through donations and through a small commission it gets when you use its built-in exchange. The wallet does not charge any fees for storing sending or receiving crypto however you do need to account for network transaction fees that go to miners and validators who verify blockchain transactions
Resources
Alternatives to Stack Wallet
To help you decide on the best wallet for your I have reviewed a number of other wallets. See below: