Excerpt
Explore the AQUA Wallet with me – a self-custodial wallet that handles Bitcoin, Lightning, and USDt and other assets on Liquid. Started at Blockstream and now released by JAN3, AQUA is a considerable option for those who use stable coins, especially in places with volatile currencies like Zimbabwe. Learn about AQUA’s features, how it manages transactions, and how it compares to other wallets.
Transcript
AQUA Wallet: Overview and Background
Will you be supporting AQUA Bitcoin wallet?
I’m somewhat confused by AQUA. Is it a Blockstream or a JAN3 product?
Yeah, I’ve been waiting for AQUA for several months. I was looking for it as an alternative when BlueWallet deprecated its Lightning accounts in April 2023. It seems they timed the launch quite meaningfully—the wallet was released on Bitcoin’s 15th birthday, January 3rd, 2024.
January 3rd is the date when, in 2009, Bitcoin’s first public block was mined. It’s also the name of the company now developing AQUA—JAN3.
From Blockstream to JAN3
What is AQUA? It’s a self-custodial wallet originally developed by Blockstream. At the time, Samson Mow was working for Blockstream. When he left to found JAN3, it appears he took AQUA with him. So, AQUA is no longer a Blockstream project—it’s now a JAN3 product.
A handful of people have already tested it. I’m currently including AQUA in my Lightning wallet test in Zimbabwe.
Supported Assets and Technologies
From what I’ve learned so far, AQUA supports transactions in USDT (Tether), which runs on the Liquid Network. So AQUA supports:
- Bitcoin
- Liquid
- Lightning
- Other Liquid assets (users can issue their own tokens)
This makes AQUA potentially very useful for people who use stablecoins, especially in countries like Zimbabwe, where many prefer the US dollar’s stability over their local currency.
One Wallet for Multiple Assets
AQUA allows you to use Bitcoin, Liquid, Lightning, and Tether—all in one wallet.
However, AQUA is not a native Lightning wallet. You can send and receive Lightning payments, but there’s no built-in Lightning node, unlike Phoenix, Zeus, Green, or Mutiny.
How AQUA Handles Lightning
AQUA integrates with Boltz.exchange in the background. Every Lightning payment is essentially a Liquid payment swapped to Lightning, automatically. So you don’t need to manually use Boltz or SideSwap—it’s built-in.
But this means that:
- Lightning payments on AQUA are a bit more expensive, due to the Liquid transaction fees.
- If you already have an open Lightning channel, Phoenix or Mutiny might be cheaper to use for Lightning payments.
Fees: Liquid vs Lightning vs Bitcoin
- Liquid fees are much lower than Bitcoin transaction fees.
- Lightning fees are generally even lower than Liquid.
- So depending on your setup, costs can vary.
Wallet Recommendations Depend on Goals
There’s a wide variety of wallets and features, and there’s no single best wallet. Choosing the right one depends entirely on your use case and goals.
If you’re an educator or helping someone choose a wallet, the first question should be:
What is the goal this person wants to achieve with the wallet?
That matters more than knowing every technical detail.
I hope to produce content and tests that give a clear overview of the different Lightning wallets I mentioned before.
