Electrum
Electrum is a free, open-source, non-custodial Bitcoin wallet, founded in 2011 by Thomas Voegtlin and operated via Electrum Technologies GmbH in Berlin, serving individual Bitcoin self-custody users across desktop and Android with SPV verification, hardware wallet support, and a plugin ecosystem.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Electrum does
Electrum is an open-source, non-custodial Bitcoin wallet founded in November 2011 by Thomas Voegtlin and operated through Electrum Technologies GmbH, a private German company established in 2013 and headquartered at Paul-Lincke-Ufer 8d, Berlin. The wallet is built in Python and uses Simple Payment Verification (SPV) to enable lightweight blockchain interaction without requiring users to download the full Bitcoin blockchain, alongside BIP-39 hierarchical deterministic key derivation, client-side encryption, multi-signature support, Tor routing for privacy, and GPG signature verification of distributed binaries. The product is available across desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux via standalone executables, installers, AppImage, and Python sources) and Android (Google Play and F-Droid).
Electrum's functional scope extends well beyond single-key custody through an extensible plugin architecture (plugins.electrum.org) that supports hardware wallet integrations with Trezor, Ledger, BitBox02, Coldcard, Blockstream Jade, KeepKey, Digital Bitbox, and Safe-T mini, as well as Lightning Network tooling (submarine swaps, watchtower, LNURL payments), Nostr protocol integration (Nostr Wallet Connect, Nostr Cosigner, Joinstr), TrustedCoin-based 2FA multi-sig, label synchronization, and time-locked inheritance via third-party plugins. Supporting infrastructure includes two server implementations — the official Python-based ElectrumX and a Rust-based alternative called Electrs — which index the Bitcoin blockchain and serve SPV proofs to clients.
Electrum has no disclosed revenue, is freely distributed under the MIT license, and operates without external institutional funding, relying instead on community donations and voluntary developer contributions. Its go-to-market motion is entirely product-led and self-serve: users discover and download the wallet directly through electrum.org or app stores, with no sales team, paid marketing, or enterprise channel. The target user is the individual Bitcoin self-custody holder seeking privacy, sovereignty, recoverability via seed phrases, and independence from custodial exchanges.
Electrum firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Electrum
- Legal name
- Electrum Technologies GmbH
- Website
- https://electrum.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Electrum is a free, open-source, non-custodial Bitcoin wallet, founded in 2011 by Thomas Voegtlin and operated via Electrum Technologies GmbH in Berlin, serving individual Bitcoin self-custody users across desktop and Android with SPV verification, hardware wallet support, and a plugin ecosystem.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Electrum industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cryptocurrency Wallet Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Self-Custody Wallets (EOA, seed phrase, HD wallets) (FSAPACAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Digital Asset Custody & Key Management (MPC, HSM, Wallet Infra) (FSAGAMAB), Wallet Connectivity & Session Protocols (WalletConnect, deep links, QR, auth sessions) (FSAPACAF)
Keywords
Where Electrum is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Electrum business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Software Distribution (No Direct Revenue): Electrum is distributed as free, open-source software under the MIT license. The project is maintained by a community of developers and funded through donations. Electrum Technologies GmbH develops and packages the software but does not charge for its use.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Electrum product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Electrum develops and distributes the Electrum Bitcoin Wallet, an open-source non-custodial desktop and mobile wallet that uses Simple Payment Verification (SPV) to operate without downloading the full Bitcoin blockchain. The wallet supports hierarchical deterministic (BIP-39) seeds, cold storage with watching-only wallets, multi-signature setups, hardware wallet integrations, and optional plugins for Lightning Network, Tor privacy, and Nostr-based features. The software is distributed free of charge under the MIT license by Electrum Technologies GmbH.
Product overview
Electrum is a single-product focused company offering the Electrum Bitcoin Wallet as its core product — a lightweight, open-source non-custodial wallet that uses Simple Payment Verification (SPV) to operate without downloading the full blockchain. The product is available across desktop platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux as AppImage/portable/installer) and mobile (Android via Google Play and F-Droid). The wallet supports cold storage, multi-signature wallets, hardware wallet integration (Trezor, Ledger, KeepKey, Digital Bitbox, BitBox02, Coldcard, Jade, Safe-T mini), and Lightning Network functionality. The company extends functionality through an optional plugin system — both internal plugins shipped with Electrum and external third-party plugins — covering features like Two Factor Authentication, label synchronization, Nostr integration, submarine swaps, and watchtower services. ElectrumX and Electrs are community-maintained server implementations that index the blockchain for the Electrum protocol.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Electrum Bitcoin Wallet Open-source non-custodial Bitcoin wallet for desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux via AppImage, standalone executable, installer, portable, and Python source) and Android (Google Play, F-Droid, APK). Uses SPV for lightweight operation, BIP-39 HD seeds for recovery, supports cold storage with watching-only wallets, multi-signature, and a plugin ecosystem for hardware wallets, Lightning, and privacy.
- Electrum Plugins Extensible plugin system for the Electrum wallet that adds hardware wallet support (Trezor, Ledger, KeepKey, Digital Bitbox, BitBox02, Coldcard, Jade, Safe-T mini), multi-signature coordination, Lightning tools, label synchronization, Nostr-based features, and trust-minimized services such as watchtower monitoring and submarine swaps.
- ElectrumX Server Official Python implementation of the Electrum server protocol that indexes the Bitcoin blockchain and serves SPV proofs to Electrum wallet clients. Underpins the network of public Electrum servers that wallets connect to.
- Electrs Server Rust-based alternative Electrum server implementation that indexes the Bitcoin blockchain for Electrum clients, offering improved performance and resource efficiency compared to the Python ElectrumX reference.
Companies that use Electrum
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Electrum technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
Feature9 records
Electrum partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- TrezorcoreElectrum provides native plugin support for Trezor hardware wallets (Model One, Model T, Safe 3). Users can create wallets and manage transactions with Trezor devices directly through Electrum's interface.
- LedgercoreElectrum provides native plugin support for Ledger hardware wallets including Nano S, Nano X, and other models. Enables secure key management with Ledger devices.
- BitBox02 (Shift Crypto)coreElectrum includes plugin support for BitBox02 hardware wallet by Shift Crypto, enabling secure Bitcoin storage with the device.
- Coldcard (Coinkite)coreElectrum provides support for Coldcard hardware wallet by Coinkite through a dedicated plugin, supporting air-gapped transaction signing.
- Blockstream JadecoreElectrum supports Blockstream Jade hardware wallet through a dedicated plugin, providing another option for air-gapped key management.
- TrustedCoincoreTrustedCoin provides 2-of-3 multi-signature functionality with two-factor authentication through Electrum's Two Factor Authentication plugin. TrustedCoin holds one key and cosigns after 2FA verification.
- Nostr EcosystemcoreElectrum integrates with Nostr protocol for multiple features: Nostr Wallet Connect (remote Lightning wallet control via NIP-47), Nostr Cosigner (multi-sig coordination over Nostr relays), and Joinstr (collaborative transactions).
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Electrum competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Blockstream Green: Blockstream's non-custodial Bitcoin and Liquid wallet, originally forked from Electrum's codebase. Shares technology lineage with Electrum while adding Liquid network features and back-end integration with Blockstream infrastructure.
- BlueWallet: Open-source non-custodial Bitcoin wallet with strong mobile and Lightning support. Sits in Electrum's exact category as a self-custody Bitcoin wallet, differing mainly on mobile-first UX and Lightning integration depth.
- Wasabi Wallet: Open-source, non-custodial Bitcoin desktop wallet with built-in CoinJoin privacy coordination via zkSNACKs. Operates in the same SPV-style, self-custody Bitcoin wallet category as Electrum with comparable user demographics.
- Mycelium Wallet: Long-running non-custodial Bitcoin mobile wallet (Android + iOS). Historic peer to Electrum in the early Bitcoin mobile era with hardware wallet integration and HD seed support.
- Samourai Wallet: Non-custodial Bitcoin mobile wallet with focus on privacy (Whirlpool CoinJoin, Ricochet, Stonewall). Comparable to Electrum in self-custody ethos and open-source approach, targeting the privacy-conscious Bitcoin holder.
- Sparrow Wallet: A Bitcoin-only, non-custodial desktop wallet emphasizing transaction-level coin control and privacy. Sparrow competes most directly with Electrum for technical Bitcoin self-custody users; both target UTXO visibility and hardware-wallet integration.
Broad incumbents
- Trezor Suite: First-party software wallet that pairs with Trezor hardware devices. While Trezor is a hardware maker, Suite is a software wallet with overlapping self-custody functionality, comparable to Electrum's hardware-wallet integration story.
- Exodus Wallet: Established multi-asset desktop and mobile wallet serving retail crypto users. Broadly competes in the self-custody Bitcoin wallet category with Electrum but supports many more assets and a more polished UI for less technical users.
- Ledger Live: Ledger's first-party software wallet companion to Ledger hardware devices. Overlaps with Electrum on the Bitcoin self-custody segment; differs in being tied to a single hardware vendor and offering multi-asset support.
Emerging players
- Nunchuk Wallet: Bitcoin-only collaborative self-custody wallet emphasizing multisig, inheritance, and shared custody. Targets a similar Bitcoin self-custody audience as Electrum with a modern UI focused on advanced custody setups.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Electrum social profiles
Digital presenceElectrum financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Electrum leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Electrum funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Electrum M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Electrum
What does Electrum do?
Electrum develops and distributes the Electrum Bitcoin Wallet, an open-source non-custodial desktop and mobile wallet that uses Simple Payment Verification (SPV) to operate without downloading the full Bitcoin blockchain. The wallet supports hierarchical deterministic (BIP-39) seeds, cold storage with watching-only wallets, multi-signature setups, hardware wallet integrations, and optional plugins for Lightning Network, Tor privacy, and Nostr-based features. The software is distributed free of charge under the MIT license by Electrum Technologies GmbH.
Is Electrum a public or private company?
Electrum is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Electrum founded?
Electrum was founded in 2011. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Electrum based?
Electrum is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Electrum make money?
One revenue line is on record: software Distribution (No Direct Revenue).
Who are Electrum's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Blockstream Green, BlueWallet, Wasabi Wallet, Mycelium Wallet, Samourai Wallet and Sparrow Wallet. Broad incumbents are Trezor Suite, Exodus Wallet and Ledger Live. Nunchuk Wallet is listed as an emerging player.
Does Electrum have an API?
Yes. Electrum provides a JSONRPC interface for daemon and command-line operations. The daemon can be controlled programmatically for wallet management, transaction signing, blockchain queries, and merchant payment processing. The RPC interface supports methods for wallet operations, blockchain communication, and Lightning Network services including watchtower monitoring and submarine swaps. Developer documentation is at electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/jsonrpc.html.
What industry is Electrum in?
Electrum's product category is Cryptocurrency Wallet Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAPACAA, Self-Custody Wallets (EOA, seed phrase, HD wallets), with a secondary code of FSAGAMAB, Digital Asset Custody & Key Management (MPC, HSM, Wallet Infra). Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.