Support the open-source development of

Helm wallet

I believe that Lightning self-custodial should be free and open-source and accessible to everyone.

Github Open app

What is it?

I believe there's a huge gap between the ease of use of Wallet of Satoshi and the self-custody of Phoenix. To minimize this gap, I created a new web app, a wallet that has the self-custody of Phoenix and is easy to use as Wallet of Satoshi.

Helm is a Liquid wallet that uses Boltz submarine swaps to disguise itself as a Lightning wallet that even your grandma can use.

But it has a cost

All transactions must go on the Liquid chain and also Boltz must earn something for the service they provide, so there are fees to be paid:

The minimum cost for sending a payment is around 200 sats;
The average cost for sending or receiving a payment is around 400 sats plus 0.1% of the amount;
Transactions between Helm wallets don't pay Boltz fees but can take up to 1 minute to complete;
Boltz swaps are limited between 1.000 and 25.000.000 sats.

Main advantages

It's a PWA, which means it is immune to app store censorship. The web app is completely independent, no server required. You can clone it, build it and run it from your own computer. Everything runs on the browser.

You can use Tor to hide your IP address from Boltz and the chain explorers.

Try it

To minimize censorship, this app is available in different urls. You can restore your mnemonic on any of this urls and you will get your coins and transaction list:

Run it

Run it locally in your computer is as easy as:

$ git clone bordalix/helm-wallet
$ cd helm-wallet
$ pnpm install
$ pnpm start

If you prefer Docker:

$ git clone bordalix/helm-wallet
$ cd helm-wallet
$ docker build -t helm-wallet .
$ docker run -p 8370:8370 helm-wallet

The app will be running on http://localhost:8370

Code

To minimize censorship, the code is available from several sources:

Declaration of interest

I receive a small percentage of Boltz fees for all payments with Helm's referral id.

FAQ

Why Liquid?

Liquid is a sidechain of Bitcoin that allows for fast and cheap transactions. Fees are historically low and blocks are mined at a fixed interval of 1 minute.

Why so many domains?

The code is mirrored across multiple domains for redundancy and censorship resistance. When it reaches the version 1 milestone, I will upload it to IPFS for greater resilience.

The app is a PWA, which means it can be installed on your computer or mobile phone. You can run it from your own computer, so you don't need to trust me or anyone else.

Having said that, the app is deployed in more than one domain, again for redundancy and censorship resistance, that you can use right now.

How to restore a wallet?

To restore a wallet, you just need to insert your mnemonic.

Hint: copy your mnemonic to the clipboard, click on word #1 input and paste the entire mnemonic. The app will understand what you are trying to achive and will automatically break the mnemonic into words and fill the other inputs.

Why do I need a password?

The password is used to encrypt your mnemonic on browser's local storage. When you open the app, it doesn't know your secret keys, so it needs to ask for the password to decrypt them.

Having said that, the app knows your public key, so you can receive funds without the password. To send funds you will need to insert the password.

Forgot the password, what can I do?

You need to restore the app with your mnemonic and choose a new password.

Why is the Send button grayed out?

The button will be enabled as soon as you have funds in your wallet.

Critics and suggestions are welcome.

Find me on Github, Nostr, Stacker News or X.