Zaphq Wallet Review: The Simplest way to Use Bitcoin

About Zaphq Wallet

Zaphq is a free Lightning Network wallet focused on user experience and ease of use, with the overall goal of helping the cryptocurrency community scale Bitcoin. Zap iOS Mainnet on Testflight allows you to both connect to your remote nodes and create Lightning wallets on your phone. There are Zaphqother requirements to use this version of Zap iOS. Once you download, you can create Lightning wallets and start sending and receiving Lightning payments.

Wallet developer Zap has launched a new service that makes it easier to start using the Bitcoin Lightning Network. The new service, called Olympus, lets users load up their wallets with fiat money and instantly start making Lightning payments in crypto, announced founder Jack Mallers in a blog post yesterday.

This app is a remote control for lnd, the lightning network daemon. As such it is not exactly a wallet in the sense of many other wallets here as the lnd connected to, also has control over the funds but in a setup where you connect to your own lnd, Zap gets into the position of being able to steal your funds.

Zaphq Wallet Key Details

How To Install Zaphq Wallet?

The simplest way to use Bitcoin

Simple

The design philosophy is rooted in the ability to respond to our users and its from your feedback we are able to consistently deliver the best user experience in Bitcoin.

Safe

Zap is non-custodial. At no point does anyone have access to funds besides you, the user. Your keys, your coins, your node, your rules. All on your device.

Lightning-Fast

The Lightning Network offers a new way for users to interact with Bitcoin. Transactions with Zap are inexpensive and instantaneous, unlocking a new natively digital economy never seen before.

Open Source

With over 70 contributors and 20 translated languages, the open source community grows by the day. Zap was designed for the people, by the people.

Buy Bitcoin over Lightning

Go from fiat to Lightning in seconds. Delivering Bitcoin to the user over the Lightning Network is a monumental milestone for Bitcoin and its users. For the first time ever, users will be able to swap fiat for Bitcoin instantaneously without any custodians. Introducing the world to Bitcoin has never been so simple and efficient.

The Lightning Network Made Easy

Connect to your node

Zap let’s users connect to their existing Lightning node, allowing them to send, receive and manage their channels.

Multiple Wallets

Zap allows users to create and control as many wallets as they’d like. Remote nodes, BTCPay Server nodes, Nodl nodes, routing nodes, neutrino nodes, all in one place.

Full node (Coming soon)

Historically a barrier to users running a full node comes from the technical complexity to do so. Zap Desktop makes running a full node as simple as a click of a button.

Tor (Coming soon)

Zap values privacy. Connecting to your Lightning node over Tor brings the ultimate power of privacy to you the user.

Zap: Bitcoin Lightning Wallet

Zap Wallet makes Bitcoin usable for everyone. Trustlessly send and receive Bitcoin instantly with minimal fees via the Lightning Network. Manage your private keys, multiple wallets, and open channels, to get connected with peers on the Lightning Network and start transacting today. Zap is available on all platforms, so you can stay connected and transact whether you are at home or on the move. Currently Zap Android only allows to remote control LND nodes. The ability to run everything on device will be available later.

Step 1: Creating your wallet

Welcome! Once you’ve started Zap you will be prompted to create a wallet. For this tutorial you are going to select “Create”, which will take us through creating a Lightning enabled wallet on our machine.

Step 2: Save your wallet seed

Now you will see a 24 word seed. The seed is used to recover your wallet. Write this down and secure it somewhere safe. If anything ever happens to your machine or wallet you can always recover on-chain funds with this seed. Note that restoring from the seed will not allow you to recover funds that are stored in channels.

Step 3: Verify your seed

Next, Zap will ask you to verify your seed by prompting you to enter three randomly selected words from your seed. Once entered correctly you’ll see the inputs turn green and you can proceed. If you’ve entered the words incorrectly the Zap UI will turn the inputs red.

Step 4: Wallet password

Now you will set your wallet password. This password will be used to encrypt your wallet data. The password must be at least eight characters in length. You’ll use this password to unlock your wallet on start up. If you lose this password the only way to gain access to your wallet is by way of recovery via your 24 word seed. Please back up this password and keep it safe!

Step 5: Wallet name

Now you can create your wallet name. Your wallet’s name will be used as a “handle” or “username” within your Zap Launchpad to help keep your wallet identifiable and organized now that Zap allows multiple wallets to be created. The wallet name is not broadcast to the network and is for internal use only.

Step 6: Channel Backups

This is new to Zap. Channel backups allow you to backup the funds you have stored in channels. If you plan on opening channels and connecting with peers on the network, it is highly recommended that you backup your channels. In the event that your wallet is lost, recovering with the seed will only restore on-chain funds and all funds in channels will be lost. The channel backup file can be used to recover funds from your channels.

Step 7: Sync to the blockchain

Your node is now syncing to the blockchain. The syncing screen will display an address to deposit funds to while you’re waiting. The syncing screen also displays your wallet’s syncing progress and statistics below. You’ll only need to do a full sync once.

Congrats! You’ve created a Zap wallet and are ready to have fun on the Lightning Network. Once you have channels open you can start transacting via Lightning 🍻😃