Summary

Breadwallet – now known as BRD – is perhaps the simplest bitcoin wallet for iphone and Android users. The user experience feels very native to the devices, meaning that noobs will feel immediately at ease with the product. An HD wallet, no information is stored on any server and the wallet holdings and all transactions may be easily restored elsewhere as required. In our opinion, this is the best product for new mobile wallet users.

Getting Started

After downloading from the appstore, new users will be asked to generate a “recovery phrase”, which they explain will be needed should the phone be lost. A big warning sign is placed on the screen at the beginning of the process, instructing users not to let anyone see this recovery phrase, and not to type the recovery phrase into password managers or any other device. After writing down the 12 word mnemonic, users are asked to pick a four-digit passcode and then taken into the wallet.

The BreadWallet

There is a nice little tutorial walking a user through the extremely simple product, with a pop up bubble displayed next to each different feature and functionality of the app. The post login page, which consists of a big QR code to receive money as well as the bitcoin address beneath, while a scroll to the left brings you to the send money page – just a scan QR box or a pay address from clipboard.

A click on the hamburger at the upper left hand corner of hte screen brings you to a transaction screen. There, you can find your transactions listed, and you are offered the option to import private keys, which is done using a QR scanner. Importing private keys allows for spending bitcoin from different wallets from breadwallet, rather than transferring the funds and incurring transaction fees. There is also a “rescan blockchain” button, which basically is used to recheck whether a transaction has been confirmed.

You’ll also find the setting button under the hamburger. Within settings you can change your exchange currency to any possible currency one might think of, tinker with the touchID limits, recover another wallet or change your passphrase.

Bottom Line

OK, so what one is most impressed with is just how tailored the app is to iphone (which makes sense, as this is an app store-only product). Screens are navigated between with swipes; touchID is used to approve payment, a user’s fingerprint the only way to actually send bitcoin. It feels as if it is an extension of your normal iphone operating system.

This makes breadwallet extremely comfortable for newbie bitcoiners who are familiar with iphone. It is a simple product that is not at all intimidating or overly-technical. This has not come at the expense of other features that one would expect from a bitcoin wallet however; it’s an HD wallet allowing restoration easily elsewhere and no private key information is stored server side.