Electrum (software)

Electrum
Original author(s)	Electrum Technologies GmbH
Initial release	2011
Repository	github.com/spesmilo/electrum
Written in	Python
Operating system	Linux, Windows, macOS, Android
Type	Cryptocurrency wallet
License	MIT License
Website	electrum.org

Electrum is a free non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet for Bitcoin and Lightning Network. It is available for Windows, Linux (pre-installed on Tails OS), macOS and Android. Electrum is written in Python and uses the Qt widget toolkit for the user interface. Electrum is a lightweight client: it does not download the entire blockchain and instead uses simplified payment verification. Transactions are sent to public servers.^[1] It was released in 2011.^[2]^[3]

Reception

Mayank Sharma of TechRadar praised the wallet's advanced features, such as multisignature transactions, while noting that the wallet is not designed for inexperienced users.^[4] Marco Monroy Robles of Money liked Electrum's simple setup process, but criticized its lack of direct customer support.^[5]

Security

Although wallet files are encrypted with PBKDF2, private keys are encrypted with AES256 with the user's password. This could allow an attacker with access to the encrypted data to decrypt the private keys using a dictionary attack or a brute force attack.^[6]

References

^ Zhang, Yiyin (May 2023). "SoK: Anonymity of Lightweight Clients in Cryptocurrency Systems". 2023 IEEE International Conference on Blockchain and Cryptocurrency (ICBC). pp. 1–18. doi:10.1109/ICBC56567.2023.10174913. ISBN 979-8-3503-1019-1.
^ Conrad, Barski (2014). Bitcoin for the Befuddled. No Starch Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-59327-573-0.
^ Caetano, Richard (2015). Learning Bitcoin. Packt Publishing. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-78528-730-5.
^ Sharma, Mayank (2021-01-26). "Electrum cryptocurrency wallet review". TechRadar. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
^ Robles, Marco Monroy. "Electrum Crypto Wallet Review". Money. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
^ Holmes, Arran; Buchanan, William J. (2023-03-01). "A framework for live host-based Bitcoin wallet forensics and triage". Forensic Science International: Digital Investigation. 44: 301486. doi:10.1016/j.fsidi.2022.301486. ISSN 2666-2817.

External links

Official website
Overview of Electrum on the bitcoin.org

[1] Zhang, Yiyin (May 2023). "SoK: Anonymity of Lightweight Clients in Cryptocurrency Systems". 2023 IEEE International Conference on Blockchain and Cryptocurrency (ICBC). pp. 1–18. doi:10.1109/ICBC56567.2023.10174913. ISBN 979-8-3503-1019-1.

[2] Conrad, Barski (2014). Bitcoin for the Befuddled. No Starch Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-59327-573-0.

[3] Caetano, Richard (2015). Learning Bitcoin. Packt Publishing. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-78528-730-5.

[4] Sharma, Mayank (2021-01-26). "Electrum cryptocurrency wallet review". TechRadar. Retrieved 2025-01-29.

[5] Robles, Marco Monroy. "Electrum Crypto Wallet Review". Money. Retrieved 2025-01-29.

[6] Holmes, Arran; Buchanan, William J. (2023-03-01). "A framework for live host-based Bitcoin wallet forensics and triage". Forensic Science International: Digital Investigation. 44: 301486. doi:10.1016/j.fsidi.2022.301486. ISSN 2666-2817.

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