Proton Mail Launches Self-Custodial Bitcoin Wallet

Privacy-first email provider Proton has released a Bitcoin wallet focusing on personal security and simplicity.

With 100 million Proton Mail account holders worldwide, the Swiss privacy and security company is known for its end-to-end encrypted email, as well as secure VPN and storage services.

The encrypted wallet is Bitcoin-only and is intended to make it easy to use BTC as well as store it securely. The wallet’s ‘Bitcoin by email’ service allows Proton Mail users to send BTC securely to another email address, even if it is not a Proton Mail account.

The wallet also rotates addresses every time a user receives BTC from a new sender in order to “prevent transactions from being easily linked,” the company said in a statement.

The wallet has been tested by 100,000 pre-release users since last summer and, like the email service, is fully open-source to allow anyone with the technical know-how to check Proton’s claims. That’s a fair number of people in the crypto community, the company noted in a blog post.

Proton has partnered with payments provider Ramp to facilitate Bitcoin purchases in more than 150 countries.

Proton Wallet is self-custodial, so your Bitcoin is not in the hands of centralized exchanges that can be hacked, have funds seized or go bankrupt, the company said.

The wallet is not Proton’s first connection with Bitcoin, founder and CEO Andy Yen said in a statement.

“Proton has long been a supporter of Bitcoin,” Yen said. “In 2014, during Proton's initial crowdfunding campaign, Bitcoin became a lifeline when PayPal temporarily blocked our ability to receive contributions.”

Digital freedom requires not just privacy but financial freedom, Yen said.

“Our aim is to make it easier and safer for users to embrace alternative forms of money which are independent from centralized financial systems controlled by third parties who do not always work in the best interest of everyday people,” he added.