Wallet software comparison, what actually to install

The Bureau's wallet recommendations across all three coins Nexus accepts. Each comes with the reasoning behind why it made the shortlist and what its trade-offs are.

Monero

Feather Wallet is the current default recommendation for desktop. Lightweight (no full node required), open source, actively maintained by developers with a good track record. Comes with a portable Windows build and Linux AppImage that runs without installation. Good for readers who want minimum setup.

Cake Wallet is the mobile default. Available on iOS and Android. Includes a built-in swap that lets you swap Bitcoin to Monero inside the wallet without touching an exchange. Good for readers who use their phone more than their laptop.

Monero GUI is the reference wallet, developed by the Monero core team. Requires either a full node (large disk, days of sync) or a remote node (fine but not maximally private). Best privacy story. Best for readers who want to run their own node.

Bitcoin

Sparrow is the current best privacy-aware Bitcoin wallet. Coin control support, PSBT support, hardware wallet integration, connects to your own Bitcoin node if you have one. Some learning curve but the interface is well-documented.

Electrum is the lightweight fallback. Reliable, mature, widely used, less focus on privacy features than Sparrow. Fine for basic wallet needs.

Do not use browser-based Bitcoin wallets, custodial exchange wallets, or mobile-only Bitcoin apps for market deposits. All three are common sources of buyer fund loss.

Litecoin

Electrum-LTC is the desktop wallet. Same interface family as Electrum for Bitcoin. Fast, reliable, minimal setup. This is the only wallet the Bureau recommends for Litecoin specifically because most other Litecoin wallets are abandoned or maintained inconsistently.

Hardware wallets

For Bitcoin: Trezor or Ledger, both work with Sparrow.

For Monero: Trezor supports Monero as of the recent firmware. Ledger has partial Monero support that requires more setup. If you are new to Monero on hardware, use Trezor.

Hardware wallets protect the private keys from software compromise on your host operating system. Worth the cost if you hold coin for extended periods. Not worth the friction for coin you plan to spend inside a week.

What not to use

Browser extension wallets like MetaMask. Wrong network anyway, and even for Bitcoin extensions, the security model is not fit for Tor market use.

Any wallet that requires an email address at setup.

Any wallet integrated with an exchange.

Any wallet that does not publish the private key or seed derivation on request. The reader must always be able to leave the wallet with their coin.