The E-mail Provider Proton Releases a Bitcoin Wallet for Its Users. This sounds great, but the community has some complaints.

Proton, an email provider focused on privacy and end-to-end encryption, has developed a Bitcoin wallet as part of its user accounts. Proton explains that the wallet is open source, end-to-end encrypted, and non-custodial.

Additionally, users can send Bitcoins via email—from ProtonMail to ProtonMail—which is a neat feature. It brings the familiar user experience of PayPal to the holders of more than 100 million Proton accounts. Even if a small fraction of these accounts are active, Proton could have a decent, potentially critical mass.

Currently, we are unable to test the wallet. It is only available for Proton users, and even they must first join a waiting list. Overall, it sounds promising. The infrastructure is hosted on Proton’s Swiss servers, but thanks to end-to-end encryption, the service provider cannot misuse it; they can’t even spy on the users. An optional passphrase ensures that no one, even with account access, can steal Bitcoins, and users can further secure their accounts with two-factor authentication.

Lightning is not yet supported, as the bitcoin magazine somewhat pointedly notes. A Proton spokesperson explained that „Lightning is very difficult in a non-custodial wallet.“ Users would have to open and maintain their channels, which „is currently not really solved in terms of user experience.“ However, the development is being monitored, and Lightning will be integrated when possible.

Proton does not consider integrating other cryptocurrencies. A guide on their website details that altcoins are often akin to scams and are, in any case, less liquid and decentralized than Bitcoin. On Twitter (now X), Proton bluntly states, „We do not support shitcoins.“

This pleases some Bitcoin maximalists but irritates many in the broader community. Proton users, concerned with privacy, would have liked to see the privacy coin Monero. It is now lamented that Bitcoin is actually incompatible with Proton as it’s not private but transparent, indeed: „Anti-Privacy“. At the very least, Proton could have integrated Coinjoin, Silent Payments, Whirlpool, or other methods to enhance privacy.

However, the email service and the wallet undermine each other. The Bitcoin wallet reduces the privacy of emails, while the emails link Bitcoin addresses to real identities. For example, sending Bitcoins from a Proton wallet to an exchange potentially links the Proton account to a real name. In contrast, anonymously sending Bitcoins to Proton Mail risks the email provider being able to associate the coin with a real identity, such as when unencrypted emails are sent.

Some skeptics find this scenario so unusual that they can only attribute it to the influence of „maximalists with laser eyes“ as advisors, assuming goodwill. This touches on a widespread sentiment in the community. Thus, for many, the integration of a wallet by a reputable and recognized email provider is not just a nice feature—but a stark, capital mistake. It’s not entirely straightforward.