AQUA Wallet Is Now Open Source

Deniz Saat

January 23, 2024 @ 1:45 PM PT

AQUA Wallet, a Bitcoin savings and spending wallet, is now fully open-source software.

Following its release on January 3rd, 2024, the AQUA team has focused on refining the code and resolving any emerging issues, enhancing the software for community use and contribution. The software, now available on GitHub, is licensed under the MIT License.

However, the AQUA Wallet's Marketplace feature will not be part of the open-source release and will remain proprietary under JAN3.

This decision is due to the unique business integrations and relationships involved in the Marketplace. Other functionalities of AQUA are not impacted by this decision.

An important component of AQUA is the Green Development Kit (GDK), a fork maintained by SideSwap.

GDK, developed by Blockstream and used in wallets like Green, is responsible for various functionalities including seed creation, wallet restoration, address generation, and transaction signing. Plans to revert to the mainline GDK are underway.

With the transition to open-source, AQUA is expected to be available on F-Droid, which provides an alternative to Google Services, targeting users who prioritize privacy. Until this happens, the AQUA APK and its source code are accessible through the AQUA website and GitHub.

The team behind AQUA, JAN3, highlights the significance of self-custody in the Bitcoin ecosystem and the role of open-source software in facilitating this. The transition to open source is part of their broader strategy within the space.