Nunchuk review: multisig with an inheritance plan
Nunchuk is the multisig app I recommend when someone wants an inheritance plan for their heirs without handing a company their identity.
Nunchuk is a self-custodial multisig wallet for phone and desktop with a free DIY tier and paid plans that add a Nunchuk-held key and an inheritance key. It suits families who want help setting up a 2-of-3 or 2-of-4 wallet and a plan for heirs, with no KYC. The trade-offs are the subscription for the best features, no Lightning, and an iPhone app whose source is not public.
I have not used Nunchuk day to day. Everything here comes from Nunchuk's site, FAQ, and pricing page, its source code and release notes on GitHub, and my incident tracker.
Disclosure: I work at Blockstream, the company that makes the Jade wallets mentioned here. I joined after many years as a satisfied user. There are no affiliate links on this site.
What Nunchuk is
Nunchuk is a Bitcoin wallet built around multisig: wallets that need more than one key to spend. It runs on iPhone, Android, and desktop, and the desktop app ships for macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows, and Linux. The latest desktop release is 2.9.3, from October 30, 2026, and the latest Android release is 2.9.5, from November 5, 2026.
The desktop app and the Android app are open source under GPL-3.0. Nunchuk's GitHub organization has no iPhone app repository, so on iPhone you trust a build you cannot check against public code.
Nunchuk calls itself the first multi-user multisig: you can co-manage a wallet with family or business partners and approve transactions together in the app. Its App Store listing also lists decoy wallets, coin control, spending limits, and key health checks.
Is Nunchuk Bitcoin-only?
The desktop app holds only bitcoin. Since Android 2.7.0 in July 2026, the phone apps can also hold USDT on the Liquid network, and the iPhone version history lists the same change. Liquid is a Bitcoin sidechain, and my rating rules allow Liquid assets, so Nunchuk stays on my Bitcoin-only list. Nunchuk's own FAQ still says Nunchuk is Bitcoin-only.
Who Nunchuk is for
Nunchuk fits someone who wants multisig on a phone, wants a company to help with setup and recovery without holding enough keys to move funds, and wants a written plan for heirs. It also fits two or more people who share a wallet.
Pick something else if you want one free app for a single hardware wallet: BlueWallet on a phone or Sparrow on a computer is simpler. Nunchuk has no Lightning, so spending money belongs in a Lightning wallet.
Free and paid plans
You can use Nunchuk for free and build your own wallets. The paid plans add a key that Nunchuk holds, called the platform key, plus support and inheritance features.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | DIY single-sig and multisig wallets, community support |
| Iron Hand | $120 a year | A 2-of-3 assisted multisig wallet, cloud backups and assisted recovery, emergency lockdown |
| Honey Badger | $480 a year | Two 2-of-4 assisted wallets, a dedicated inheritance key, spending limits |
| Honey Badger Premier | $2,100 a year | Three 3-of-5 assisted wallets, two inheritance keys, roles for several people |
Nunchuk's FAQ says that at no point does Nunchuk have access to enough keys to move funds unilaterally. The platform key co-signs everyday spends and enforces spending limits. With a paid plan, your phone holds no keys at all: the FAQ says assisted wallets keep every key cold and use the phone as a watch-only screen.
How the inheritance plans work
Honey Badger asks you to choose one of two protocols. The on-chain protocol writes a timelock into the wallet with Miniscript, so the Bitcoin network enforces it even if Nunchuk is unavailable. Once the timelock passes, the quorum decays, for example from 2-of-4 to 1-of-3, and your heir can spend with the inheritance key. Changing the date means moving funds to a new wallet.
The off-chain protocol lets Nunchuk's platform enforce the date, so you can change the plan without moving funds. The catch, in Nunchuk's words: if Nunchuk shut down for good, claims could not go through, because every claim needs the platform key. Your own keys can still move your funds in that case. If you worry that Nunchuk might not be around when your heirs claim, choose the on-chain protocol.
Claiming through Nunchuk's guided service is free while the subscription is active. If it has lapsed, the FAQ lists a 0.3% maintenance fee for guided help, and the on-chain path stays free of Nunchuk fees. My guide to what happens to bitcoin when you die covers the family side, and my inheritance comparison lists other services.
Setting up Nunchuk
Install the phone app from the App Store or Google Play, or the desktop app from Nunchuk's GitHub releases. Each desktop release ships SHA256SUMS and a signed SHA256SUMS.asc to verify against, and the README says only the Linux builds are reproducible today. The Windows files are published unsigned, per their names. For the exact steps of each plan, follow Nunchuk's own guides.
- 1Set up each hardware wallet with its own seed phrase first, ideally from different makers.
- 2Add each device to Nunchuk as a key, by QR code on the phone or by USB on the desktop app.
- 3Create the wallet from those keys and choose the quorum, such as 2 of 3.
- 4Export the wallet configuration (a BSMS file) and store a copy with each seed phrase backup. Nunchuk's FAQ says this file and third-party software such as Sparrow and Bitcoin Core can recover the wallet without Nunchuk.
- 5Send a small test amount, then practice a spend before you move savings.
My multisig guide explains quorums and the descriptor backup in plain terms.
Hardware wallet support
Nunchuk's FAQ says the desktop app is how keys that need USB get added, and the phone app signs by QR code, Bluetooth, or NFC depending on the device. These are the Bitcoin-only devices I review that work with it.
| Device | How it connects | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Jade and Jade Plus | USB on desktop, QR on the phone | Blockstream's companion app table |
| BitBox02 | USB on desktop | Nunchuk FAQ |
| SeedSigner | QR code | SeedSigner README |
| Krux | QR code | Krux coordinator docs |
| Passport Prime | QR code or file | Foundation's Prime connect list |
The on-chain inheritance protocol is stricter: every key must be Miniscript-compatible. Among the Bitcoin-only devices I review, only Jade and BitBox02 qualify, which matches my inheritance hardware wallet picks.
Privacy and your own node
Nunchuk says it does not collect any personal information beyond email addresses, and there is no KYC on any plan. A paid plan does mean Nunchuk stores the wallet configuration, and Nunchuk's own incident report notes that a wallet descriptor is enough to see all addresses in the wallet. Nunchuk can tie that wallet to your email, so use an address that does not carry your name.
For blockchain data, Nunchuk can use an Electrum server or a direct Bitcoin Core connection over RPC, and the App Store listing says you can connect to your own full node. If you do not run one yet, see my node rankings.
Security record
Nunchuk's desktop and Android repositories list no published security advisories, and my security incident tracker has no Nunchuk entry. The closest call came from outside. After the July 2026 hardware wallet seed flaw covered on my warning page, Nunchuk says it moved its own infrastructure off that maker's devices and regenerated its platform key at full 256 bits of entropy, and that no subscriber lost bitcoin. It also credits address hygiene: funds on addresses that had never been spent from were much harder for the attacker to find.
How Nunchuk compares
Against Sparrow, Nunchuk adds phone apps, shared wallets, and paid help, while Sparrow is free and runs only on a computer. Against BlueWallet, Nunchuk adds desktop apps and inheritance, and BlueWallet stays simpler for one hardware wallet. My multisig coordinator rankings put Sparrow first and Nunchuk second, and the full list is on my software wallets page.
Verdict
I rate Nunchuk 9.4. It is the best way I know to get assisted multisig and an inheritance plan without KYC, and the on-chain protocol keeps working if the company disappears. Budget for the subscription, keep your BSMS backup with your seeds, and choose the on-chain protocol if your hardware supports it.
Frequently asked questions
Is Nunchuk free?
Yes, for DIY single-sig and multisig wallets. Paid plans start at $120 a year for Iron Hand and $480 a year for Honey Badger, which adds the inheritance key.
Can Nunchuk take my bitcoin?
Nunchuk says it never has enough keys to move funds on its own. On paid plans it holds one platform key that co-signs, and your hardware wallets hold the rest.
What happens if Nunchuk shuts down?
Your own keys can still spend, and Nunchuk says Sparrow or Bitcoin Core can recover the wallet from the BSMS backup. Off-chain inheritance claims would stop working, while the on-chain protocol is enforced by Bitcoin itself.
Does Nunchuk support Lightning?
No. Use a separate Lightning wallet for spending and keep Nunchuk for savings.
Is Nunchuk open source?
The desktop and Android apps are open source under GPL-3.0. Nunchuk has not published the iPhone app's source.