BitBox02 vs Sparrow Wallet Comparison

A new wallet gets 24 BIP39 recovery words; the device can also restore 12-word phrases. The default backup is a file with the wallet secret on the included microSD card, which is not encrypted; the 24 words can be shown on the device screen at any time after you re-enter the device password.

Creates BIP39 phrases of 12 to 24 words. It can also restore from SLIP39 shares, and it can hold no seed at all when the keys live on a hardware wallet.

The BitBox shop ships only to a name and postal address and asks for an email address. You can pay with Bitcoin or Lightning through BitBox's own BTCPay Server instead of a card. BitBox says order data is anonymised after 30 days, but invoices are kept for ten years under Swiss law.

BitBox says each device receives an attestation key at the factory, which the BitBoxApp checks every time you connect, and that the chips are covered in epoxy and the case halves are glued so that opening them breaks plastic pins. The device ships in a vacuum-sealed bag with a patterned seal. BitBox itself says these checks cannot rule out every physical modification of a genuine device.

Shift Crypto AG is registered in the Canton of Zurich, with its address in Adliswil. Its privacy policy follows the Swiss data protection act and the GDPR, and says personal data is stored in the EU.

Sparrow is built by one developer, Craig Raw, who is based in South Africa. No company stands behind the project, and Sparrow runs no wallet servers of its own.

A privately held Swiss company that sells under the BitBox brand. Its founders started the BitBox line in 2015; the BitBox02 came out in 2019.

Built and maintained by a single developer since 2020, with code contributions from others. Sparrow is free and is funded by donations; it has no support team, only a community-run Telegram group.