Cake Wallet — Monero & Crypto Mobile Wallet Guide (2026)

What Is Cake Wallet?

Cake Wallet is an open-source, non-custodial mobile cryptocurrency wallet with a strong focus on Monero. It is available for Android and iOS, supports multiple currencies and includes built-in swap functionality that allows exchanging between supported currencies without leaving the app. It is the most widely recommended Monero wallet for mobile users by the Monero community.

Unlike many multi-currency wallets that treat all currencies equally, Cake Wallet was built with Monero as its primary currency. Its Monero implementation is feature-complete — supporting subaddresses, transaction notes and all of Monero’s privacy features — while its Bitcoin and Ethereum support is functional but secondary.

It is non-custodial — you hold your private keys and Cake Wallet never has access to your funds. The company cannot freeze your account, reverse transactions or hand over funds to third parties because it does not control them.

Download

Android: Google Play Store or direct APK download from cakewallet.com

iOS: Apple App Store

Verify APK: For Android direct downloads, verify the APK signature before installing

Privacy note for Android users: Downloading from the Google Play Store requires a Google account. For users who want to avoid Google entirely, download the APK directly from cakewallet.com or install via F-Droid if a Cake Wallet F-Droid repository becomes available.

Supported Currencies

How to Set Up Cake Wallet

1. Download Cake Wallet from cakewallet.com or your platform’s app store
2. Open the app and tap Create New Wallet
3. Select the currency — choose Monero for privacy-focused use
4. Cake Wallet generates a seed phrase — write all words on paper in order
5. Confirm the seed phrase when prompted — the app verifies you wrote it correctly
6. Set a PIN or biometric lock for app access
7. Your wallet is ready — you will see your receiving address immediately

Seed phrase storage: Write your seed phrase on paper — not in a notes app, not in a screenshot, not in a cloud document. Physical paper stored somewhere secure is the standard. Anyone who obtains your seed phrase has full and permanent access to your funds. There is no account recovery, no customer support and no way to reverse this.

Built-in Exchange

Cake Wallet includes built-in exchange functionality — you can swap between supported currencies directly within the app without visiting an external exchange. The swap aggregates rates from multiple providers and presents the best available offer.

Available exchange providers through Cake Wallet include ChangeNow, SideShift, SimpleSwap and others depending on the currency pair. Rates, fees and KYC requirements vary by provider — Cake Wallet displays this information before you confirm a swap.

Privacy note on built-in swaps: Most instant swap services have varying KYC requirements. For small amounts, many do not require identity verification. For larger amounts or in certain jurisdictions, verification may be required. The swap provider — not Cake Wallet — processes the exchange and sets the KYC threshold. For swaps above your privacy threshold, use Haveno’s atomic swaps instead — they have no KYC requirement at any amount.

Tor Support on Cake Wallet

Cake Wallet supports Tor routing for Monero connections on Android via integration with Orbot. This hides your IP address from Monero nodes when syncing and broadcasting transactions — the same network-layer privacy that Feather provides by default on desktop.

Enabling Tor on Android:

1. Install Orbot from the Google Play Store or F-Droid
2. Enable VPN mode in Orbot — this routes all device traffic through Tor
3. Open Cake Wallet — all Monero connections now route through Tor

On iOS, full system-wide Tor routing through Orbot is not available due to Apple’s platform restrictions. iOS users can use the Onion Browser alongside Cake Wallet but cannot route Cake Wallet’s traffic through Tor directly. This is a meaningful limitation — iOS Cake Wallet users should be aware that their Monero node connections expose their IP address to remote nodes.

Cake Wallet vs. Other Monero Mobile Wallets

Cake Wallet vs. Feather Wallet

Practical recommendation: Use both. Cake Wallet for everyday mobile use — receiving payments, small transactions, quick swaps. Feather Wallet on desktop for larger amounts, hardware wallet signing and situations where Tor routing by default matters. The two wallets complement each other and can hold separate amounts for different purposes.

Security Best Practices for Cake Wallet

Enable app lock. Set a PIN or biometric lock in Cake Wallet’s settings. This prevents someone who physically accesses your phone from opening the wallet immediately.

Disable screenshots. Cake Wallet has an option to prevent screenshots — enable it. Screenshots of your seed phrase, receiving addresses or balance stored in your photo library are a security risk.

Use subaddresses for receiving. Monero supports subaddresses — unique addresses derived from your main address that receive funds but cannot be linked to each other by an observer. Cake Wallet generates subaddresses automatically. Use a new subaddress for each payment you receive to prevent senders from tracking your transaction history.

Back up before updating. Before updating Cake Wallet to a new version, confirm your seed phrase is written down and accessible. App updates occasionally require re-entering the seed phrase or reconfiguring the wallet.

Do not store large amounts on mobile. Mobile devices are more vulnerable to loss, theft and malware than dedicated hardware wallets or air-gapped computers. Keep only spending amounts in Cake Wallet. Store larger holdings in Feather Wallet with hardware wallet signing, or in cold storage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cake Wallet safe?

Cake Wallet is open-source, actively maintained and recommended by the Monero community. It has been audited by security researchers and has a track record of responsible security practices. As with any mobile wallet, the main risks are device compromise, seed phrase exposure and phishing. The non-custodial design means your funds cannot be stolen by Cake Wallet’s developers — only by someone who obtains your seed phrase or device access.

Does Cake Wallet work without internet?

You can view your wallet’s stored balance without internet. To send or receive transactions, or to sync your wallet with the current blockchain state, internet access is required. Monero’s blockchain must be queried to confirm incoming transactions and broadcast outgoing ones.

Can I use Cake Wallet for Bitcoin as well as Monero?

Yes — Cake Wallet supports Bitcoin alongside Monero. However, Cake Wallet’s Bitcoin implementation does not include CoinJoin or other Bitcoin privacy features. Bitcoin transactions via Cake Wallet are not significantly more private than any other Bitcoin wallet. For privacy-preserving Bitcoin transactions, use Wasabi Wallet on desktop. Use Cake Wallet for Bitcoin when convenience matters more than privacy for a specific transaction.

What happens if I lose my phone?

If you have your seed phrase, you can restore your wallet on any new device by installing Cake Wallet and selecting Restore Wallet. Your funds are stored on the Monero blockchain — not on your phone. The phone holds only the seed phrase and wallet file. Without the seed phrase, funds are unrecoverable. With the seed phrase, recovery is straightforward.

Is Cake Wallet available in my country?

Cake Wallet is available globally on Android via direct APK download from cakewallet.com regardless of location. App store availability varies by region — some countries have cryptocurrency apps restricted in their local App Store or Play Store. If your country restricts the app stores, download the APK directly from the official website.