Compatible Crypto Wallets

Bead is wallet agnostic. Any wallet that can

  1. Scan the QR code provided by the hosted payment page, and

  2. Broadcast the correct asset on the correct network to the destination address can be used to complete a payment.

For USDC tenders, Bead currently operates only on live networks (Base mainnet and Solana mainnet) in both Sandbox and Production. Testing requires real USDC and real fee tokens. Test amounts should remain small.

Asset and wallet matrix

Use this table as the primary reference for supported assets, networks, and example wallets. The wallet lists are examples, not an exhaustive set, and are ordered roughly by consumer usage at the time of writing.

Bitcoin-based tenders

Asset / network
Tender key
Example wallets (approximate usage order)
Notes

Bitcoin (on chain)

bitcoin

Base (Formerly Coinbase Wallet), Phantom, Trust Wallet, BlueWallet

Use Bitcoin mainnet. These wallets are widely used for on-chain BTC and allow sending to standard Bitcoin addresses. Customers must hold enough BTC to cover both the invoice amount and network fees, which are deducted in BTC.

Bitcoin Lightning

bitcoin_lightning

Wallet of Satoshi, Phoenix, Muun

Wallet of Satoshi (custodial) and Lightning capable self-custody wallets such as Phoenix and Muun are popular choices for Lightning payments. The wallet must support Lightning invoices (for example BOLT-11) or LNURL QR codes and be able to pay the invoice presented by the hosted payment page.

USDC tenders

Asset / network
Tender key
Example wallets (approximate usage order)
Notes

USDC (Base)

usdc_base

Phantom, Base app (formerly Coinbase Wallet), MetaMask, Trust Wallet

Use USDC on the Base network. ETH on Base is required to pay network fees. Both Sandbox and Production use Base mainnet with real USDC and real ETH, so test amounts should remain small. Wallets must clearly distinguish USDC on Base from USDC on other networks.

USDC (Solana)

usdc_solana

Phantom, Solflare, Ledger Live

Use USDC on Solana mainnet. SOL on Solana is required to pay network fees. Phantom is the most widely used Solana wallet and is the recommended default. Solflare and hardware wallets such as Ledger also provide strong support for Solana and USDC.

As new assets and networks are added, this table will be updated. Treat any tender key or network that is not listed here as unsupported until it appears in this matrix.

Minimum wallet capabilities

A wallet used with Bead should meet all of the following core capabilities.

Capability
Why it matters

QR scanning

Bead encodes the payment address and, for Lightning, invoice details in a QR code. The wallet must be able to read the QR and populate the send screen.

Exact amount send

Customers must match the requested crypto amount to avoid underpaid or overpaid states. Small differences caused by “max” send or manually edited amounts can change how the payment is treated.

Network selection

Assets such as USDC exist on multiple networks. The wallet must allow the user to select the network requested by the hosted payment page (for example Base, Solana, Bitcoin mainnet, Lightning).

Timely broadcast

Payment windows are timebound. Wallets that queue or significantly delay broadcasts can cause otherwise valid payments to expire before they are observed on chain or on the Lightning network.

Unsupported and cautionary wallet types

Some wallet and account types introduce limitations that make them unsuitable for Bead payments.

Custodial and closed systems

Category
Reason

Purely custodial accounts (exchange balances)

Exchange accounts hold assets on behalf of the user and may not support sending directly to arbitrary external addresses or Lightning invoices in a real time checkout flow. Withdrawals can be delayed or batched, which does not align with Bead’s payment windows, even if the exchange can link to a self custody wallet.

Closed or internal transfer only solutions

Systems that only support transfers between users of the same platform cannot broadcast on-chain or Lightning transactions to Bead’s destination address.

Limited network support

Category
Reason

Wallets without the required networks

Wallets that cannot connect to Base, Solana, Bitcoin mainnet, or Lightning (as applicable) cannot be used for those tenders. For USDC, wallets must support Base mainnet or Solana mainnet, since test flows also use live networks and assets.

If a wallet or service does not allow the user to control a self custody wallet and send directly to an external address or Lightning invoice, it should be treated as unsupported for Bead payments.

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